Seacocks and plugs. Stupid newbie questions

[rhino_mac]

Sorry if this seems blindingly obvious. Only owned my boat for a few weeks and trying desperately to learn everything I can about it.

I've heard a lot of issues with boats taking on water and sinking, something I'd like to avoid if possible!!!

What is a Seacock? And what are the issues with them? I have a Monterey 250 mobo. Do I have them? Can I inadvertently "open" them?

Such a dumb question I'm sure, but on the basis I only realised the other day the reason my toilet wouldn't flush was because it was on dry berth and needed sea water to fill up (the dangers of taking manuals on board to try to work out how stuff works), I don't want to do something by accident that sinks the boat.

And on that matter, plugs. Someone at the marina suggested I take mine out from time to time. I guess rainwater might collect in the bilges. Am I right in thinking the plug is the metal "screw" for want of a better description below the leg that has a 10mm (ish) square "nut" on, held into the hull with four screws. Do,I just remove it with a spanner and allow any water to drain out, then refit? Does it need sealing with any special sealant or will screwing it in suffice?

Thanks for your help. Sorry if this seems obvious!

 

[Tranona]

If you have a sea toilet then you will have two seacocks. One to let the water in which will be 3/4" diameter and a 1 1/2" diameter at the outlet. They will be almost certainly be ball valves operated by a lever turned through 90 degrees to open or shut. Make sure they operate smoothly. Common to leave them closed when you are not using the toilet, but not essential. Also common to have a wooden bung hanging nearby to plug the hole in the very unlikely event of them failing.

I suspect the other bung you are talking about is so that you can drain the bilge when the boat is out of the water. Best to check with the owners manual to be certain.

 

[VicS]

Sorry if this seems blindingly obvious. Only owned my boat for a few weeks and trying desperately to learn everything I can about it.

I've heard a lot of issues with boats taking on water and sinking, something I'd like to avoid if possible!!!

What is a Seacock? And what are the issues with them? I have a Monterey 250 mobo. Do I have them? Can I inadvertently "open" them?

Such a dumb question I'm sure, but on the basis I only realised the other day the reason my toilet wouldn't flush was because it was on dry berth and needed sea water to fill up (the dangers of taking manuals on board to try to work out how stuff works), I don't want to do something by accident that sinks the boat.

And on that matter, plugs. Someone at the marina suggested I take mine out from time to time. I guess rainwater might collect in the bilges. Am I right in thinking the plug is the metal "screw" for want of a better description below the leg that has a 10mm (ish) square "nut" on, held into the hull with four screws. Do,I just remove it with a spanner and allow any water to drain out, then refit? Does it need sealing with any special sealant or will screwing it in suffice?

Thanks for your help. Sorry if this seems obvious!

Seacocks are the valves on any pipework connecting with the sea.

Typical places would be on the inlet for the toilet, the cooling water inlet for an inboard engine, the toilet outlet, galley sink outlet, heads washbasin outlet cockpit drains. Shower and bilge pump outlets too perhaps

Some people are particular about always closing them when not in use. Others only close them when leaving the boat, some never normally close them at all but it is a mistake to allow them to seize up so should be operated sufficiently frequently to prevent this happening at the very least.

Cannot help with any drain plugs you may have.

 

[gordmac]

There will be various holes in a hull to let water in and out, toilet (in and out)and water for cooling the engine for example. On each hole there will be a valve on to which the hoses for the water will be connected (with two stainless hose clips), these valves are seacocks. If there is a problem with for example the hoses the seacock allows the hole to be blocked off preventing water getting in and flooding the boat. Not everyone does this but it is normal to shut all the seacocks when the boat is left in the water, don't forget to open them before use though. Issues are uncommon, sometimes the handles are mild steel and corrode, valves can seize if not operated occasionally. It is possible but highly unlikely the seacock can break off the hull, carrying a selection of tapered wooden plugs that can be inserted in the hole is sometimes done.
I don't have a lot of experience with drain plugs, any I have seen have been plastic and can be undone by hand. Removing the drain plug when ashore is probably a good idea but don't forget to replace it before launching.

 

[PhilipH]

There are no stupid questions on here, only stupid answers from time to time - none on this thread I add hastily.

