stuck thru hulls

[Viper]

Source of the post Bud, next spring check them when in the water and make sure they do in fact shut off completely. Had an AC thru hull that was stuck and got it freed, but would not shut off completely so winterizing it while in the water won't work. Changed out that next fall. If you do have to change them out, make sure you have a good wrench on the thru hull so it does not move at all, you don't want to break the seal. That's a real good reason to only change them well your hauled out, just in case! Now that you have them freed up, exercise then periodically! Mike

++1

[tomschauer]

I would definitely remove the hoses and check and lubricate the balls and seals. There is a possibility that you did not loosen them, you may have twisted the stems off in the balls.

[km1125]

This is an older thread, but in case somebody stumbles on it looking for suggestions... I offer this...

I recently had a friend with the same problem. Large seacock for the exhaust and afraid the handle was going to break off. It was REALLY stuck in the open position.

Messing around in the garage, and came up with this tool. Just a chunk of round stock (I think 3/4") and drilled and tapped 3 holes for 1/4-20 bolts.

ball_valve_tool_pic.jpg

On his, it was an exhaust so there was no scoop, just a thru-hull so we could insert from the outside. If there was a scoop or screen we would have taken the hose off inside and done it from that end. Adjust the two bolts so they just clear when the rod is inserted at an angle, then push on the rod. The bolts push directly on the ball and it broke loose easily. We could then move it easily with the original handle and sprayed some lube just to help things along. He thought he was going to have to replace the valve before launch

ball_valve_tool.jpg