The handle is visible, and it appears the motor was an add-on. I could see a use for it where the thru-hull is in a difficult area to access. Perhaps as a retrofit item -- lots of builder decisions are for builder convenience or cost savings and then the owner has to live with it. Sometimes thru-hulls are left open or unused when they shouldn't be, because of laziness or inconvenience. For example, in my boat I don't close the engine intake when I know I'm going to use the boat again within a day or two, but I do when I leave it for a week. The reason is I have to reach...

Another question is whether the controls give a positive indication of whether the valve actually moved.