The interior molded liner beneath the companionway had been ground out, removing all of the damaged and cracked fiberglass, and then re-glassed and faired. The interior liner was then drilled out for new through-hull fittings and designated locations (where the new seacocks would be installed). Meanwhile the new seacocks, through-hull fittings and 90-degree hose barbs had been ordered...and were being delivered today. With the arrival of the seacocks, and kit, I could not resist heading out to the shop to fabricate the new backing plates.

I had some leftover 1/2" G-10 material from a previous job hanging about the shop for far too long, so I nominated it for backing plates. The triangular bronze flange of the new seacocks were just under 4", so I measured and removed 4" backing plates from the G-10 material. I used a 4" hole saw to mark the center point with the drill bit, and then just touched the flimsy hole saw to the G-10 to mark the cutout line for the jigsaw. Prior to cutting out the 4" circle, I used another hole saw to remove the interior hole for the through-hull fitting. Once the through-hull fitting was removed, I proceeded to remove the 4" diameter backing plate from the G-10 blank with a jigsaw and metal cut-off blade.

Once the backing plates were freed from the larger blank, I sanded the surfaces to remove the factory finish and rounded the edges. I wiped them down with acetone and set them aside to carry home for a test fit with the newly arrived hardware. Installation upcoming...

Total Hrs: 1