A bung for the job ?

[pugwash]

I had a RNLI sea-check done the other day and though I carry an assortment of wooden bungs I was advised to attach one with string to each of my seacocks. Fine, I can see the sense in that. But how is a seacock likely to fail? If the hose fails you can just turn off the cock. None of my seacocks is likely to be hit by something inboard unless the engine falls over. A seacock struck from outside the hull will create a problem of a wholly different dimension that a bung won't help. The handle might break off but that won't affect the fitting's integrity. So I'm obviously missing something important here. What's the weak point of a seacock? Please explain.

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[LORDNELSON]

I carry a box of bungs on the boat in the pious hope that one of them may fit any hole that starts letting in water. I have always resisted tying them with bits of string to each seacock because, like you, I doubted if there was much point in the exercise. Possibly better to tie one to the log skin fitting and the sterngland; but I think better in a box where they can be located and taken to the site of the leak. It seems unlikely that, short of a lightning strike, all skin fittings will fail at the same time. I have used bungs on the boat twice - both times have been inserted from outside the boat so that I could, in one case, take the boat to a boatyard to haul out and fit a new skinfitting and hose and on second occasion to be safe when changing a hose when afloat.

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[oldsaltoz]

"Some" sea-cocks are prone to failure, causing the sea-cock to fall inboard under light pressure when the exterior section / flange separates from the main body.

In this instance you will require a bung that fits into the hole that was cut to take the sea-cock, as this is normally about the same size as the hose, a tapered bung will do the job just fine.

<hr width=100% size=1> Old Salt Oz /forums/images/icons/cool.gif Growing old is unavoidable. However, growing up is still optional.

 

[chas]

I had a gate valve type seacock fail closed - could not open it. This was due to a worn worm drive. I do not know if it would have failed in the open position - probably it would have done. Perhaps a scenario is the hose fracturing for some reason and the seacock not closing properly due to the above or some object preventing it closing completely.

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[andy_wilson]

A fair assumption is that if a problem comes along, it will have a mate with it, so consider the following (true) scenario.

You are sailing along on a sunny day and get the feeling that she's responding a bit slugishly and wonder if you have picked up a bit of net.

Sometime later someone goes down for a beer and you hear loud and clear an 0h 5H1t, and some splashing.

Engine inlet hose has parted, and in the rush to close the ball valve, the mild steel rusty handle has done the honest thing and let you know that it is no longer up to the job.

The water is already well up the side of the engine, and the flow is therefore increasing.

Do you.

1. Deploy spare crew to insert pump handles (tied near to where needed) and pump like mad.

2. Choose volunteer to insert digit in offending hole.

3. Commence search for submerged tool box and find mole grips to attempt operation of ball valve located behind battery box in swirling water.

4. Commence search for box of bungs and guess which is the best fit for the job.

5. Grab the bung that is flapping around on it's tether adjacent to the scene, happy in the knowledge that it is exactly the right size for the pipe end 'cos you tried it last time you changed the (double) hose clips.

Clue 1 and 5 in no particular order, but in well contolled panic mode.

N.B. No volunteers for 2,3 and 4 come forward due to proximity of batteries and the pungent smell that is present, but skipper is happy to stuff the right bung in quickly - first time and rinse off well due to desire to avoid losing pride and joy to the deep.

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On the subject of seacocks, on acquiring Aspire, when wishing to remove a slightly stiff seacock for a service, the stud parted with minimum of effort and the fracture was a crystaline pink. That's the weak point.

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[duncan]

don't you have an audio signal for water ingress at all? Autobilge pump alarm or seperate circuit?

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[LORDNELSON]

Last year whilst I was asleep in my bunk the auto bilge pump cut in and I quickly stopped sleeping. It really is a good idea to have an audible alarm but it would need to be loud to get the attention of crew up in the cockpit. About two years ago I was in a boat whose raw water feed hose from skin fitting to engine failed (old age) the alarm was given by the gas alarm which did not like being drenched with water. Now that is a loud noise!

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[pugwash]

Not half a dramatic scenario and I must say I hadn't thought of bungs in the context of engine hoses parting. But surely an engine hose will split rather than part or burst asunder, especially if the problem is old age. If that happened my first inclination would be to wrap the split hose with gaffer tape or something similar so the engine could continue to operate. If this didn't work I'd shut down the engine and close the sea cock. If the handle comes off then I'd cut the hose to get a clean hole and ram in the bung. Does this sound right?

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[andy_wilson]

The scenario given above had nothing to do with me but was attributed to clumsy installation of the heavy and awkward battery next to skin fitting, thus disturbing hose.

The point is that problems will compound and for a few quid and 20 minutes with the string you will have what you need, where you need it, when you really, really need it.

I don't believe for a moment that it is a requirement on commercial craft without good reason.

What I do know is the chance of water shooting in through a hole of known dimension, in a known location is far greater than the random sort that only a bunk cushion and dinghy oar can stem until you deploy the fender mat outside the hull.

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