SEACOCKS - what sealant to use?

[nigelmercier]

The problem is that with the thro' hull in position, fitting an elbow plus valve is difficult/impossible because there isn't enough room to fit it as it fouls whatever is in the vicinity...

I don't think so, it looks clear to me.

 

[srp]

I think you'd better go down to Chelmsford and fit them for him.

 

[bonny]

How removed - and using a packer.

As a matter of interest, how do you get the old skin fittings out of their holes?

Boo2

In my case most of the nuts holding the skin fittings in, were cracked (hence the need to take action) and simply fell apart allowing a few inches of the fitting to be pushed through the hull and the flange cut-off with a hacksaw.

One or two of the others were extremely tight and were either removed using a box spanner and upto 2ft lever with all the strength I could muster (some bruised knuckles) or I carefully drilled a couple of holes through the nut to split it.

It is also possible to carefully angle grind the flange off from the outside, taking care not to catch the hull or create undue heat - fortunately I did not neet to resort to this.

Why don't you use a packer on the skin fitting to bring the nut further out and therefore accesible with an open-ender? A bit of plastic chopping board with a big hole in it would do. Sikaflex or other suitable sealant on both sides just to make sure. If you use Sikaflex, you don't have to wind the nuts up until your eyeballs bleed, just nip them up and let the Sikaflex cure for a day, than another little nip and it's done.

Yes, quite right I could have used a packer as you suggested, hadn't though of that, although I did need to remove the nuts in the first place which took me down the box spanner route.

This is why I listed the box spanners used - to help anyone else in a similer position. The biggest problem was obtaining a spanner for the 1-1/4 fitting which was satisfied with a Land Rover hub-nut spanner - easily obtainable.

 

[bonny]

This photo was of the old fitting, the crack in the nut can just be seen (pointed out by red arrow).

All this work was done and the boat re-launched in Sept last year. I don't have any more problems.