Should I be surprised??

One of the projects on my list before splash this spring was to install a Perko raw water strainer since the Volvo plastic basket strainer is not transparent and must be disassembled to see that it has nothing in it. Since all the hoses on the boat were replaced by the PO as a requirement of the insurance company due to the survey when he purchased her, I thought this would be straight forward. One thing that I did notice was that there were only single clamps on all fittings below the water line and that all clamps were perforated. Since I was going to add a clamp anyway I would change them to non perforated and double up. Well when I took off the raw water hose much to my surprise was a pipe nipple not a hose barb and not long enough for a double clamp. I mentioned this to the marina mechanic and he indicated that this was very common in older boats. Well I fixed it regardless. Are there any other issues in older boats that may have been ok at the time but not acceptable in this day and age??? Would this worry you?

I see no bonding of the fixture. I suppose you are in freshwater in Ontario. Probably not as important there. Did I miss something?

Quite the norm in fresh water Don. Does not seem to be an issue. The fittings are all original 1981 and appear to have no degradation.

Greetings,
Mr. L. I see no issues with the original install but your fix is probably better. Is the hose nipple bronze?

Agree with RTL. At least half of my below-waterline fittings aren't long enough for double clamps, but I do use the best quality clamps I can get. I like your fix......good idea.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. L. I see no issues with the original install but your fix is probably better. Is the hose nipple bronze?

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Yes RT, the nipple is bronze thank goodness. It never let go but I was scared that the sharp threads would cut the inside of the hose.

Hoses clamped to pipe nipples was (is still) a common poor practice. Not the best clamping surface for the hose. I found it on my 1981 vintage boat as well.

It looks like you did a nice job.

"It never let go but I was scared that the sharp threads would cut the inside of the hose."

I'll admit to using a pipe nipple instead of a hose barb in the past, but I've always used a longer nipple and cut the threads off the end. The hose is clamped onto the smooth side of the nipple with two clamps and I've never had one come off. Yes a hose barb is preferred but sometimes you just can't find the right size and this does work well at the typical low pressures found boat water systems. Don't think I'd do it on the high pressure side of a water maker.

Is the barb you installed bronze or brass? I ask cause it looks like brass.

Greetings,
Mr. d. Post #6.

dhmeissner said:

Is the barb you installed bronze or brass? I ask cause it looks like brass.

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Bought through a marine supply and was told that it is bronze and the literature on line was quoted as bronze as well.

HopCar wrote;
"I'll admit to using a pipe nipple instead of a hose barb in the past, but I've always used a longer nipple and cut the threads off the end. The hose is clamped onto the smooth side of the nipple with two clamps and I've never had one come off."

I agree but I'd like something that's bigger on the end that will stop the hose clamp from sliding off. With good clamps, low pressure and regular maintenance that should be an OK to good hookup.

What are the hose fittings that just have a bump at the end called ... bib?
I much prefer them to the typical mufti-barbed fitting.

Our 86' Nova sundeck has a receptacle on the fly bridge with both AC and DC. The feeds come from the same terminal block. Of course there is no color coding on the whole boat, except for the engines. In the event of a ground or a short it is far easier to just run new wiring than try to find the fault.

When it comes to old through hull fittings (in salt water) my first choice is replacement with something like Forespar black plastic units. No corrosion no grounding and like your body if exercised a little they work fine.

Maybe the reason it is not corroded is because it was not "bonded". Fresh or salt, its all conductive.

Eric, I know the type you're talking about but I don't think I've ever seen them in bronze. Back in my ill spent youth when I was playing with little airplanes we used aluminum versions of what you describe. You're right, a bronze one would be very nice in an application like the OP has described.

HopCar said:

Eric, I know the type you're talking about but I don't think I've ever seen them in bronze. Back in my ill spent youth when I was playing with little airplanes we used aluminum versions of what you describe. You're right, a bronze one would be very nice in an application like the OP has described.

