The sea chest is mounted in the pilot house and will be accessed under the bench seat for the settee. It is used to get water for the engine cooling system. There are several fittings unused at this time that are above the waterline that will be used for bilge pumpout. One of the four 1-1/2” pipes wasn’t threaded so it has been on this years short list of projects needed to put the boat in the water.
I purchase a large ratchet pipe threader on Craigslist for $45 which included a range of heads from 3/4” to 2”, what a great deal! After a quick YouTube video instructional on how to thread pipe it was time to get down to business and thread this thing. I brought it to the boat today and was happy to see it fit perfectly on the other threaded fittings. The tool requires quite a bit of cutting oil to keep it going smooth. The initial 20 minutes spent turning the ratchet cut a bevel on the pipe. It self guided on the pipe very nicely and the ratchet proved to be a savior as I only had about 45 degrees to operate the tool. Once the threads started cutting you could really feel it grab a hold and dig in to the metal. It made beautiful shavings with each pull of the handle. I made sure to clear the shavings with a spray of oil each turn I made.
All said and done it took me about an hour which included a bunch of rest breaks, probably more resting than working to be honest. Hand threading 1-1/2” pipe is quite a workout! Glad it turned out so well and the tool worked out. $45 well spent. Special thanks to Craigslist and YouTube...and my friend Greg from work who pointed me in the right direction, thanks Greg!
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