From Mark H. on Epiphany:
“Regarding the thru-hulls on the boat, I replaced all mine when I first purchased the boat. I have a mix of Marelon and bronze (where the Marelon was too big, like in the engine “room”). I also epoxied 1/2″ thick fiberglass backing plates onto the inside of the hull at each thru-hull so that I could screw down a proper seacock. This is an example from the head, 1.5″. I had to completely destroy the head to repair the outer portion of the starboard bulkhead which rotted out. That is the downside to the whole anchor locker idea. The gelcoat in the locker was compromised in some way and then all the water that came into the locker worked to destroy the forward and aft bulkheads in the head. The fix involved radical surgery which included the removal of the anchor locker. After the fix, I now have a lot of interior storage.”
Kudos to Mark for installing the proper backing plate. Wailana also had her anchor locker surgically removed. The bulkhead was still in pretty good shape.
All my seacocks and valves are Marlon. I had replace the valve under the sink when the handle broke off. The older units tended to do that. Not a fun job so lube them up and work them gently on a regular basis!
Greg S. – Wailana
Epiphany seacock
Alsberg Express 34 