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That would be called a beaded hose barb.

LaBomba, what is your procedure for cleaning out the raw water screening? Haven't seen the need yet, but it's obvious on my manifold. (Since I've a single engine, no genset, nor raw-water washdown, two of three inlets aren't used.)

That barbed fitting looks more like brass than bronze which is not a good mix on a bronze throughull due to galvanic potential and its very likely that the valve is NPT while your barbed fitting is NPS which means it is probably only on there by 3 threads and there is no backing plate under the seacock.

boatpoker said:

That barbed fitting looks more like brass than bronze which is not a good mix on a bronze throughull due to galvanic potential and its very likely that the valve is NPT while your barbed fitting is NPS which means it is probably only on there by 3 threads and there is no backing plate under the seacock.

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LaBomba said:

Bought through a marine supply and was told that it is bronze and the literature on line was quoted as bronze as well.

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Hard to tell from an internet photo, but LaBomba confirmed it was bronze.

FlyWright said:

Hard to tell from an internet photo, but LaBomba confirmed it was bronze.

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And here I thought these guys had some type of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence app on their phones.

The bottom of the fitting before installation was clearly cast bronze and the barbed portion was machined which made it shiny and look like brass. It is also definitely NPT and threaded in many turns. These items are not an issue in my opinion.

Markpierce, not sure about your question on cleaning the strainer. It is a new strainer and I haven't even splashed yet. I would think that being the Perko strainer is clear I will be able to see when there may be some debris in it at which point I can clean it out. With the old unit having no glass at all it was impossible to tell until the overheat buzzer went off, which it never did because I cleaned the strainer before each outing need it or not.

The hose barb looks like the ones Groco is shipping now. Rough cast bronze hex and shiny barbs. The material is 85-5-5 bronze. It's good stuff.

Boatpoker pointed out something we all missed. The elbow screwed onto the seacock has tapered threads and the seacock has straight threads. That type of seacock was meant to be used with a tailpiece that had female straight thread and was sealed by a leather washer.

the nipple is bronze thank goodness. It never let go but I was scared that the sharp threads would cut the inside of the hose. __________________

Most house hold plumbing is brass , not bronze as it is far easier to put threads on.

From a marine supply at Yacht Buck$ ,,I would expect the hose fitting to be bronze , IF USA made , recast scrap whatever if Chinese.

[QUOTE
From a marine supply at Yacht Buck$ ,,I would expect the hose fitting to be bronze , IF USA made , recast scrap whatever if Chinese.[/QUOTE]

From a marine supply store and I checked the invoice and it says bronze and the part # on line says bronze so I think we're good.

Re the brass/bronze issue I too agree it LOOKS like brass.

But I submit that the photo may be misleading. Notice the hull and how "warm" it is in color. The whole pic has an extra warm bright brass cast to it that I suspect led us astray.

One of the good things I've learned on TF is to be aware of straight threads and tapered threads and not to mix.

HopCar I love those long radiused 90s. I took out a number of sharp rad 90s and put in LR 90s.

I'd be concerned with the apparent absence of a proper backing plate under that thru hull.

Aquabelle said:

I'd be concerned with the apparent absence of a proper backing plate under that thru hull.

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Factory installed in 1981 with no issues. Possibly because the hull is nearly 2" thick at this point??

I'd be concerned with the apparent absence of a proper backing plate under that thru hull.

With 2 inches of glass and what looks like 3 or 4 , 3/8 bolts securing the sea cock the requirement that a heavy fellow could stomp on the seacock and it would stay intact would seem well met.

Backing plates are more needed in lightweight paper thin hulls where the necessary bolts might rip thru the hull, with a single kick.

Without a doubt, the best marine "How to" site on the web. Rod Collins has dozens of exceptionally well photographed articles on how to do just about anything on your boat. I have never been able to find a single thing on this site that I disagree with other than his position on moisture meters. He has several pages on "seacocks"