[Essex Girl]

I would like to remove and possibly replace the salt water intake plate (for the engine) on my 2006 Beneteau 343. This is needed to cleanly remove the small barnacles hiding inside! Does anyone know how to do this? How is the flush mount on the hull fastened?

 

[boatpoker]

The throughull is held on from the inside by a hex nut. The throughull and nut are brass, the ball valve is chrome plated brass. While you are at it replace it with bronze parts, the brass is now about two years past it's life expectancy.

 

[svHyLyte]

I would like to remove and possibly replace the salt water intake plate (for the engine) on my 2006 Beneteau 343. This is needed to cleanly remove the small barnacles hiding inside! Does anyone know how to do this? How is the flush mount on the hull fastened?

If your plan is to remove the raw water intake, I presume you're on the hard somewhere. If so, rather that all that brain damage, you can simply cover the outside of the raw water intake with a small plastic bowl, with a layer of wax around the rim to seal the edges (for that buy a wax toilet bowl seal at the local hardware store) and pour a mixture of Barnacle Buster, RydLyme, or for that matter CLR, and water into the fixture and let it sit for a day to dissolve the barnacles and other encrustation.

 

[arf145]

Boatpoker, do you know if Beneteau has always used brass thruhulls? The engine and shaft thruhulls on my 2000 331 seem solid and fine. Then again, the boat is on the hard, so this would be the time to replace--and I could use straight thruhulls with no grate.

 

[svHyLyte]

Boatpoker, do you know if Beneteau has always used brass thruhulls? The engine and shaft thruhulls on my 2000 331 seem solid and fine. Then again, the boat is on the hard, so this would be the time to replace--and I could use straight thruhulls with no grate.

Tom--

Your through hulls are likely fine. (To satisfy yourself, however, polish a patch of your through hull will some light sand paper. If the underlying material is yellow/gold in color, your fine. If pink in color, not.) The brass/bronze debate arises from a difference in vernacular between European and American terms for the materials. For more on the discussion on the matter read through http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/108234-cleaning-polishing-prop-2.html