It’s a long episode this week. But after editing for 2 weeks to whittle it down from the original 50 minutes, I’ve left the essentials to explain how we completed the project. Let me know if it holds your interest. One goal of KZfaq is to create videos that people will want to watch all the way through. Any feedback is welcome. Happy boating!

This is a nice video explaining how you can work in the water and effect repairs. However, the idea of replacing a backing plate and only the backing plate seems to me somewhat counterintuitive. At the point where only the mushroom is left in the throughhull, I would have taken the extra time to pry out the mushroom and replace that as well. Especially if the mushroom was spinning. If it was spinning, that means the seal under the boat has been broken and water is finding its way between the mushroom and the glass underneath potentially being absorbed in to the glass and hull. At best creating osmosis, and worst invading the hull sandwich. Second, if all the parts are off, replace all the parts, including the ball valve. The only major concern I would have in doing all this in the water is if the mushroom did not spin and was adhesive attached to the hull, which is common. Removing an adhesive attached mushroom cold poentially also break away some of the hull material underneath requiring repair on the hard. You could also potentially create a hole that could not be bunged and let in way too much water for the pumps to safely keep you afloat. The moment you decide to remove the retainer nut from the mushroom is the most dangerous part since you have no idea the condition of the hole in the hull. This excersize, while academic in nature to prove this could be done if the hard is not an option should not be taken as a shortcut to just haul out for a day and do the work.

Phenomenal teaching video. That guy is cool as a cucumber. Definitely will be sharing this with a few groups.

I look forward to your next project, painting the bottom while still in the water!

When this gentleman said this video may be important while he was going through stressful moment. A class A ++++ person. That's for sharing tooo much. And when he mentioned about "brilliant people with other ideas" is so easy to be a arm charged quarterback. He fixed it great job...

Excellent real world demonstration. Thank you for including us in the complete process!

Get a tarp, tie lines to four corners and keelhaul it under the hull. The pressure will force the tarp to temporarily seal and allow you to work.

Brilliant video. And excellent editing Will share this with my son for sure. Good job by the whole crew!

Extremely informative thanks to Josh a for filming this helpful procedure and Ethan for sharing Knowledge and techniques for repairing the through hole. especially while in the water. All the Very Best to the two of you guys.

Wow. This was so very interesting - and inspiring. Ethan is so cool and calm.

This was brilliant. Learning a lot. Thanks to all of you guys.

Thanks Josh, Ethan and Diver Dude!

I enjoyed this video. Thanks for not hiding the problems that arose

Sir, you have a gift to teach! You have no idea how much I enjoy your instructional videos! If you can do more sailing instructional videos, go ahead! You make it ao easy to learn!!! God Bless You a Lot!!!

So educational for an upcoming boat owner.

Great video. Thanks for showing the problems encountered and solutions .

Have your diver use a toilet plunger on out side of hull to prevent water coming in. I have drilled and installed new through hulls as well as replaced damaged ones many times.

Great video thanks Josh ! Very educational and easy to watch (well edited) cheers mate 👍🏻⚓️

As a new owner of an older boat who is learning a lot about maintenance sort of as I go, I cannot overstate how reassuring it was to watch this. Ethan taking the time to explain the importance of matching straight and tapered threads in a fitting *while water was still (slowly) coming into his boat* was quite the masterclass in understanding what needs to happen *now* and what can wait maybe a minute or two. Thanks very much for sharing!

That was the most stressful video I have seen in a long time. Just watching the water coming in like that all over the wood was killing me!

Very informative, thank you. I definitely learned a lot.

Thanks for showing the details!

This was an excellent video. There was nothing really missed out the essentials were covered. I would be confident in changing a thru hull after watching this, the main thing being don't panic when all does not go to plan. My only contribution would be that the diver ought to have one of those suction pads to stick to the hull to hold himself in place. Excellent video, thank you.

Interesting video, very instructive.. thank you

Thanks Josh... I'm still debating on having the thru hulls done or doing them myself. These are good videos to help make the plan to do it!

excellent video! finally I understood thru holes! :) thanks

Awesome video, great information, thank you so much 😊.

Excellent. Thanks, guys!

beyond my dock level comfort.......awesome video!........nice to see it has been done...................

Really useful video, thanks.

WOW always more than one way to get things done!! Surprised the cost of the diver + stress is less than lifting the boat out for a few hours. Also, glad I went the composite route with all my through-hulls and backing plates (G10).

Cool guy doing such a job in his own pace!

great video and good adaptation during the process...

Very interesting. Thanks!

