Thru Hull and Seacock fitting - how long does it take?

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asteven221

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Hi folks.

I wanted to change the thru hulls and seacocks on my Bavaria, but didn't really have the time, so I asked the marina to do it.

What I would like advice on from those familiar with the process, how long do you reckon it would take you to do this job? I have my own ideas which differ considerably from how long it took the marina guys to actually do it, hence my request for some independent time estimates!!!

First of all we are talking 7 x 3/4" for sink/head inlet and 2 x 1.5" for the head outlet. All DZR and each consisting of a thru hull, nut, retaining nut, seacock, elbow bend and hose tail. Standard stuff.

All the old thru hulls and seacocks were already removed by me, so the holes were all ready to do the install. All hoses in situ ready to be attached to the hose tails. Being a relatively modern Bav everything was accessible.. All the fittings were were left out ready for the install. I supplied the 3m4200 and Loctite 577 (which he didn't use) preferring PTFE instead.

So given my preparation for the job, how long do you reckon it would take to install the thru hulls, returning when cured to screw on the seacocks, elbows and hose tails, finally attaching the hoses?

I will tell you all how long I it took (billed for) later after seeing a few of your estimates. Don't want to influence your thoughts!

Cheers.
 
I reckon it would take me about 3 hours to put all the skin fittings in, and then another 2 hours to attach the seacocks and hoses.

So on the basis that it was a marina, I would guess that they would charge about an hour per hole plus an hour for checking it all, so 10 hours at about £65/hr - £650+vat

I hope you were busy earning a lot of money.
 
took me a coule of hours after work last summer to change the old basket type filter and through hull on my 1988 jeanneau for a normal skin fitting
 
I had a DZR heads outlet replaced last year. The labour charge was £67.50 + VAT. The skinfittting was probably 1988 original. I disconnected and reconnected the hose. They did do it at very short notice.
 
Thanks everyone.

Your estimations are along the lines of mine, so how long did it take the "pro's"? Wait for it...... drum roll........

19 hours!!!!

And even then the job was rubbish. Instead of all the handles pointing the right way as per Bavaria intended, they point all roads. In fact you have to open/close them in a certain order as they snag on each other. Instead of all pointing the right for example, they are mixed thus making it harder to access. Even further some snag on the hoses meaning you have to push it out the way.

I suspect what he did was to install the thru hulls without any thought in lining up the seacocks correctly, then added PTFE tape and simply screwed the seacocks right to the end and the handles ended up where they ended up. This also resulted in the hoses having to be manipulated (stretched) to refit them.

Wish I had done it myself!! Very annoyed. :mad:
 
asteven221 said:
Thanks everyone.

Your estimations are along the lines of mine, so how long did it take the "pro's"? Wait for it...... drum roll........

19 hours!!!!

And even then the job was rubbish. Instead of all the handles pointing the right way as per Bavaria intended, they point all roads. In fact you have to open/close them in a certain order as they snag on each other. Instead of all pointing the right for example, they are mixed thus making it harder to access. Even further some snag on the hoses meaning you have to push it out the way.

I suspect what he did was to install the thru hulls without any thought in lining up the seacocks correctly, then added PTFE tape and simply screwed the seacocks right to the end and the handles ended up where they ended up. This also resulted in the hoses having to be manipulated (stretched) to refit them.

Wish I had done it myself!! Very annoyed. :mad:
Click to expand...
How pathetic.......but you may be paying for work on someone else’s boat which took too long alldown to the time sheet and very bad supervision
 
I did the same job on my similar boat a few years ago. All done including cutting out the old skin fittings in an easy day, with a lunch break plus some help for an hour or so from someone outside the hull. And the handles all incline the way they should. I used Sikaflex or PU40 sealant (can't remember which) not PTFE and let the sealant set with the handles pointed as they should. A day later set hard. As I used bronze everything I'm not planning to remove anything any time soon, but if I had to I'd just cut out and start again on that one.

I must say 19 hours sounds ludicrous. The last boatyard job on my boat was an insurance repair, and what should have been a day's work ended up weeks, all because two young idiots actually damaged the boat in the process by trying to crowbar off a sikaflexed-down alloy toerail. Fortunately I caught them and threw them off the boat before they'd damaged any more non-slip patterned gelcoat. More went wrong after that, of course. The boatyard builds "quality" boats, not cheap Jeanneaus like mine.
 
asteven221 said:
Thanks everyone.

Your estimations are along the lines of mine, so how long did it take the "pro's"? Wait for it...... drum roll........

19 hours!!!!

And even then the job was rubbish. Instead of all the handles pointing the right way as per Bavaria intended, they point all roads. In fact you have to open/close them in a certain order as they snag on each other. Instead of all pointing the right for example, they are mixed thus making it harder to access. Even further some snag on the hoses meaning you have to push it out the way.

I suspect what he did was to install the thru hulls without any thought in lining up the seacocks correctly, then added PTFE tape and simply screwed the seacocks right to the end and the handles ended up where they ended up. This also resulted in the hoses having to be manipulated (stretched) to refit them.

Wish I had done it myself!! Very annoyed. :mad:
Click to expand...
That sounds a really bad job! I've never used PTFE tape on them either. I lost track of how many you were fitting but assuming the existing holes were the correct size for the replacement fittings you supplied then I think you are talking about 40 mins max for each one. Only problem I've ever had is removing the old ones, which you had done. Installing the new ones is easy. Of course they could be charging for 2 people (eg one inside, one out to facilitate tightening) but I've no clue how they get to 19 hours!
 
Thanks everyone. I think we are all in total agreement on this one!

Much appreciated - as always.

As I said I could have done it myself and I wish I did.
 
MoodySabre said:
The yard I got to do mine simply use a long hole cutter on a drill and go straight up inside the hole from the outside and cut through the flange. Done in minutes.
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Exactly. At a guess you are being charged professional shipwright rates for the Job and I would expect a pro to do each one in 20 to 30 minutes.
Just telling a yard to do something is a licence to print money,. Always, always always ask for a quote before agreeing for a job.
 
I am completely inexperienced to comment. After 30 years of ownership of a wooden boat - which was already 26 years old when I bought it - no maintainance was necessary on any of the skin fittings or sea cocks other than the annual 'grease round'. I supposed the Southend Engineering Company when out of business because nobody need to repair or replace them.
 
I suspect trouble is going to be arguing what YOUR instructions were to the yard. Its why in such a case - I would always have a written instruction sheet signed by both sides to avoid arguments later.
If it was 'word of mouth' its going to be a hard time sorting it out.

I must admit though - considering the hardest job had been done by you - removing the old ... why didn't you fit the new yourself .. a much easier and quicker than you'd already done ???

19hrs .... I hate to think about such a bill !!
 
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