Ericson 350? 1997?

[bigd14]

I will have to assess if these hull penetrating connections are living on borrowed time

Yes. Ericson used nylon for some above waterline thru hulls. When I replaced all thru hulls on my 84 30+ the propane locker vent thru hull which sits uncomfortably close to the water under the stern counter shattered into pieces when I tried to remove it.

I also had a bad experience with the old Marelon ball valve handles seizing open and dripping endlessly. The most prudent action for boats of this age with the original equipment is to replace ALL thru-hulls, seacocks, fittings and hoses with proper bronze or Marelon and wire reinforced hoses. Not worth losing the boat. Oh and the plywood thru-hull backing plates usually need replacing too.

 

[Loren Beach]

More discussion:

Replacing thru hulls-- bronze or marelon?

Hi, I discovered that the bronze raw water intake thru hull is degrading badly, and will replace it, along with six other thru hulls as they are all about 20 years old. I'm guessing that the raw water thru hull is worst due to the faster sea water flow compared with the other thru hulls, but I'm...

ericsonyachts.org

Some photos of our transom thru hull project:

Transom Thru Hull Replacement

Yesterday I removed all the above-water factory thru hulls on our transom. It's been over 20 years and from the outside I had observed for some time that the exterior part of each was getting attacked by UV. One of the 1 1/2" ones had been replaced a few years ago by the yard when a workman...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Alan Gomes]

Darn, I just checked my boat and lo and behold I have white PVC 90 degree connectors outboard of the marelon seacocks under my head sink.

I also note in an earlier pic when I first got the boat there are grey connectors on the cockpit drain and maybe the sink drain, but they are less worrisome as they are inboard of the marelon seacock.

Also worrisome are the plastic thru hulls (not sure what material or make). Altough the setup has worked for nearly 38 years (and as someone who comes from the if it aint broke dont fix it school of thought, at least above the waterline) I will have to assess if these hull penetrating connections are living on borrowed time.

(Note: in that under galley sink pic the sea strainer is a dead soldier, one of the first things I replaced. I have had a prior history on a 1989 Pearson 39 I had for many years where one of the bolts holding the top on gave way (mostly in part due to my exuberant tightening after cleaning out the strainer). Were it not for an observant harbor master she would have gone down. Fortunately she suffered only 8" of water above the floor boards and no major damage. The insurance appraiser told me I would not have been covered anyway as that sheered bolt would have been considered a routine maintenance item. After tossing much of the hardly ever used gear that got wet and really cleaning the bilge the boat seemed to sail faster.)

What is that green corrugated hose in one of the pictures? You may want to replace that with something more robust.