Freedom 235 Drain Plug Question

[wotblake]

Long time lurker, first post. I just bought my first boat - a used Freedom 235. I was working on it today and notice several threads of the drain plug are exposed. Picture below. Is this normal? It seems like it is in pretty tightly but I'm someone who worries about everything. My guess is it hasn't been removed in years. I'm not sure if I need to try to force it to screw in further or if I'm overthinking this.

 

[wspitler]

It’s probably fine. That is a tapered, brass fitting (NPT). It will not completely seat, if it was me, I would remove it, clean the threads put some thread compound on it and tighten it back in to snug with a wrench or maybe 20 foot pounds. Some say Fingertight plus a couple turns if it doesn’t come out very easily spray some penetrate on it let it soak. Or, don’t worry about it if it doesn’t leak!

 

[wotblake]

Thank you for

It’s probably fine. That is a tapered, brass fitting (NPT). It will not completely seat, if it was me, I would remove it, clean the threads put some thread compound on it and tighten it back in to snug with a wrench or maybe 20 foot pounds. Some say Fingertight plus a couple turns if it doesn’t come out very easily spray some penetrate on it let it soak. Or, don’t worry about it if it doesn’t leak!

Thank you for the response! I have no need to remove it right now. I just wasn't sure if there is any chance of it backing out under operation/vibration. That's my main worry.

 

[DennisG01]

Adding onto that...

Because bronze is a soft metal it seals very well on it's own without any tape/goop/etc - not that it's bad to use those things - I've just never found the need for it on dozens of my own boats/family boats over the years. Nor for hundreds of customers boats. That comment is not in direct response to Bill's comment - just my own thoughts with nothing to do with Bill's comment.

I've also done ONLY hand tight (forgot a wrench!) and at the end of the day, only about a cup of water came out. I'm not condoning hand-tight only - only reaffirming what was said above that you don't have to tighten it like you're Superman. I've never ever used a torque wrench - but I would just say "good-n-snug".

 

[seasick]

On brass plugs, I apply a few turns of tape. It make tightness easier to judge and more importantly, it makes it easier to pull the plug in the off season.