Gate Valve Replacement Update
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:41 am
Went down to the boat to replace the gate valve Sunday and found out the problem was much bigger than dried out gaskets. The top left screw hole had been stripped out and the poor seal was causing the ballast tank to fill up. I put the new one on I tried a larger screw and that did not work. I ultimately got my wife's much smaller hand to reach inside the tank and hold the backing nut and got the bolt that came with the replacement valve to hold that corner in place. I've seen other srew holes get rounded out after you remove them a couple of times for mainteneance like on the pedestal but this screw was never removed and somehow made a bigger hole in the hull for itself.