seacock nipple leak

[njl]

Hi - this is my first post. I'm hoping someone can give me some good advice.

I recently bought a Westsail32 which mainly has a bunch of cosmetic issues to take care of (dirty, smelly, peeling varnish). However I've noticed that whenever it rains, the engine area below the cockpit fills with a gallon or two of water. I noticed the cockpit drain hose was stiff and had a stripe going down it from water trickling. As long as it doesn't rain, the area is dry, so probably the actual drain fitting is leaking; anyway I decided to replace the hose as a first step since the old hose didn't look safe.

I cut some new hose to size and took off the old hose with the seacock closed. The seacock drips a little bit when closed and probably hasn't been greased in a long time. It's also quite green with corrosion, but doesn't look structurally damaged. When I put the new hose on, the seacock nipple loosened and could actually turn all the way around which doesn't seem right to me. I turned it a few times to see if it would tighten, but it didn't seem to be threaded.

Anyway, I clamped the hose on, opened the valve and water started pouring out - not at the hose connection, but between the nipple and the seacock. I quickly closed the seacock and used duct tape as a temporary sealing measure, then opened the valve again. I checked for drips over the next several hours and it seemed ok, but I'm not too happy about relying on duct tape in such a crucial spot...

What would be the best thing to do at this point?

One other question - is it normal for a seacock to drip a bit - or if it's greased properly will it seal completely?

 

[MrBee]

I'm no expert but it sounds to me like the nipple was already corroded through and when you started working with the hose it broke loose. If this is a nipple that screws into the Thru hull then you will need to remove it and replace. since it is just for the cockpit drain I would leave the seacock closed till you figure it out. I WOULD NOT leave the boat with ducktape as the only thing keeping the water out.
Also I would take this as a sign that ALL the other thru hulls need close examination .

Brian

 

[RAD]

I agree with MrBee you might have broken the nipple or it was stripped before you touched it and now you made it worse.....be prepared to haul the boat if that seacock is damaged or wait till the end of the season and direct the cockpit drain hose to the bilge

 

[Ross]

In the distant past someone probably used a brass hardware store nipple instead of a BRONZE nipple. With the seacock closed remove the bad nipple and clean the female threads. Get a bronze replacement and apply plenty of pipe joint compound and put it back in.
However the hose should be going to a barb not a pipe nipple. You should have a fitting with a male thread and a barb. A nipple has threads on both ends.

 

[njl]

Brian's right - not smart to re-open that seacock. I'll have to swing by and close it asap.

I'll look for a replacement barb and hopefully swap it next weekend.

Any takers on my second question: is it normal for seacocks to leak a bit, or should a properly greased seacock seal completely?

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[Ross]

It is not proper for any valve to leak.

I had a friend who told me that he had a small leak in a pipe in his basement. I asked how small. He said about a pailful a day. I told him that it was a serious leak and we needed to fix it right now..

 

[Merlin Clark]

Brian's right - not smart to re-open that seacock. I'll have to swing by and close it asap.

I'll look for a replacement barb and hopefully swap it next weekend.

Any takers on my second question: is it normal for seacocks to leak a bit, or should a properly greased seacock seal completely?

Thanks for all the replies!

They should seal if the surfaces of the tapered plug and the inside of the seacock are in good shape.
If they aren't too far gone, these surfaces can be cleaned up using lapping compound. http://earlylight160.110mb.com/SeacockMaint.html
When I bought my Chris Craft Carribean something like 6 of 8 of the tapered plug seacocks were frozen open. After quite a circus of getting them freed up, I lapped them all and 1 had a very slight leak afterwards but not enough to cause me to replace it. I was more agressive than is described in the article, I just kept going until the felt as smooth as I thought they were going to get.

 

[njl]

Ok. Thanks for all the replies. I will look more into lapping. I plan to haul the boat next month so I can clean and paint the bottom. At that time I'll check all thru-hulls and make sure all seacock valves close completely.

I'm definitely not a fan of thru-hulls and my boat has 7 below the water line. I'm going to seriously consider removing a few and glassing over when I haul.

