May 13, 2021
Lyra 75
Thursday
The backing block for the new head through hull was ready after an overnight cure and a light sanding to clean up the inside of the hole, so I began with a dry fit of the through hull and flange base, not only to check the fit (fine) but so I could drill the bolt holes through the flange and hull. With the fittings secured together and positioned correctly, I drilled each hole in turn, installing a temporary bolt in each from the top to hold the alignment. This done, I removed the fittings and, outside the boat, countersunk the holes to accept the machine screw bugle heads.
With everything cleaned up and otherwise prepared, I installed the through hull with lots of sealant (4200), with some tape over it to prevent it from falling out (though the sealant was heavy and dense enough to hold it pretty securely in any case). Inside, I added sealant around the exposed through hull neck and at the boltholes and edges of the eventual flange position, then threaded on the bronze flange base, aligning it with the existing bolt holes, through which I installed temporary bolts from above to hold it securely. Then, back outside, I installed the flathead bolts from outside, applying sealant heavily and pushing out the temporary bolts in the process, before tightening the through hull completely from outside.
I finished up the installation with nuts and washers on the bolts, and cleaned up the excess sealant inside and out. The fitting just awaited its valve and hose adapter on the inside.
This wrapped up my current work list, and I finished up by removing the last of my tools and so forth, cleaning the boat, and loading in the various boxes of equipment the owner had originally sent over with the boat. Lyra would be back in the fall to do the rest of the much-needed job on the decks, including some additional coring work (mainly the forward portion of the coachroof) and to bring the rest of the decks into compliance and appearance with the new cockpit.
Total time billed on this job today: 1.5 hours
0600 Weather Observation: 35°, clear. Forecast for the day: Sunny, 68°