cockpit drain valves stuck open

[HTS]

I was down at the boat today. Hustler 30 1971. I discovered the cockpit drain valves which are located on the hull side are stuck closed. I've done the easy bits with WD40 and they still will not move.

Would you be concerned about this? I'm thinking what's the worst that could happen.?

I have 2 soft plugs ready to bang into then should the hose give up for any reason but I'm struggling to convince myself that they are an issue. My last boat did not even have shutoff valves ...maybe I should remove them and forget about it.

All suggestions welcomed.

 

[[70521]]

You would be better off using a penetrating oil. WD40 is a water repellant.

I'd want the valves fully open, just uncase you took a big green on in the cockpit and don't want to turn it into a bath.

 

[pvb]

I wouldn't worry unduly about seized cockpit drain valves - you need them to be open anyway. Cockpit drain valves are interesting because they start to question the logic of those people who say you should shut off all valves when you leave the boat. Except they say that cockpit drains can be left open. If that's the case, why not leave the others open anyway?

 

[prv]

I'd want the valves fully open, just uncase you took a big green on in the cockpit and don't want to turn it into a bath.

Or even just filled up with rainwater. Where's the water going now if the drains have been closed for months?

Pete

 

[[70521]]

Or even just filled up with rainwater. Where's the water going now if the drains have been closed for months?

A freshwater bath, the height of luxury.

 

[neil1967]

We have two cockpit drains and so we close one when leaving the boat as one is more than enough to cope with rain in the cockpit and you are reducing the risk that one might unexpectedly split. I would certainly want both cockpit drains to work well - we always exercise the valve of the one that we leave open to ensure we can close it in an emergency. Having bungs is fine (we have them too) but if the pipe splits a bung won't be any good unless you can get the pipe off, which, in my experience is always a pain.

 

[V1701]

It doesn't matter what happens to the hoses if the valves are seized closed. Penetrating oil reapplied and left for a few days should eventually do the trick...

 

[Alan S]

Stuck closed or stuck open? Your thread title says open then you say closed!

 

[pvb]

We have two cockpit drains and so we close one when leaving the boat as one is more than enough to cope with rain in the cockpit and you are reducing the risk that one might unexpectedly split. I would certainly want both cockpit drains to work well - we always exercise the valve of the one that we leave open to ensure we can close it in an emergency. Having bungs is fine (we have them too) but if the pipe splits a bung won't be any good unless you can get the pipe off, which, in my experience is always a pain.

How is a pipe suddenly going to split? There's virtually no pressure on it.

 

[Poignard]

How is a pipe suddenly going to split? There's virtually no pressure on it.

It's tempting to wonder whether seacocks are necessary at all on cockpit drains.
I have some books by the famous designer Howard Chappele showing designs where the drains consist of lead pipes leading to skin fittings that have no cocks.

 

[john_morris_uk]

It's tempting to wonder whether seacocks are necessary at all on cockpit drains.
I have some books by the famous designer Howard Chappele showing designs where the drains consist of lead pipes leading to skin fittings that have no cocks.

Our daughter’s Pandora was built with a slide out galley. From under the cockpit to port where you’d normally expect to see a quarter berth, the worktop (?! ) then stove, then sink slides out in one ‘galley unit’. The last thing to appear is the sink which is self draining via a flexible hose to a completely inaccessible skin fitting near the back of the galley stowage with no seacock! A seacock is about to be added with an access hatch through the cockpit seat upright to allow your arm in to turn it on and off

 

[RichardS]

Stuck closed or stuck open? Your thread title says open then you say closed!

Indeed.

Richard

 

[neil1967]

How is a pipe suddenly going to split? There's virtually no pressure on it.

I imagine it’s a very small probability, but if I am going to exercise the sea clocks anyway, I might as well leave one of them closed.........

 

[jwilson]

Are they old brass gate valves? it's surprising how often you find these (usually seized open) on cockpit drains on older boats, even where the other sea cocks are decent ball valves. Access is usually so bad to the cockpit drain valvess that they never get touched, and they are not something you ever want to turn off in normal use except once ot twice a year just to keep them moving.

 

[Ammonite]

Are the skin fittings above or below the waterline?
http://www.western-horizon.co.uk/boat_images/8064.jpg
IMHO designing the drains with regular skin fittings / hose below the W/L is a daft idea as hoses can chafe or perish and bilge pumps will flatten the batteries in no time if not on shore power. I appreciate the risk is low but why run it at all. If they are above the W/L its arguable whether you need seacocks at all and on the last boat (above W/L) I didnt bother but beefed up hoses by using exhaust hose so they are pretty much fit and and forget.
If they are below the waterline you just have to hope the hoses don't leak unless you want your cockpit to fill with rainwater! The seacock is only going to be of any use if someone is on the boat when the hose lets go and will probably be seized anyway unless its been exercised regularly!
On my latest boat the cockpit drains are below the W/L but the underwater element is made of solid fibreglass tube and glassed into the hull with substantial webs. It is also located where it is unlikely to be knocked so this I can happily live with.

 

[Lucy52]

There are boats on the hard here which are seldom visited by their owners that have had to be pumped out by the marina staff due to flooding from rainwater. I suspect that the cockpit drains in the OP's boat are struck open as the boat has cockpit lockers which would allow down flooding from rain water if the drains were closed.

If the outlets are below the waterline then what you do about it might very much depends on whether you are in the water or not. Applying lots of welly to them in the water might not be wise.

 

[awol]

In those far off pre-Covid times when having friends on board was a normal thing we found that with more than 10 visitors closing the cockpit drains prevented wet feet. It also drained the gin stock!

 

[Stemar]

My cockpit drains are high quality bronze castings. Unfortunately, the innards are brass, well, copper now. They haven't worked since I bought the boat 15 years ago, probably because the previous owners never used them either. Clear plastic pipe and a wooden bung tied to each mean I don't spend my nights worrying about them. If something disturbs the drains when I'm not around, I figure they'll be the least of my worries.

 

[V1701]

I close the cockpit drain seacocks on the Bowman 26 whenever I go up a river or something (i.e. fresh water). She sits so low in the water that when in salt water the water level is about two inches down from the top of the cockpit drains, in fresh water I have an inch or two of water in the cockpit
I know you can get those one way valve things but doubt I'll ever get round to fitting them...

 

[vyv_cox]

There are boats on the hard here which are seldom visited by their owners that have had to be pumped out by the marina staff due to flooding from rainwater. I suspect that the cockpit drains in the OP's boat are struck open as the boat has cockpit lockers which would allow down flooding from rain water if the drains were closed.

If the outlets are below the waterline then what you do about it might very much depends on whether you are in the water or not. Applying lots of welly to them in the water might not be wise.

A few years ago a boat ashore in Leros filled over winter as you describe due to closed cockpit drain valves. The cradle sunk some depth into the yard due to the weight of water and the boat suffered considerable structural damage.