"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
Plastic fittings above the waterline don't need replacing with
bronze and
amazingly-priced bronze ball valves.

They do here in the northeast if they are very close as these were and
you plan to sail late in the season. I'm perfectly happy with plastic
farther up and left several but these only needed an inch of sinkage
to be right in the zone where freezing and cracking is most likely.
It's sunk a number of boats. If I was farther south, I would have
left them.

As for the valves, it's a sailboat and these fittings are located
under seat lockers where it would be very hard to drive in a plug. If
the hose lets go, I'd still like to be able to sail on either tack.
By the time you realized that the boat was getting heavy, these would
be underwater fittings anyway. I can just reach the lever on the valve
to close it. Anything else would be tough.

Believe me, this boat is far from perfect.

--

Roger Long