kitchen sink seacock leaking

[Nursemnr]

hello

Wild Child went on the water today. Problem
The kitchen sink seacock leaks. Unable to pull her out (tried but lake's water level is too high to get her keel back onto trailer without sinking the tow vehicle.)

Was able to use "magic tape" around the connections to reduce the leak to drips. Wish I took some pics to better show the parts. Under the sink: Unit resembles an outside round faucet handle. When turning this handle, tightens or loosens a pendulum looking part ---I guess that's what stops the water from entering. This unit screws into the bronze thu hole with only 1 1/2 turns to fit into the through hole section but the fit doesn't stay tight.. There is a rotted washer there. The more I turned the handle to tighten, the more water came in and the more resistance of feeling the part wanting to come off. Everything is held together right now with tape and fear the worse.

What should I do? She cannot come out of the water until lake level drops. She is in her slip and her owner in a panic.

Thank you so much for all the assistance that you have given me.

Wild Child
1985 Hunter 25.5

 

[dparilla]

Pray...

Here is a 2AM stream of consciousness series of answers:

First, if it is only a slow drip now, make sure the bilge pump can handle it (batteries charged etc.) I would wrap it as best as I could and then get moving to get hauled out ASAP. If the haulout is not available at all for an extended period of time, you could try one of the following.

If you can, unscrew the handle and remove it from the assembly, use an emergency bung (wooden or rubber) to slow the flow of water while you replace the washer. Then replace, and when you can, haul out and replace the whole seacock with a proper one.


If there is more damage than just the washer, you can "decommission" the through hull using rubber epoxy putty that cures underwater, often comes in a tube at the hardware store. Again unscrew the packing nut (water will flow in rapidly) and stuff the putty in the hole, then replace the packing nut...this will destroy the valve assembly, but is better than sinking the boat.

Or, remove the handle from the valve stem and cover and clamp the assembly with a length of hose (1.5 inch diameter or what ever you need to cover the valve assembly) that is tall enough to act as a stand pipe (above the waterline.) Then use a wooden bung in the hose top to seal it.

Dive the boat and plug the through hull from the outside with a bung or whatever you can stuff into it.

Sounds like a gate valve that has failed. Gate valves (they look like your back yard hose) are notorious for dripping, and should not be used as a through hull.

Invest in a standalone electric bilge pump and float switch to assist the onboard pump if it gets overwhelmed while you are away.

Do you have towing insurance? If you do, and you don't feel confident in the patch job to sail over to a facility, you can get them to tow you to a travel lift and get hauled out.

Once again, make sure the batteries are charged! I wish I could be of direct assistance.

 

[Nursemnr]

Oh I thank you so much for your information. This boat means the world to me. It's my escape from a stressful world.

I am going to try exactly what you said when I have help during the week. I do have a hose that fits. Today I have taken an emergency day and will try to cut a piece of hose, wrap around the connection, use a clamp then magic tape the crap out of it. I have no help today so pulling the piece and have water shooting in scares me. I do have plugs. Does water shoot fast and hard when the parts are apart? I never saw this done and don't know what to expect and fear doing it alone. When I do this, do I remove the "pendulum" portion of keep it in then epoxy the crap out of it? How long of a fix do you think I can get out of this? I don't even use this sink and it may be mid summer before water level is lowered.

Not only for the seacock but for possible fiberglass damage that has occurred while trying to pull her out again, she needs to come out for inspection. It saddens me when I think of all the hard work that went into redoing the stuffing box assembly, shaft work with no issues. This one I wasn't ready for.

I thank you again.

 

[neilmcc]

Getting the skin fitting out of the water

The guy in the marina berth next to me replaced his seacock and skin fitting while on the boat by pulling the top of the mast down on the mainsail halyard with a couple of hefty guys on the boat for ballast until the boat was far enough over to expose the leaking unit and secured the boat in position there until he had carried out the repair. His is a 32' boat and he looked like he knew what he was up to but the whole procedure went without any upset.

 

[Nursemnr]

thanks for all the ideas. Today I wrapped up the leaking seacock with a hose and clamp...tape it again and very little drip....then to Dollar General and bought a nerf mini football. will dive under and plug it to slow down incoming water then add an adjusting lock plug that expands with every turn of the handle. Hopefully that will last a while....lake not planned to drop in level until August.

 

[onecoolair]

Know what you mean can be kind of scary by yourself. It always bugs me when I run into some one I have not seen in a while and they ask this supid question ...still got your boat?? My reply is ussually something like this. Your talking to me aren't you??? They seem to never get it.
Lets see Ideas?....You can always go for a swim and cool off.... Corking it from the outside is an option. For now. Could just cork it from the inside. But would not leave boat unattended. What kind of insurance do you have? Some insurance companies will pay for emergency haulouts. Maybe even repairs. You should not need to be out of water very long. If you have all the parts less then an hour. Barring any hiccups. Worst case a night on the hard.
Is the through hole fitting actually cracked or as the sea-cock failed?
Need Picture to see what you actually have.
Have had to replace a sea-cock or two while in water. Just make sure the actual fitting bolted to hull is in good shape. So be careful. Hmmm?? 25'??? How far can you heel your boat over in the slip without breaking something? Replaced a through hole fitting or two that way before. Use your spinnaker or main halyard make sure all lines are properly lead no chafing or can jump a pulley chive. Swing the boom out with some extra weight just like you would do if you were aground. Once over enough lock her down good and make you repairs. When all is done let her gently back up right. Think safety first...I am sure you can find a fellow boat neighbor or two around this weekend to help you out.
Bilge pumps should always be in good working order and be able to keep up with water ingress for a short time from at least one through hole fitting.
Would not hurt to test your pumps this way from time to time on purpose.