seacock removal

[chrishelen]

I have removed the toilet from a boat, the surveyor would like the seacocks removed and caps fitted on the remaining fittings,
Where would I get these caps please, I am not sure of the sizes yet.
Thanks

 

[Habebty]

ASAP Supplies of Beccles. Google ASAP Marine. If just capping the skin fittings. Otherwise, remove skin fittings when next out of the water and re-glass.

 

[chrishelen]

Thanks...contacted them, hellish expensive for what they are, need a non marine supplier .

 

[VicS]

Thanks...contacted them, hellish expensive for what they are, need a non marine supplier .

BES then, http://www.bes.co.uk/products/158a.asp , or local plumbers' merchants

Ordinary brass though

 

[Hypocacculus]

Ordinary brass though

Alternatively you could use a piece of cheddar which might last nearly as long.

 

[PCUK]

Don't forget the valves are closed and the plugs are only a belt and braces measure, so brass will be OK as it won't normally get wet.

 

[Hypocacculus]

Don't forget the valves are closed and the plugs are only a belt and braces measure, so brass will be OK as it won't normally get wet.

If that's the case, fair enough but the OP said "the surveyor would like the seacocks removed and caps fitted on the remaining fittings"

which implied to me he's replacing it with a cap exposed to seawater rather than leaving the seacock and blanking it off?

Or am I just dim?

 

[VicS]

Alternatively you could use a piece of cheddar which might last nearly as long.

Not at all likely.

Brass fittings in seawater seem to have a life expectancy of 5yrs or better. In this case there will be a tendency for a pocket of air to be trapped which may help.

It may also be possible to fit full face joint washers to protect the caps.

Personally would opt for fitting plugs in the closed valves but it depends if the surveyor agrees

 

[Hypocacculus]

Not at all likely.

Brass fittings in seawater seem to have a life expectancy of 5yrs or better. In this case there will be a tendency for a pocket of air to be trapped which may help.

It may also be possible to fit full face joint washers to protect the caps.

Personally would opt for fitting plugs in the closed valves but it depends if the surveyor agrees

Fair enough. But I have to say, 5 years seems to go by awfully quickly these days and an all to easily forgotten plug is just asking to be overlooked. Call me conservative, or even craven but I'd want something a bit more "fit and forget" to plug a girt great hole in my boat.

 

[Tranona]

Don't see much point in removing the seacocks and fitting caps. If the loo were still in there, the seacocks would be performing the same function - that is closing off the water. Why not leave a short length of hose on with a plug in the end - belt and braces. However if you have no intention of refitting the loo, then remove the fittings completely and glass over the holes. BTW they will be 3/4" inlet and 1 1/2" outlet.

 

[chrishelen]

Surveyor wants seacocks taken out as they are ball valve type and I must cap the fittings, he wasn't at all happy with my suggestion of leaving the pipes on, raise the ends above the water line about a metre and seal them off. It seems that ball type seacocks ' have no place on a boat' who am I to argue?
Edit thanks tranona for the sizes. Why he couldn't have mentioned the bog issue when the boat was on the hard I don't know, could have glasses the holes over, job done.

 

[chrishelen]

Not at all likely.

Brass fittings in seawater seem to have a life expectancy of 5yrs or better. In this case there will be a tendency for a pocket of air to be trapped which may help.

It may also be possible to fit full face joint washers to protect the caps.

Personally would opt for fitting plugs in the closed valves but it depends if the surveyor agrees

I read an article the other day about new boats coming out of the yard with brass ball valve stopcocks that were failing in less that five years, one guy said he waggled the pipe on the cock for the engine intake water to get it off and the whole lot came away in his hand,good job he had a list of bungs to hand.

 

[macd]

Surveyor wants seacocks taken out as they are ball valve type and I must cap the fittings, he wasn't at all happy with my suggestion of leaving the pipes on, raise the ends above the water line about a metre and seal them off. It seems that ball type seacocks ' have no place on a boat' who am I to argue?

Either you've misunderstood or your surveyor should find a new line of work. Ball-valves most definitely do have a place on a boat (several places, actually); gate valves don't.

 

[Tranona]

Surveyor wants seacocks taken out as they are ball valve type and I must cap the fittings, he wasn't at all happy with my suggestion of leaving the pipes on, raise the ends above the water line about a metre and seal them off. It seems that ball type seacocks ' have no place on a boat' who am I to argue?
Edit thanks tranona for the sizes. Why he couldn't have mentioned the bog issue when the boat was on the hard I don't know, could have glasses the holes over, job done.

Suggest you get a new surveyor. He is completely out of date. Ball valves have been used on boats for many, many years and are almost universally fitted to new boats. They are fit for purpose. If he had said plain brass valves are suspect then he might have a case - although the evidence of real failure of brass valves (as opposed to brass fittings) is not very strong.

Appreciate you are operating commercially so need the surveyor's approval, but he is making you do something that is unnecessary.

 

[chrishelen]

Either you've misunderstood or your surveyor should find a new line of work. Ball-valves most definitely do have a place on a boat (several places, actually); gate valves don't.[/QUO..
Brass seacocks have no place on a boat, ball type, or gate type. And I believe they are brass, but how he could tell buy quickly glancing at them in the dark dirty bilge, I don't know.

 

[chrishelen]

He is quite good at that.

 

[Sans Bateau]

When I installed my Garmin speed/depth I was left with a hole in the hull where I had gone from two to one Arimar transducer. To cover up the unwanted hole I had a piece of stainless steel about 4mm thick cut with 6mm holes for bolts in each corner, this I have Sikaflexed and bolted through the hull. It might be a solution for you too.

 

[macd]

Brass seacocks have no place on a boat, ball type, or gate type.

I'm inclined to agree with you, but wonder if your surveyor is aware that he would thus have to fail a brand-new Halberg-Rassy (not mention lots of less expensive new boats)?

(If the surveyor's problem is with plain brass valves rather than ball-valves per se, it would have been helpful if you'd written as much.)

 

[chrishelen]

I'm inclined to agree with you, but wonder if your surveyor is aware that he would thus have to fail a brand-new Halberg-Rassy (not mention lots of less expensive new boats)?

(If the surveyor's problem is with plain brass valves rather than ball-valves per se, it would have been helpful if you'd written as much.)

Yes sorry, I wasn't very clear..brass not good. If I remember yachting monthly had a campaign a while back to try and get some sort of safety standard introduced after SOME boat builders were using domestic valves in new production boats.

 

[macd]

Yes sorry, I wasn't very clear..brass not good. If I remember yachting monthly had a campaign a while back to try and get some sort of safety standard introduced after SOME boat builders were using domestic valves in new production boats.

The 'some' includes HR. Lots of past threads on the brass seacock issue on this forum. I think Vyv Cox, an authoritative regular on here, contributed to the campaign you mention. His website has heaps of useful info, such as here: http://coxengineering.sharepoint.com/Pages/BrassandBronze.aspx