Seacocks

[Ken Cross]

Best practices are sometimes problematic

I don't close ours because of a poor design. To close our seacocks I need to remove the mattress from the master berth. They are located under small access panels underneath. The ceiling is low enough that the mattress is really difficult to hold clear. The valves aren't located in the same access holes. The mattress is one piece. I haven't been able to figure out why they put them in such a poor location. The engine raw water, toilet supply, and old black water exits all have excessively long hose runs to whatever they are connected to.

I've now de-commissioned the head dump and I'll most likely remove the through hull on the next haulout. I still need to figure out what to do with the others. (I'm wondering if other Hunter 30 owners have fixed this?????)

On our last boat I always closed them when we left the boat except the one the cockpit drained through. That's right the cockpit drained through a 3/4 inch line below the waterline. (San Juan 28)

Ken

 

[wetass]

I close them all except for the cockpit drains. While the cockpit drain thru hulls are below the waterline, the top of the seacock is actually above the waterline (when normally loaded), so some peace of mind.

 

[helmfam]

Those under the bed aft where the engine intake and prop shaft seal are are the ones we leave open. But I made a little trap door to facilitate access to them. I still will have to take down the bedding to get to it but after reading about the lightning I guess we will be closing them all from now on.

 

[sailndays]

I recommend closing. A friend didn't and discovered a very soggy boat.

 

[Michael7974]

While I'm as guilty as most who post here about not closing seacocks, I do in the winter time and use bright yellow "caution" tape on each. I leave the tape visible from under the floorboards (engine freshwater intake) and heads. My new head pump also included a 90 degree twisting lock to keep it from back flowing, but of course that doesn't help if a hose breaks or a clamp comes loose.

Is it necessary to close off seacocks on the head, galley, and seawater intake when the boat is not in use or is it safe to leave them in the open position when the boat is in her slip?

 

[seasailor55]

I don't really like to leave any seacocks open either, but the cockpit drain seacocks on my Cape Dory 22 need to be left open or the cockpit will flood and water will eventually cover the cockpit bridge deck and seep through the companionway hatch boards into the cabin. Any suggestions?

 

[summerplace]

Is it necessary to close off seacocks on the head, galley, and seawater intake when the boat is not in use or is it safe to leave them in the open position when the boat is in her slip?

I make it a practice to shut the seacocks when afloat and not being used but in the winter when I leave them open as if there is any moisture in them when they are closed during a hard freeze, damage could occur

 

[Bruce Conron]

Is it necessary to close off seacocks on the head, galley, and seawater intake when the boat is not in use or is it safe to leave them in the open position when the boat is in her slip?

To close all seacocks at the end of the day is sound policy. Just remember to open the raw water engine intake before you next cast off. Last year I didn't one day and my Yanmar heat sensor reminded me about three minutes away from the marina. As a souvenir of that traumatic experience I now keep the remnant of my destroyed impellor that day attached to the cord that I attach my ignition key to. Also, you might inspect your thru-hull hoses annually or even more frequently, esp since your H27 dates from 1989. Do you know when they were last replaced?

 

[Onelife]

I close mine and I hang the engine key on the cooling water seacock, so I can't forget to open it...

Great idea, I will do the same!!

 

[BarryBershad]

Is it necessary to close off seacocks on the head, galley, and seawater intake when the boat is not in use or is it safe to leave them in the open position when the boat is in her slip?

I wouldn't argue with any of the people who always shut their seacocks. I wish my boat had a better design. Raw water and lube water for shaft are under our main cabin mattress and the Admiral doesn't like her bed mussed. I always keep the water for the head closed. Multiple people have told me that using seawater to flush heads leads to a reduced life of the equipment as well as a bigger stink. The only other underwater sea cock is galley sink. I'll try closing that in the future.

All hoses are double clamped. So would take a significant failure of tubing to to overpower bilge pump. Boat is plugged in on slip so battery life not huge issue.

 

[SailingCal21]

I close mine and I hang the engine key on the cooling water seacock, so I can't forget to open it...

That's a great idea! Helps you to remember to close it as well, I suppose. I gotta work that into my routine.

