Well, it is Memorial Day and the weather has dried up and become warm. Two weeks ago I did some spring cleaning. If I leave the boat alone too long the mold comes back. I blame the bamboo flooring. In hindsight that was a bad idea. It looks nice but I haven't met anyone that has used it that didn't wind up with a mold problem. Something about mold in the bamboo fibers. I am putting a rug down for now but long term I will probably have to epoxy seal it and put a plywood veneer over the whole thing. I guess an inch and a half of cabin sole thickness wasn't enough.
About $850 worth of 'seacock' parts arrived this week.
Not a true seacock but I know people that have had good luck with these. The thru hull threads into a flange (middle) with normal threads and the top of the flange has pipe threads to accept a typical ball valve. Future maintenance should be much easier. The part that fails is the valve and it just threads off. I don't expect more maintenance however. I have gone with the traditional all bronze components - no more awful Marelon - so I expect to retire with these fittings. If the ball valves do seize up they should be easy to replace.
I ordered six of these - three in 3/4 inch size and 3 in 1.5 inch. My plan last year was to add two for the deck drains but that is going to take more planning and not a high priority so for now I am going to continue letting the deck drain into the cockpit. I am not terribly happy with my initial decision to go that route. I find on sloppy days the bow scoops up a lot of water and sends it aft where it winds up in the cockpit, soaking the feet of my unsuspecting friends. Its a little funny when they panic and think the boat is sinking but it also gets annoying after the first few times. Another solution might be to cut a slot in the toerail with something on the deck to direct the water through the slot. Those two inch toe rails definitely contribute to the volume of water sent aft and if I could redirect it before it gets to the drains I might be okay. A plan for another day.
Today, I measured the thru hulls for length but found I couldn't do a decent job of cutting them on the tailgate of the pickup. The old bolt holes have been cleaned and filled. I decided to continue with my original plywood backing blocks. I would never use plywood again but they are glued in solid and they are doing their job so I didn't feel like starting a fresh fight with them.
Next week I should be installing the assemblies and hopefully I won't have any significant problem lining up with the existing plumbing. Hopefully...