Wow excellent job done

Box Spanners! Courageous video showing a 'just get it done' spirit. There are many times you just can't pull out your boat, so this is really useful - Thank you! Sad to see a perfectly good nut cut in half just because you couldn't get the purchase you needed to unlock it - I would suggest having a few Box Spanners on board for this purpose - way cheaper than a 2" Socket, way more dependable than ratchet drives, and way less weight. And you can work a second tool down the 'throat'. Safe Travels.

I'm surprised you were able to get such good camera angles during the awkward and difficult method of doing this in the water. Lots of effort behind the scenes, thank you!

Great video, liked to fit new ball valve and through tube ,

Well done!!

Great video and as a diver it was cool to see that divers set up at the pier so he did not have to wear the tank while working under the boat.

Bold brave and ballsy, fine job

really good video. thank you.

Thanks very informative !

And now I know, thank you very much!

Very very good job. I gave u a 10 out of ten.

Josh is #1!!!

The best takeaway I got from this was Tef-gel. The other takeaway is have a socket that fits the nut and tap the nut around the flats with a pin punch and hammer to free it before even trying to loosen it. Still for a improvised job well done.

thanks for knowing stuff.. I hope you realize that only a handful of people can do these things and the rest of us can only watch & learn...even fewer people can jump from the water up onto the dock into a sitting position without also being a sea lion......epic

Honestly I am glad everything worked out. I would consider this an at sea last resort option

In a pinch, you can cut the threads of the thru hull down to just shy of the thread depth inside the ball valve and use it as the nut. Added bonus, less height to lesson the chance of an errant foot snapping the assembly off. That's when you have a real problem!

Spot on!👊🏻🇺🇸

Great video Josh... that split spacer would have kept me up at night.

I had a similar experience where I had to cut the nut off. Unfortunately I had to pull replace the entire thru-hull because I nicked the threads. I have to say, with my thru-hull job there was a lot more colorful language being used ;). Great videos, keep em coming!

yeah this Ethan guy is crazy calm :)

Very well done and even with the time spent I'd bet it was much cheaper than a hall out...

Be very careful trying this stunt in the water. You have no idea on the condition of the throghhull ( electrol osys). You could end up seperating the inside nut with partially attached corroded through hull, with huge amounts of water coming in. Just because it worked for one person does not mean it will work for you. If you cant lift the boat out, then carren it and do it safely.

thanks guy you are supa awesum for making vids lik this

Excelente trabajo

I used a potatoe it worrked brilliant

Awesome job! S/V Cork

I would for sure wait until next time on the hard 😊

I dont have the guts for that project! I give you credit for remaining calm. You should be a fighter pilot. I notice your shirt sez Lucky😅

Good mention as far as tapered threads vs straight. It seems some DIYers think a brass valve from a big box store is direct replacement for the original bronze valve with straight threads on one end and tapered on rhe other.

Good video, shows it can be done in emergancy situation (I don't think i'll do that in the water, brave). One thing was strange and that was measuring the roundness of that tool across the flat gaps. :)

So, to add yet another layer of challenge, my inlet thru hull has a grill which acts as a course filter to stop extraneous matter from jamming the ball valve…which also precludes the conical rubber bung… The tarp idea sounds useful but then prevents access to secure the thru hull from turning from the outside…so maybe one could fit one of those bungs you screw tighten inside the thru hull from whichever side you aren’t dropping the thin spanner handle or bar to stop it turning? But very impressive video and excellent attitude to problem solving, no stress, calm cool head is a lesson in itself👍

Yes the take away is have a new nut ready, incase it needs to be cut. Thanks for the struggle, i would have been panicking, trying to modify the tool before my boat sank.

This guy has brass balls. I would never in a million years try this in the water.

If you have it apart, why wouldn’t you replace the whole through hole?

Thank you for an excellent video. Do you think a tarpaulin pulled up over the bottom of the boat against the through hull might have been as good as the exterior plug pushed up by the diver?

Just an idea for the crowd. Paint the threads on the through hul fitting & the nut w anti-sieze.it will delay any corrosion between the nut & fitting. Also there are anti-sieze products made w copper, instead of aluminum. Copper should prevent corrosion even better.

Repairing a thru hull while afloat? HUGE brave pill needed!

Jesus. My nerves. This is my worst nightmare, and you're all so calm there with the water rushing in and things not working the way you planned o.O I mean, of course once in the situation you keep a level head but goddamn.

Riveting video! I've been binge watching your videos because I'm a newbie to the world of sailing and planning to crew on a friend's boat this summer (42 footer). I have to say, this video was so fascinating and intense - like watching a thriller movie. Great editing job 👍 Kudos to both you and Ethan for staying calm when all of that water was flowing in! A beautiful lesson in staying cool under pressure. Also I wanted to say a big "thank you" for creating all of these wonderful videos about sailing life. - very inspiring. Keep up the great work! (p.s. I love the diagrams!! : ) Where's your Patreon link?