Yes, I always try to close my seacocks when away. And worry when I'm not absolutely sure that I closed them all. Seems that hose clamps rust through on the backside and never the visible side.

 

[FredV]

Although I live on Fred V, I close all thru-hulls AND the fresh water inlet whenever I leave the boat for any length of time over an hour. I've seen too many sunken boats to ever forget this routine!

 

[Captain Keith]

Closing all your sea-cocks is the best piece of mind. Also, if your boat sinks and the insurance investigator learns you left them open(negligence) then you're out of a boat too.

 

[We2Sail12113]

I had the unfortunate instance that my head inlet was stopped up near the end of the season. I did have the habit of closing the inlet valve, and opening it, but assumed it was a bad seacock (always close, but the handle still moved).

After hauling I checked the inlet, and found a colony of barnacles in the head inlet. My opening and closing of the valve limited their numbers, but still enough to disrupt the function.

Oh, yes, the following year and since have generously bottom painted all the through hulls on the exterior side!

Bob

 

[uncledom]

I am sure that 99% of the boats in any marina have all their seacocks open all the time. As MS and Headmistress have pointed out, heads are notorious for sinking boats, so I always kept it closed while away. The other thru hulls were forgotten. This year I replaced the galley drain thru-hull. Now that I have seen just how big that 1 1/2 inch monster is in cross section I plan to close them all when away. Will have to make a placard warning on the pedistal to remind everyone about the raw water intake.

My friend uses this method on his boat which we race on Wednesdays and I have adopted the practice on mine. Place the ignition key on or under the seacock handle so that you must go under the sole to retrieve the key which reminds you to open all the seacocks. Just remember where the key goes when leaving the boat, back on the closed seacock handle and your all set. :dance:

 

[JamesG161]

There is no simple answer (yes/no). Anytime you open your hull to sea, you have a chance of leak, small or large, even with sea cocks as the first line of defense.

1) When on the hard, changing your sea cocks is good rule. Match metals of sea cock to thru hull fitting to reduce galvanic corrosion. About $15 for a valve on my boat, if I do the labor. Recently I was cleaning in intake screen and the sea cock wouldn't shut off.

2) Double hose clamp each barb fitting and inspect your hoses. My Hunter has Neoprene hoses which are very durable.

3) Keep several wooden tapered pegs, a rubber mallet, wire ties and screwdriver as a dedicated "kit" in an easily accessible storage near the access way. This will allow hose clamp removal, insertion of the peg into a failed sea cock (or any hole) , driven into hole to stop leak. Some good sized wire ties will hold the peg in place.

4) Many boats have a high point (AW Line) loop to prevent down steam breaks/flooding. My engine cooling has that plus a siphon break. These are low risk lines.

5) The HEAD is the culprits since, body weight and "cough cough" wiggles tend to loosen the hoses. The top of the bowl is normally blow water line of boat. I replaced my Jabsco standard to their new head pump that has a "twist lock" to block the bowl water source at the head pump.

6) Check the size of your bilge pump and operation. My pump will handle a full open 3/4" line to sea. But as the Titanic designer thought, his pumps could keep up with a standard hole.. You can find flow charts thru sea cocks if you measure the Water Level as pressure ( inches of water). My boat has two auxiliary shower drain bilge pumps. I leave these powered up so that Head overflow will have back ups.

BTW you can have leaks while underway too.

Since I enjoy my boat in the berth too, frequent inspections are easy.

So....

Good boat management will add to your security on or off board.

Happy Boating...
Jim..

 

[Neilhoh]

Also, seacocks need to be exercised to make sure they are cleared of corrosion etc. Would be a bummer if you found out that it couldn't be closed when the hose wasn't attached and water pouring in.

 

[joyof10]

I don't bother to close any of them, but I am aboard on weekends and sometimes a couple of times on weekdays. It seems to me that instead of closing the through hulls, less time could be used less frequently checking the hose clamps and hoses.

 

[Ron20324]

I don't bother to close any of them, .... .

So, the next time you park your car- or leave the house- don't lock the doors.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

So, the next time you park your car- or leave the house- don't lock the doors.

At least our insurance premiums aren't calculated based on losses they incur due to things like avoidable sinkings.

Oh, wait!