fear of through-hull fittings baseless?

[shamblin]

Compac Sailors,

Is there basis for avoiding through-hull fittings on Compac hulls?   I have always been afraid of them, especially those that are on the side of the boat (instead of the stern), that could get a hard knock/damage from passing too close to something.  But then I thought "what if no one has ever had a mishap with Compac through-hulls?".  I'd be pretty silly then.
Thanks.

[NateD]

The fear is usually about through hulls that are below the water line, because if the fail, the boat quickly fills with water and sinks. A through hull above the water line could leak if the boat is really heeled over, but can be fixed quickly and easily (most of the time). Above the water line through hulls don't worry me, but below the water line ones do. I've got 2 below the water line on my CP23 (head intake and discharge). I forgot to close the intake seacock once this year, and sure enough a fitting leaked. I came back to the boat a week later to find 10-15 gallons of water in the bilge. Scary stuff.

[skip1930]

I'd say so.

skip.

[brackish]

Not baseless if you intend to just forget about them, they require some attention.  On my Columbia 8.7 I had seacock on a thru hull for the head, another for the galley sink drain, cooling water intake for the engine, and one for the speed log paddle wheel.  All required attention and maintenance.  The most difficult to get right was not a thru hull but the stuffing box for the shaft.  too little clearance, you scorch your shaft, too much clearance, your bilge fills up with water.