While we're on the topic, does anyone have experience with Marelon or other FRP/carbon fiber seacocks? I like the idea of a corrosion-proof valve.

 

[Ross]

A good grade of bronze will last longer in seawater than any of us will live.

 

[RAD]

If and only if the valve is in a spot that nothing could fall on it would I consider a Marelon valve and as Ross pointed out bronze is forever but you could save a boat load of money by just spending the day and service the seacocks

 

[Maine Sail]

Ok. Thanks for all the replies. I will look more into lapping. I plan to haul the boat next month so I can clean and paint the bottom. At that time I'll check all thru-hulls and make sure all seacock valves close completely.

I'm definitely not a fan of thru-hulls and my boat has 7 below the water line. I'm going to seriously consider removing a few and glassing over when I haul.

While we're on the topic, does anyone have experience with Marelon or other FRP/carbon fiber seacocks? I like the idea of a corrosion-proof valve.

If you have a nipple you may not have tapered cone seacocks. Most tapered cones bolt directly to the hull and have a built in hose barb as there is little depth to put female threads into the body.

Where is this "nipple" is it on the inside/hose side of the valve or the hull side of the valve?

Marelon is good but does require greasing/maintenance. They also like/need to be "exercised" or used often to keep from seizing up. There are no other plastic ABYC/UL seacocks avaialble other than Marelon.

 

[njl]

If you have a nipple you may not have tapered cone seacocks. Most tapered cones bolt directly to the hull and have a built in hose barb as there is little depth to put female threads into the body.

Where is this "nipple" is it on the inside/hose side of the valve or the hull side of the valve?

I don't know if it's the right terminology, but what I'm calling nipple or barb is what the hose slides onto - it screws into the body of the seacock and is not tapered. Possibly it's brass because it must be overly corroded. I'll make sure I get a bronze replacement and hope the thru-hull is sound.

I'll probably avoid the plastic seacocks - thanks Ross & Rad - makes sense.

I'm going tomorrow morning to close the seacock that I stupidly left taped... hopefully my boat will be floating.

 

[RAD]

While your there take a picture of the seacock and play show and tell with us

 

[njl]

Here are a couple pics showing the seacock in question. They were taken shortly before I changed the hose.

 

[Merlin Clark]

The nipple is called a tail piece http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?16130
And the Marelon fittings are very strong but I'd stick with what you've got there. You could pass the bronze ones on to the great, great grandkids.

 

[Snotter]

If it is practical, you might consider jamming a tapered wooden plug into the opening of the thru hull while diving in the water. I wouldn't trust your seacock, opened or closed.

 

[Maine Sail]

Here are a couple pics showing the seacock in question. They were taken shortly before I changed the hose.

Those look like old Groco's. The top fitting is usually male NPT pipe threads and you'll need a female NPT hose barb/tailpiece.

Do not replace them unless they are the model with the rubber pieces you can no longer get. Those seacocks can last for a good long time.

 

[njl]

If it is practical, you might consider jamming a tapered wooden plug into the opening of the thru hull while diving in the water. I wouldn't trust your seacock, opened or closed.

That would probably be best, but I'm loathe to swim in the hudson—especially this marina water.

I passed by the boat before work—still floating (!)—and I'm relatively ok with the seacock being closed until I haul the boat probably in the next few weeks. And it sounds like I can hang onto the existing seacocks and coax them back into proper condition rather than swapping for Marelons.

Thanks for the info on terminology merlinuxo - should help in locating replacements.

 

[Prime Time]

Here are a couple pics showing the seacock in question. They were taken shortly before I changed the hose.

They could be Spartan?

 

[Maine Sail]

They could be Spartan?

Spartan's are a two bolt flange and the handle is different.. Wilcox Crittenden's were also two bolt on the later ones and would take a Spartan handle but early Wilcox seacocks were round flange and square handle peg... It was hard to tell the early Groco's from the early Wilcox...

The later Groco's were the ones that were problematic. They had a plate with two bolts that held the cone assembly in place and they too had moved to a two bolt flange. IIRC they were called the SV series but the op does not have Groco SV's..