Through hull

[rupertemerson]

I recently tried to get the cover off the sea water filter on my Hunter Horizon 272 but ended up shifting not the cover but the whole unit of the sea water filter - in effect moving it about a quarter of a turn from its original place as a through hull. I re-tightened it and then got the cover off by holding the unit in place and undoing the cover. Now I am concerned that I have dislodged the seal of the through hull and at some point in the future it will leak. What do people think I should do? At the boatyard they seemed to think it would be alright but I am not convinced. By re-tightening it does it re-establish the seal or would there have been some kind of sealant there that is now broken?
Rupert

 

[john_morris_uk]

Is it leaking? If not, leave it alone? If you don't sleep easy, reseal....

 

[lindsay]

Same thing happened to me back in 1997 on moving to the Med. I took no action then but watched it like a hawk for a while. Since then I have been sailing singlehanded each year some 200 days a year and never had the sign of a leak...so agree that if it is not leaking you can leave it (but monitor )anyway)

 

[EASLOOP]

I sense uneasiness in your post. When in a similar situation I remove and reseal the assembly, if I were you I would do the same - you will then sleep much more easily.
When driving my car one day the temperature gauge suddenly shot through the roof and a radiator hose split. I had not replaced a suspect hose because it had not leaked until then!

 

[gjeffery]

The engine raw water through hull on the Hunter is bedded in Sikaflex, which should normally be quite difficult to shift. I would rebed the through hull when the boat comes out for the winter. In any case, the job is easier because you have broken the Sikaflex seal.

Some of the Hunter sea cocks are sealed to the through hulls by coating the threads with Araldite. Assuming your boat is coming out this winter, you have a maintenance opportunity, and should consider removing, cleaning/replacing and rebedding the through hull and having a good look at the condition of the stop valve. Hunter bed the through hull straight onto the hull, and you might also consider fitting a decent patrass inside the hull before refitting the through hull.