Through hull or new hull? Contessa 26

[Glass lizard]

Hey guys! Thanks for all the advice so far on the refitting of my newly aquired contessa 26. Ive been giving some thought to this dilema for some time but cant settle on it. Ive removed the pump out toilet, y valve and all the waste lines. The lines and holding tank were total FUBAR and i have put in a composting toilet. Now theres a 1.5" hole in the bow below the waterline that doesnt need to be there anymore. Im not sure if i should re instal a through hull and cap it or just glass it shut.

[Chotu]

Reselling the boat: Put the seacock in

Keeping the boat for life and never going back to a standard marine head, or a disposable boat in the end: Seal it up.

[LittleWing77]

That really us a tough one, eh?

It would be less expensive (and more peace of mind) to just glass it over, but when you re-sell the composting head might be considered a drawback to a new owner...

Maybe glass it over but mark the hull clearly on the inside "former head thruhull"?

I dunno. This would be a hard one for me. I once did a delivery of a Custom 72' sailboat that had - wait for it - *fifty-four* thruhulls!

I still can't conceive of it.

And now, in concert with you, I'm wondering about just one.

[Glass lizard]

Haha! Thanks guys. Maybe ill just order a through hull with no hose barb and cap it and keep a peice of mind bung nearby

[Pegu Club]

We glassed our thru hull holes in after removing the marine head system when we went with a composting head, it doesn’t take much for a future owner to drill out a new hole for a thru Hull if they want to reinstall a marine head. That and you can mark the location on the inside of the Hull if you felt it was important.

Fair winds,

[Bill O]

Fill it in is my vote. If you aren't going to use the thru hull, why put one back in?

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

That really us a tough one, eh?

It would be less expensive (and more peace of mind) to just glass it over, but when you re-sell the composting head might be considered a drawback to a new owner...

Maybe glass it over but mark the hull clearly on the inside "former head thruhull"?

I dunno. This would be a hard one for me. I once did a delivery of a Custom 72' sailboat that had - wait for it - *fifty-four* thruhulls!

I still can't conceive of it.

And now, in concert with you, I'm wondering about just one.

A custom 72 footer should have had a sea chest. 54 throughhulls must have been an amateur build.

[thomm225]

The PO of my boat used a thruhull plug.

See plug in both photos.

[barnakiel]

Both solutions are fine. A thru hull + cap is faster though.


b.

[roland stockham]

I believe the Contessa has a solid bulked dividing the saloon and the forward cabin that could easily become a collision bulkhead. Why not use he through hull to form a sea-chest and fit a good sized bilge pump. the seawater inlet could also be used for a wash-down pump. It would all then be available if you ever convert back to a flushing head.

[normanm]

I'd glass over the 1.5" thru hull and use the smaller sw thru hull for a SW pump to the galley or even a anchor wash down .

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

I believe the Contessa has a solid bulked dividing the saloon and the forward cabin that could easily become a collision bulkhead. Why not use he through hull to form a sea-chest and fit a good sized bilge pump. the seawater inlet could also be used for a wash-down pump. It would all then be available if you ever convert back to a flushing head.

Don't ever discharge a bilge pump below the waterline! Bilge pump discharges should be above the heeled waterline and the discharge hose should be an upside down U shape as high above the discharge point as possible.

Having a bilge pump discharge below the water line is an invitation to disaster.

[stormalong]

It looks like you are going to be doing some glass work anyway so I would close it up. It is not hard, I have done a few. Once done you will never have to worry about it again. Let any future owner drill another if they choose to.

[skipmac]

Glassing in the hole, if done properly is a bit of a job. You shouldn't just fill the hole but instead grind back the hull to allow a 12:1 bevel for the layers of cloth you lay in. So if the hull is 1/2" thick at that point you need to grind a 6" radius circle around the hole, 1" thick would be a 12" radius grind.

I would just put in a new bronze thru-hull without a seacock and screw the proper cap on the inside.

[Pegu Club]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Glassing in the hole, if done properly is a bit of a job. You shouldn't just fill the hole but instead grind back the hull to allow a 12:1 bevel for the layers of cloth you lay in. So if the hull is 1/2" thick at that point you need to grind a 6" radius circle around the hole, 1" thick would be a 12" radius grind.

I would just put in a new bronze thru-hull without a seacock and screw the proper cap on the inside.

We re-glassed five thru hull holes, a couple as big as 12” radius it was more time consuming than difficult to do, for me less holes in the hull the better,

Fair winds,