Seems that there is probably a lot you do not know about your boat, and before going too far you should locate and understand what everything does - not the same as knowing exactly how it works and being able to fix it, but knowing the role of the various bits of plumbing and electrical items etc. For example, if you found water in the bottom of the boat would you taste it to see if it was sea water or fresh water? The answer is 'yes'. If fresh do you know where the fresh water tank is and the pipe runs and joints?

Hope I am not insulting you, just trying to help.

Good luck

 

[boguing]

Without seeing it, I have no idea what that plug you are describing is for, but seriously doubt that it's a water drain. Square suggests an oil drain?

We boaters tend to love giving advice. Getting us to shut up is a bigger problem.

So ask a marina neighbour to help you find them.

Almost certainly two for the loo and one for each basin. Another for the engine.

Larger boats, such as yours, don't have have hull drain bungs. Bilge water is pumped out. You should have a manual pump, and may have any electric one. These typically exit through skin fittings above the waterline, so no sea-cocks on them.

Cockpit drains let the water out, usually underwater, but almost never through sea-cocks, because they need to be 'always on' and the connection is often a solid pipe.

The echo sounder and speed log may well have their own holes and special fittings.

So. Your boat might have nine underwater holes and two above.

The only thing that could be described as a plug is the cap that you fit to the echo and log when you remove the sensors for cleaning or when lifting strops might damage them. That's a special bit of boat owner fun. You remove the locking ring and pull the sensor out, leaving a 2" hole in the hull. With experience you can do it with just a pint coming in...

 

[VicS]

And on that matter, plugs. Someone at the marina suggested I take mine out from time to time. I guess rainwater might collect in the bilges. Am I right in thinking the plug is the metal "screw" for want of a better description below the leg that has a 10mm (ish) square "nut" on, held into the hull with four screws. Do,I just remove it with a spanner and allow any water to drain out, then refit? Does it need sealing with any special sealant or will screwing it in suffice?

How about posting a photo or two of this plug and its location ?

 

[rhino_mac]

Thanks for all the replies. what with the PB2 and own boat training, finding and surveying a boat and then trying to navigate Poole harbour without a plotter etc its been a pretty steep learning curve.

all this seems to make more sense now so thanks for that. I'm down the marina on Monday so will take some photos and post them up.

embaressing but the toilet is the one thing that has made me scratch my head the most. the manual is all about plumbing it in but not how to use it. there is a black water tank and macerate on board but can you discharge it to the sea (if far enough out) or does it need to be pumped out? it's all a bit of a mystery at the moment and if my three year old gets caught short it would be nice to have a working loo on board!

 

[Tranona]

You may, or may not have a pump out. If you have it will look like a filler cap on deck with "Pump out" cast into it. Mostly useless as there are very few pump out facilities, although there is one in the Poole Yacht Haven.

When you pump your waste from the toilet it goes into the holding tank. When you want to empty it (at sea), open the seacock and run the macerator. You may find your seacock is smaller than the 1 1/2" I suggested earlier because macerators use smaller bore pipes. If you are lucky you may have a gauge indicating the level in your holding tank, but usually you have to guess!

If you are sensible you will avoid using the onboard toilet as much as possible.

BTW best to have a paper chart for Poole Harbour. Nothing particularly difficult about it once you get the hang of what the red and green posts mean!

 

[Ripster]

I had a Monte 250 and you will have sea-cocks (ball valves) for the toilet and the cooling inlet for the engine. Mine used to get rain water in the bilges regularly - nothing to worry about, just run the bilge pump to clear it down, then use a manual pump with a tube to get the rest out if it bothers you. I never needed to remove the rear drain plug, just used pumps. Its generally good practice to close the valves if they are not in use and below the water line - though as has been said not essential.

 

[William_H]

Hull drain plugs

These tend to be found on trailer type motor boats. On a mobo the bottom of the transom is the lowest point of the hull so when on a trailer it is easy to tip the stern down a little and take out the plug to drain the whole bilge. On sail boats the hull tends to be lower around the keel and on larger mobo it is not easy to tilt the boat to drain so drain plugs are not provided.
So if you have a screw plug about 2cm diameter in the centre of the transom, it probably has a rubber washer so no problem provided you refit it before putting the boat in the water.
There may however be plugs in the Aluminium leg that are for oil filling or similar. They are not for draining water or if they are it is for the engine cooling system. good luck with the new boat olewill