Seacocks. Close em or leave em open?

[jfm]

Quick question/poll. When I did my RYA motor dayskip a few years ago with Sealine the instructor opened the loo seacock before going for a pee, then closed it straight after. Then in a NR/Gludy post below NR mentions a checklist for when leaving the boat, including "Close Seacocks".

Does everyone do this? I never bother closing the seacocks ever, I mean there's loads of em and you have to lift up floors and beds etc. So I leave em open all the time. Am I mad?

(I do have them greased annually, so they wont be siezed if ever I need to close them).

JFM

 

[Guest]

No, I never closem - EXCEPT on a course.

Good advice given to me was to close and open them "whenever you see them", otherwise they seize up. So praps a few times a year.

 

[jfm]

Phew.

That's at least two of us then. And neither of our boats has sunk (AFAIK). That's statistically significant enuf for me. Spose they're solenoid op on the LS?

JFM

 

[Guest]

Dunno. there's a fireproof door with a wheel thing like in cheap submarine films comprising repeated runing thru holes and close-up of wheel spinning. Quite boaty eh?

Seacocks again: have you ever seen a roving bilge made from a take-off from the primary water? In other words, hole in hull, water rushes in soo...switch primary to suck water from teed waving pipe, bigesst possible bilge pump?

 

[peterg]

we close ours whenever we leave the boat and won't be back to it for a while but leave them open whenever we're on board (sort of compromise I guess)

BTW : the only time we've had a problem with a seacock was on a previous boat when after relaunching and checking for leaks etc. we reclined in the cockpit for a beer and a snooze. After a while I decided to go down below and tidy up a bit and found water just below the saloon floor! What had happened was that corrosion had eaten away at the threaded part inside the boat but before the valve so even though it was shut water was pouring in. We had to get to Port Hamble as the Mercury crane was finished for the day and were lifted out and repaired with a new seacock in about 3 hours or so (I got them to replace the inlet seacock as well)

Now I make sure they're are plenty or automatic bilge pumps near the seacocks!

 

[Guest]

Re: BUT

for others who have the boat looked after (guffaw) by others, the "engine check" involves running up the engines for ten minutes, without checking if seacocks closed/open.

 

[jfm]

Re: 1000bhp pumps

Roving "bilge pump" a good idea. Could fit the roving pipe to a diverter valve, leave pipe dangling when not in use, then operate diverter in emergency. Best if diverter valve is r/control (morse cable) as unlikely to be very nice sloshing about in engine bay trying to operate valve if get hole in hull. And best of all you know the panic's over when the exhaust overheat alarm comes on!

Door wiv spin handle like submarine sounds very cool. Hope lots of rivet heads too

JFM

 

[longjohnsilver]

Definitely close them every time when leaving boat - have seen at least 2 boats locally that have sunk because pipes from seacock left open have either split or parted company from fitting. Don't want that happening to me!!!

 

[Guest]

I did'nt use to until I was renewing my insurance one year and noticed that one of the terms of insurance was that you shut the seacocks if leaving the boat unattended for more than a certain period (I think 24 hours but can't remember)
Why risk a turned down claim?

Nick

 

[jfm]

Re: ooer - insurance

TFT. Better check the insurance docs. Is yours wiv GJW perchance?

JFM

 

[Guest]

You've been sniffing the bilge cleaner again, haven't you? I will certainly fit such a system of roving bilge pumps, and install a small detachment of 6 inch high bilge fairies to operate them. That way, they'll short enuf to get under the cabin sole without stooping...

 

[BarryD]

Faries?

Most considerate, but where do you get 6" faries from? I need some to track dwon the marbles rolling around under my floor - you remeber the ones I lost last year, or I think it was.

Barry D.

 

[byron]

what are seacocks? Maritime Chickens?

©2001

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I know I should but I dont. I've counted 8 seacocks on my boat and thats only the ones I've found. I do regularly open/close them and wiggle the hoses about a bit and I make sure any hoses which look even slightly suspect are changed.
Another sobering thought is that a failure of even one of the smallest hose/seacock assemblies would let in sufficient water to overwhelm the average size of bilge pump fitted by a boat builder
I've just checked my insurance policy(Bishop Skinner) and there's no specific exclusion concerning open seacocks as far as I can see and even states that perils such as 'latent defects in machinery' and 'negligence of any person whatsoever etc .....' are covered so, maybe, insurance policies vary in this respect
Worryingly, however, my boat is'nt covered for being mined or torpedoed

 

[ToMo]

Lets not go there!!!

NM

ToMo

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

No, they are part of an Essex girl joke.

 

[paulineb]

See what you started Byron ? ...nm

.

Pauline B

 

[Guest]

Makes no difference on my bayliner she appears to be sinking

 

[ArthurWood]

As others have stated, if you are confident of the condition of your seacocks, hoses and clamps, leave them open, but even then it's not recommended for long, unattended periods.

 

[Guest]

I always leave mine open. When I bought my first boat i religiously closed them until I found they started to leak. No I'm of the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' frame of mind.