Can anyone tell me why I have this hole in my boat?

Tam Lin

Tam Lin

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I unscrewed the cap and found that there was a hole through the hull! Good job the boat is ashore! It is in the engine compartment on my Westerly Centaur. There are no marks on it or other identifying features. First thoughts are that it is for a paddle wheel or transducer but there are no signs of them on the boat. Has anyone seen this fitting before and can tell me what it is for?

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either a drain plug for when ashore, or a scuttling device for when you have filled in the insurance ?
 
sarabande said:
either a drain plug for when ashore, or a scuttling device for when you have filled in the insurance ?
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Don't think it is for draining the bilges as it is above the level of the intake for the bilge pump. It would make a very effective scuttling device as the interior diameter is one and five eighths inches in diameter!
 
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It does look like a paddle wheel fitting, but nothing like the horrible plastic rubbish they sell today.
What dose it look like on the outside of the hull, any fairing or odd shapes?

Good luck and fair winds. :)
 
You must have the 1969 Southampton Boatshow demo yacht fitted with all the extra mod cons. That is Westerly's implementation of a bidet, have you found the hostess trolley yet?
 
prv said:
Old engine water intake, blanked off when a new one was added somewhere more convenient?

Pete
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I think you are right.
It looks like a Stuart inlet fitting. It would have had a 1/4 turn seacock and a strainer tube above and that cap on top of it all to allow access to the coarse strainer.
 
DanTribe said:
I think you are right.
It looks like a Stuart inlet fitting. It would have had a 1/4 turn seacock and a strainer tube above and that cap on top of it all to allow access to the coarse strainer.
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15/8" is a heck of a diameter for the cooling water intake for a small engine.

I am more inclined to think was for an old log.
 
VicS said:
I am more inclined to think was for an old log.
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The engine bay is a bit of an odd location for the log though, surely? And I would have expected to see a bit more "structure" than a simple parallel-sided tube. The four securing bolts also seem a bit excessive for a log fitting, but entirely appropriate for a seacock with a strainer mounted on top.

Pete
 
prv said:
The engine bay is a bit of an odd location for the log though, surely? And I would have expected to see a bit more "structure" than a simple parallel-sided tube. The four securing bolts also seem a bit excessive for a log fitting, but entirely appropriate for a seacock with a strainer mounted on top.

Pete
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I have just removed the engine raw water intake fitting which was nearby under a berth. It looked every bit as old as the boat and was much smaller. Agree that it is an odd location for a log though. Turning out to be a bit of a puzzle.
 
prv said:
The engine bay is a bit of an odd location for the log though, surely? And I would have expected to see a bit more "structure" than a simple parallel-sided tube. The four securing bolts also seem a bit excessive for a log fitting, but entirely appropriate for a seacock with a strainer mounted on top.

Pete
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IIRC the log fitting ( an old mechanical VDO instrument) in the Berwick is in one front corner of the engine bay so on that basis it does not strike me as an odd location.
 
It looks very similar to the through hull fittings we used on the Broads Hire Boats. The course engine strainer (big bronze jobbie) screwed directly onto the skin fitting, with the usual smaller pipework coming out the side of the strainer to the engine. Not sure who made them and an internet search is turning up nothing so far...

Jon
 
VicS said:
IIRC the log fitting ( an old mechanical VDO instrument) in the Berwick is in one front corner of the engine bay so on that basis it does not strike me as an odd location.
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Ah, that's true. A mechanical log would want to be further aft to reduce the length of the rotating cable. And quite possibly its housing would look different to the electric logs I'm used to. I think you might be right.

Pete
 
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