Getting ready to install, under...

[Holt]

1. Getting ready to install, under the foot of the front V berth. Boat was never equipped from factory. Installing a 12,000 BTU Webasto unit. The previous owner installed the through hull water inlet / petcock in the forward portion, starboard side of the bilge (see attached pictures). My question being, based on the location of the petcock and the need to install the strainer after it, and then the pump after the strainer, is this too short a run ( max 2 feet between each) between the components?  The orange pump in the forward most component in the bilge, being a foot from the bilge forward bulkhead. Then there will be an approximate 15 foot run to the actual unit.

[wingless]

Yes, the A/C raw water circuit should have a through hull w/ a hull grill or strainer, then the seacock, filter and pump, all below the waterline, as the pump will not suck uphill. The run to the AC is fine.

Please, please, please return all of those brass fittings and instead use either bronze or Marelon, both rated for below the waterline. Those shiny brass parts will become brittle and fail.

The seacock does not have a flange and does not have a reinforcement backing plate. As such it does not meet ABYC. The seacock should be strong enough to resist an adult standing on it, exerting sideways stress, expressed in pounds in the spec.

The image shows a reinforcement plate for the transducers.

My guess is if that through hull seacock was installed incorrectly, as shown in the image, I would also suspect that the hull hole is incorrect.

The hull hole should be lined w/ epoxy (not sealant) if the hull is not cored. On a cored hull, the coring should be scooped away and replaced w/ epoxy.

[wingless]

The seacock should be bonded to the bonding system, like the depth transducer housing, w/ a green ground wire.

[wingless]

The distance between the seacock, the strainer and the pump may be very close.

The factory installed all those parts very close on my boat, 1" to 2" gap.

It has worked fine for decades w/ that placement.

[Holt]

Hello Wingless - Thanks for all the great info concerning the fittings and flange and the distances being aok !Several addendums / questions 🙂 Yes, the hull does have the appropriate scoop / strainer on the exterior bottom. On another site it has been mentioned that perhaps also the pictured strainer is too small. Thoughts?

[wingless]

YW

Sorry, I don't "shoot from the hip". Size all the components per the manufacturer's recommendations.