How useful is a sea water tap ?

I have been using see water tap for about 8 years and love it. I use electric pump tapped in the head flushing sea cock, so no extra hole in the hull. The choice of faucet is important. It has to be a genuine 316 stainless or marine bronze. No compromise here. Also it is important it doesn't produce any spray and the water go only in the sink. I can't stress more, the pump switch has to be at a well visible place and conspicuously illuminated when on. Turning it it off when leaving the boat is imperative.
The saving on fresh water can be dramatic as sea water can be used for virtually everything except for washing clothes showers and final rinse of dishes. Beware: soap doesn't work with it, but dish or hand washing liquids perform well. In short: worth having.
 
We have an interesting sea water tap!

Position 1) Closed
Position 2) Sea water
Position 3) Fresh water from the starboard tank.

We love it, but only use it well offshore.
 
jiris said:
I have been using see water tap for about 8 years and love it. I use electric pump tapped in the head flushing sea cock, so no extra hole in the hull. The choice of faucet is important. It has to be a genuine 316 stainless or marine bronze. No compromise here. Also it is important it doesn't produce any spray and the water go only in the sink. I can't stress more, the pump switch has to be at a well visible place and conspicuously illuminated when on. Turning it it off when leaving the boat is imperative.
The saving on fresh water can be dramatic as sea water can be used for virtually everything except for washing clothes showers and final rinse of dishes. Beware: soap doesn't work with it, but dish or hand washing liquids perform well. In short: worth having.
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Good call that's convinced me.
 
We have a foot operated pump at the sink, the sea water inlet from a dedicated through hull; we use it so much I am adding an inline electric operated pump to use when rinsing dishes and one has to pump continuously for minutes and minutes.

The foot pump is better located in a visible and checkable position, depending on piping layout the hull thickness separating the inside of the boat from the whole ocean may well be the pump membrane..
 
I did read once of someone tapping into their engine cooling seawater circuit. Not a good idea. Engine pump sucks air in, then starves heat exchanger and engine overheats. Fine somewhere else to get the seawater, even if a seperate seacock.
 
I've got a seawater tap (and separate foot pump) in the galley. We use it for rinsing dishes prior to washing them in freshwater - but only when in open water or a remote anchorage, not in a muddy river.
My boat's from the 80s, and has a relatively small freshwater tank. I think seawater pumps were more common in boats of that era.
 
Havent read all the posts, but if you have one, I would definitely connect it up to a pump for a deck and, in particular, anchor wash. Keeping the chain clean makes for a clean anchor well, and otherwise saves a lot of fresh water if that is the only alternative. You have lawasy got a pump supply for any other purpose as well.
 
ip485 said:
Havent read all the posts, but if you have one, I would definitely connect it up to a pump for a deck and, in particular, anchor wash. Keeping the chain clean makes for a clean anchor well, and otherwise saves a lot of fresh water if that is the only alternative. You have lawasy got a pump supply for any other purpose as well.
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I have a deckwash pump, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the foot pump for salt water at the galley.
 
Zing said:
Seawater is another name for amoebic-hydrochloric-acid. It has absolutely no place in a boat. Once it gets inside it will get transmitted by it’s own surface crawling amoeba onto all parts of the boat and destroy every element of it from within. Keep it out at all costs. You have been warned.

If you have a water supply problem then get a watermaker. Nice vs nasty.
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Either seawater is the only acid with PH higher than 7 (8.1), or you should ask your money back for your chemistry course ;-). I do agree it is corrosive but it is more due to its electrolytic properties than to its slight alkalinity. While it does can cause a lot of damage if founds its way somewhere where it doesn't belong, I can't see much way how to avoid its presence on a seagoing vessel completely. A seawater tap if properly installed and used doesn't make much of a difference. Desalination is definitely the ultimate solution for those who can afford and justify it - but we are looking at megabucks vs affordable. Not for everybody.
 
Thanks for the comments and suggestions, everyone.

I like the idea of a seawater inlet having three functions:

clean offshore sea water for cooking/washing
deck/anchor wash
fire fighting

I shall ferret around and see if I can find space to put in a decent pump, some pipework, and a deck point for a quick-connect hose.
 
sarabande said:
Thanks for the comments and suggestions, everyone.

I like the idea of a seawater inlet having three functions:

clean offshore sea water for cooking/washing
deck/anchor wash
fire fighting

I shall ferret around and see if I can find space to put in a decent pump, some pipework, and a deck point for a quick-connect hose.
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The idea of a powered pump putting sea water anywhere but on deck seems to break fail safe principle spectacularly.
 
RupertW said:
The idea of a powered pump putting sea water anywhere but on deck seems to break fail safe principle spectacularly.
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I agree and while I didn't suffer a major catastrophe during the 8 years of using this system, it is kind of sitting at the back of my head ;-). I am plying with the idea of fitting a - let's say - 10 minutes timer to the pump what would practically eliminate any serious danger. So far I had always something more important to do so I am relying on 2 automatic bilge pumps and switching the system off when leaving the boat untended. I'll probably install the timer after my boat sinks for the first time ;-).
 
Following this thread as a matter of interest but... Seawater is an acid? (I can't find any trace of 'Amoebic-hydrochloric-acid', the only chemical name I can find for seawater is CH²O)

There's been a couple mentions of using water makers but some sailors tend to collect rain water (from their spray hoods I think) into a bucket and use that. All in all it doesn't look like a seawater pump is a necessary or heck even useful thing. Though it might save a few seconds out of convenience (i.e. the sea is really rough while you're washing the dishes and you don't wanna go outside...but then... why are you washing the dishes??).
 
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