Great to see that even the pros have problems and need to improvise. Did you edit out the F bombs or is Ethan the most calm guy I've ever seen? Long format was the only way to show the true work that went into it.

Fantastic job. Maybe you could put a butyl ball in the hole instead of the wedge ....

How about sticking/holding a bathroom plunger on the hull over the outside of the fitting to stop the leaking water while putting the goo on? Tighten it up as much you you can, let it all bed down dry, and then take it off and have the diver hold the outside in position for the final gutentight.

very inspiring! it was a genius to cut open the nut. but since you already got that far, why not just take out the entire metal thing, and put in a new thru-hull ? much easier to just grind off / cut off the protruding part and punch out the remaining flange.

Where do you get those plugs he uses?

Ditto to what's already been said, awesome. Just an FYI, you Amazon links are not linking to the items, just to my Amazon account.

Intresting manoeuvre I certainly don’t think I’d wanna try it,,,does it really save that much cost in not slipping the boat ,considering you’re allready paying out for diver .I was a boatbuilder for 20 years as I pulled some right bodges of but I just feel it’s too much when you could just end up sinking it so easily,i mentioned or my freind as soon as took the cutting disc to the backing nut that I wondered if you allready had a new nut

I could see doing this in an emergency but not as a part of regular maintenance. If the bronze thruhull is deteriorated, then the ball valve can still break off the threaded end, sinking the boat.

Not sure but have you considered - 1. Deep well sockets and 2. Cleaning the inside of the through hole?

The only argument I have with his method, is that he is using the wrench on the "top" of the ball valve where there is nothing to keep the wrench from squeezing the ball valve out of shape. I was always taught to put the wrench where there is a pipe going into the threads, to keep from ruining the valve. Had he put the wrench on the bottom, where the thru hull is going into the valve, he would be more safely able to turn the valve. Sometimes there isn't room, and maybe that's the case here, but I thought I'd point it out.

How much is a diver to stick around all day?

WoW! A simple cap would have saved some stress and pannic

Not sure this would work, with all the marine stuff on the hull, but couldn’t that rubber plug be rammed into the hole and then a large suction cup placed over it to help stop the water?

boat living really needs lots of hands on work!

Send me the link to his bilge pump please

Why wouldn’t you use a socket & impact gun of the modified pipe wrench?

Why not take it out for the day , fix it and back in? Probably not that much more expensive compared to having a diver around and a lot less nerverecking

Why doesn't Ludio place some rubber sheet over the mushroom to seal the thruhull?

Putting thread compound on the female thread of the ball valve VS the male thread of the through hull drives the compound right into the ball valve

A lot easier with the motor taken out. What I am not sure of is why the work and cost to lift the motor just to get at the valve with the boat in the water. Could the valve have been removed with the engine in place, and the boat hauled at a lower price?

👍

Obviously it was one of those 'saftey nuts' {person} who overtightened. I would have gotten a small drill bit and roughened / dig into the broken part for fresh keying in surface / sand surrounding fiberglass / clean then mix epoxy {when mixing epoxy - "the more you stir it the better" - it goes solid quicker and is like rock or glass/ I have old epoxy off color so give it no chance not to work and am amazed how solid it is - even with discoloration paterns through the mixture} ...then work that into the fresh surface- pushing in, gently pulling back to work it in & give it time to work in. The point of epoxy it is practically doesnt shrink. I dont see the point of having such a valve - it looks oxymoron and potential disaster. Now with hindsight of repair taken, it would be good it the hull surface had sand / clean / epoxy then place your spacer on {maybe separator between new hull epoxy & spacer} put it on and screw down to ensure the surface / epoxy all squares out while soft - do your sealing bit, but day or so later then tighten down on the now solid surface. I was having a joyess laugh as due to persecution in nz {Im a Real Prophet / Isaiah 55} I have decided I want a boaat to leave the country. Mani reason is "Im a lathe man" I love my lathe and want to get a boat and keep my lathe with me. Knowing just how vital they are when you need them. On that note - just as the international community should all drive left hand, so all should be metric system. That device fitting issue looked like the classic imperial / metric dont match. Lathe is like bulldozer.

Run a line around the hull that the diver can brace himself against.

Why did you not also remove the mushroom from the outside and reseal it at the same time. Unnecessary?

We have installed new thru hulls by using a diver with a large toilet plunger with the new t/hull inside with 5200 on it, drill a small hole first so the diver can find it, then drill the correct hole then reach in the plunger with a wire and pull the t/h on the hole ,backing and nut and valve

A masterclass in how not to change a through hull.

When their didn’t have the correct sized plug locking socket I would have backed out for another contractor.