Nuts are off........Seacock Woes!!!!

Well like I said they were other options.

How long will it take you to repair the existing seacock to your satisfaction and peace of mind? Book yourself out at £45 an hour and then evaluate the cost of doing that and then buying a new one which is much simpler to fit. It might make the decision easier.
 
thesaintlyone said:
So finally got all four nuts off of the Head Outlet Blakes Seacock which is being a bit crap to free up, probably due to well years of crap!!! :)

View attachment 60531

The Main Problem is the outside flange which I know on blakes is not connected to the internal but is rather a nut retainer. Which as I mentioned in another post was damaged see the picture below.

View attachment 60532

I spent today seeing how much of it was brittle and there wasn't a great deal of stength in the plate so I decided to remove as much of the backing plate as I could til i now only have the exposed heads in place.

View attachment 60533

So hear lies the problem as I understand from a former Longbow owner these nuts when originally fitted were put into wet epoxy or something when the seacocks were fitted into the holes so no ammount of tapping is going to just pop them out as they are embedded.


So I need to remove the embedded nuts???
Still free up the stuck Cone Which is not budging???
Tidy it all up???
Add a new backing plate and Bolts???

Or potentially replace the whole thing???


Now I know some of you suggested leaving the broken plate but I would rather know its all been sorted and replaced properly rather than relying on the brittle plate.

Thankfully this is the only seacock that has presented any problems and the other blakes are fine and I shall just simply replace the gate valves.
Click to expand...

I know that it's a bit late in the day to say this, but having another look at these photos, is part of the outer plate really missing, or is it just a great chunk of years of accretion of antifouling that has dropped off?

The reason that I ask is that in photo #3, after you have attacked the outer plate with a grinder, there no longer seems to be a bit missing.
 
DrSpock said:
Well like I said they were other options.

How long will it take you to repair the existing seacock to your satisfaction and peace of mind? Book yourself out at £45 an hour and then evaluate the cost of doing that and then buying a new one which is much simpler to fit. It might make the decision easier.
Click to expand...

Well removing the seacock bolts is part of the process anyway. And cleaning previous blakes has never been much of an issue. So if i find the blakes is pinkish then I may well replace it but I had worse looking ones on the jouster and they came up fine. Tough seacocks. Removing the plate and bolts was more of a concern because of the condition of the plate not because of the seacock. TBH if i did replace it, it would probably be with a new blakes.
Will use
I will use Trudesign to replace all of the gate valves as a matter of course tho
 
NormanS said:
I know that it's a bit late in the day to say this, but having another look at these photos, is part of the outer plate really missing, or is it just a great chunk of years of accretion of antifouling that has dropped off?

The reason that I ask is that in photo #3, after you have attacked the outer plate with a grinder, there no longer seems to be a bit missing.
Click to expand...

Cant post the original picture at the mo but there was definately a plate there. Which had lifted photo two shows the plate sfter I tried to tap it back flat at which point it broke off. I used the multitool to clear the heads after breaking away all brittle parts which wasnt difficult.
The other picture shows it more clearly but currently only on my phone.

Regards
 
thesaintlyone said:
Cant post the original picture at the mo but there was definately a plate there. Which had lifted photo two shows the plate sfter I tried to tap it back flat at which point it broke off. I used the multitool to clear the heads after breaking away all brittle parts which wasnt difficult.
The other picture shows it more clearly but currently only on my phone.

Regards
Click to expand...

OK.
 
DrSpock said:
Book yourself out at £45 an hour and then evaluate the cost of doing that and then buying a new one which is much simpler to fit. It might make the decision easier.
Click to expand...

That's just ridiculous. If we "booked ourselves out" at £45 an hour we wouldn't do anything to our boats.
 
aquaplane said:
Gate vales have no place on a boat, discuss.

Blakes valves are worth keeping.

If they are beyond redemption ball valves are the next best thing.

Gate valves are ok for stopcocks IMHO.
Click to expand...

I dont like the idea of gate valves its not particually effective in telling when its open or closed. Most surveyors and other such experts appear to sgree from what I have seen.

Blakes are worth keeping and in this instance if its kaput then I will replace with another blakes.

I will be replacing all gate valves for ball valves be it DZR or plastic composite
 
DrSpock said:
Well like I said they were other options.

How long will it take you to repair the existing seacock to your satisfaction and peace of mind? Book yourself out at £45 an hour and then evaluate the cost of doing that and then buying a new one which is much simpler to fit. It might make the decision easier.
Click to expand...

There speaks a "practical boat owner". :rolleyes:
 
When I was working freelance, I always asked myself whether it was better to pay someone to do boaty (and domestic) jobs. Although I am capable of doing most DIY, they probably do this work quicker and better than I. I could pay for it by doing my sort of work at much higher hourly rates.
Now I'm retired I don't have this dilemma.
 
ghostlymoron said:
When I was working freelance, I always asked myself whether it was better to pay someone to do boaty (and domestic) jobs. Although I am capable of doing most DIY, they probably do this work quicker and better than I. I could pay for it by doing my sort of work at much higher hourly rates.
Now I'm retired I don't have this dilemma.
Click to expand...

Thats what days off are for......?????
 
ghostlymoron said:
pay someone to do boaty jobs...they probably do this work quicker and better than I.
Click to expand...

Quicker, probably: their time really is money. And they've probably done the same job loads of times.
But better? Yes, if the job is technically beyond you and the 'someone' is skilled and conscientious.
But...

(I'm sure all these factors have gone through your mind dozens of times, ghostly. As well as the ones about actually enjoying doing (some of:ambivalence:) the work. And, not least, becoming better-acquainted with your boat.)
 
aquaplane said:
Gate vales have no place on a boat, discuss.

Blakes valves are worth keeping.

If they are beyond redemption ball valves are the next best thing.

Gate valves are ok for stopcocks IMHO.
Click to expand...

The problem with gate valves, other than has been mentioned, not knowing whether they are open or closed, is that the gate is driven by a connection that has a very small section. They will usually close OK, as this part is under compression, but when a bit of fouling takes place the gate becomes more difficult to move. I have never seen a DZR gate valve, so some dezincification is likely in the little brass part, which breaks. It is then not possible to open the valve.
 
I've only got one seacock on my boat, unfortunately it's a domestic gate valve. I'm going to replace with a DZR ball valve. I don't see any advantage in Marlon or similar to justify the extra expense.
 
ghostlymoron said:
When I was working freelance, I always asked myself whether it was better to pay someone to do boaty (and domestic) jobs. Although I am capable of doing most DIY, they probably do this work quicker and better than I. I could pay for it by doing my sort of work at much higher hourly rates.
Now I'm retired I don't have this dilemma.
Click to expand...

At least someone else understood my point!

For those of us still working and with family committments you have to balance things accordingly. As much as I like tinkering with boats, bikes and cars - if it makes more sense to buy a replacement part or pay someone else to do the job then I will.
 
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