Sea Cocks, Hose, thruhull's, etc....

[oded kishony]

I recently had a Marelon seacock fail.  :(  The thing bound up and the handle broke off.
It never leaked. I lubed it with a silicon lube every time the boat came out of the water, about once every two years. I replaced it with another Marelon seacock.

Oded

[Lynx]

I here this about 2 times a day in Fl. About 1/2 is the water intake to the motor thus motor overheating and no motor as well.

How are the boats not having problems?
Lubrication under way/in the water?
Best hose?
Best clamps?
How does a hose look worn out?
Replacement, When?

This slow death bothers me more than being run over.

[skylark]

An outboard and sealing the through hulls is one solution.

[newt]

Is this happening on your boat Lynx or on others that are partially afloat? If it is your boat- "This Old Boat" by Casey has a great chapter on fixing leaks due to hose or thru-hulls.
I bet if you threw out that fire breathing engine things would get a lot better :D

[Lynx]

Not on my boat, things are still less than 1 year old. I will want to replace them sometime and wanted some advice.

[newt]

Lynx,
My last post was not correct, the engine is a crucial part of just about anyone's sailboat and how much you have is up to you. Please accept my apologies.

Casey recommends four ways to test a hose:
1. Squeeze it- the hose should not be too hard or soft.
2. Look at it- it should not be swollen or spongy looking
3. Flex it- the hose should not show cracks
4. Poke the ends -if it is brittle or flakes off- replace it.
As he points out- "the only thing that is keeping your old boat off the sea floor is 1/16 inch of flexible rubber"

In addition he states all thru hulls should have double hose clamps. I would keep a selection of cork stoppers that fit your thru hulls handy.

Fair winds my friend!
Newt

[David_Old_Jersey]

 If you check your hoses from new you will be able to tell what is "normal" for your boat / the fitting......of course down side is that deterioration happens slowly - but in practice things do not always get checked as often as perhaps they could  ;D, so..........

Double clip the hoses for sure.

Replacement? I would say 5 years +/- unless you were doing work which made it a good idea (easy!) to change earlier.

However, it seems your set up is different from those I have always encountered - IME the raw water intake can always be shut off BEFORE it reaches flexible hose, usually part of a strainer. But obviously installations vary.

If in doubt carry a spare hose - and Gaffa Type tape (the Bodgers freind!) for emergency repairs only! (You will probably find that many of these rescues are cause by Tape used as the permanent repair and / or owners who can only locate the hose and what it does once water is p#ssing in!.....their are always different ways of defining an "unexpected" event  ::))

And a few bungs are always a comfort in the tool kit!

I would also check all your hull through fittings at the same time.

[CharlieJ]

 ;D

Or just do what I did on Tehani- take out ALL the through hulls and glass over the holes. She has ZERO openings below the waterline.

I really feel much more comfortable about the boat like that. When we got her there were SEVEN holes down there, and only three of them had seacocks!!!!!!

[newt]

Charlie,
What do you do for your intake on your head, your engine intake and your depth sounder/speedometer?
Just wondering. ???
Newt

[CharlieJ]

The head is a porta potti or a bucket, depending on where we are, inshore or offshore.

The engine is an outboard in a well.

The depth sounder transducer is epoxied to the inside of the hull and fires through the glass.

The sink lifts out and dumps overboard

Ice chest gets bailed on a daily basis and the water dumped or put into a small cooler while it's still cold, for in cockpit drinks.

We don't need a speedometer- we can pretty much judge our speed inshore and offshore the GPS lets us know miles traveled. Most of the time actual speed through the water isn't all that important.

[Gus]

The head is a porta potti or a bucket, depending on where we are, inshore or offshore.

The engine is an outboard in a well.

The depth sounder transducer is epoxied to the inside of the hull and fires through the glass.

The sink lifts out and dumps overboard

Ice chest gets bailed on a daily basis and the water dumped or put into a small cooler while it's still cold, for in cockpit drinks.

We don't need a speedometer- we can pretty much judge our speed inshore and offshore the GPS lets us know miles traveled. Most of the time actual speed through the water isn't all that important.

KISS to the standard, you are my hero CharlyJ!!! :)

Gus

[Lynx]

strange merging 3 threads from all the way back to '06. Although a good read and well worth it.

[rtbates]

OR-

You can do like I've done on Tehani.

I removed ALL the thruhulls, glassed over the holes and painted. I now have NO openings in the boat below the water line. She had 7 (yeah- SEVEN) when I started. 4 of them with NO seacocks- just pipes glassed to the hull with hoses stuck on them. Gave me the shudders just looking at the things.

Of course you have to use a porta potti if you do that, but that hasn't proven to be much of a drawback considering:)

And no inboard diesel as well. But that's a whole 'nother topic.

[Bill NH]

Just out of curiosity, where do your cockpit drain(s) discharge?  Aft through the transom?

;D

Or just do what I did on Tehani- take out ALL the through hulls and glass over the holes. She has ZERO openings below the waterline.

I really feel much more comfortable about the boat like that. When we got her there were SEVEN holes down there, and only three of them had seacocks!!!!!!

[CharlieJ]

through the aft end of the cockpit, down into the motor well and out through the hull just above the water. They were originally a pair of wimpy 5/8 diameter hoses, with kinks in them. I rebuilt them into a pair of 1 5/8 fiberglass tubes, curved to fit where they needed to be.

[Leroy - Gulf 29]

So are the glassed in fiberglass tubes for through hulls any good?  That's what I have on the Gulf rather than regular through hulls?  Below the water line?  IIRC, I think I have 8 through hulls like that and one for the knotmeter.  It's finally nice enough to work on the boat and we're suppose to have winter pollen tomorrow. :(

[Tim]

Although I certainly see the sense in it (the latest "Lectronic Latitude has a story)

http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2008-05-05&dayid=109#Story4

but I am reticent to give up my raw water intake and sink drain, my two thru hulls

The sink is tied into the port cockpit drain, so to move them would be to lose it.

[CharlieJ]

Leroy- the ones on Tehani were all in very bottom of the cockpit lockers- sticking straight up. I felt those were particularly vulnerable to being damaged by something in the lockers- say an extra  anchor.. or even being stepped on when getting something out. They just scared the heck outta me because if that tube gets broken off, you then have a hole in the hull, with zero way of closing it. I got rid of them.

Our new deck drains ( which WERE two of those holes) now exit above the waterline. I"m still not really comfortable with them and next haul out ( soon) I intend to add seacocks to those.

Those fiberglassed tubes I built for Tehani are over 1/4 inch thick- hey - you saw them when you sailed with us. They DO suck up a bit of water when she's heeled hard and driving, but it stays in the cockpit, so no problems

[s/v Faith]

FWIW,

  Marelon seacocks can and do wear out (like everything).  Faith's 1.5" head discharge seacock has developed a slight leak.

  We noticed shortly after heading up the Escambia river that the bowl of the head would slowly fill when left unattended.    Our current berth is much closer to the Gulf, so the water is more salty.  I am sure this is helping. OUr normal SOP when using the head is to open the intake and discharge seacocks and close them each time the head is used.

  We did the 'powder test' on and found no water was leaking on the sides of the bowl, so the intake valve was ruled out. 

  We experimented with various positions of the handle... slightly less then closed, or closed hard.   Did not seem to make much of a difference.

  Just someting to think about... like most things, there is no perfect sea cock.

 

[polecat]

Is there a wrench made to do this HD work?  Everything I've found (two of them- $44 & $54) is marked not for old thru-hull removal.  Anyone try to make one?
Jim