Skin fitting levers

[Colin K]

Hello,
I wondered if anyone had set up there engine (or other) skin fittings so that they can turn them off with a cable. I would like to turn mine off when I leave the boat for any length of time but I have to dismantle half of my saloon to get to one of them. At the moment they are pretty stiff and take quite a grunt to move them and am hoping to free them up when I lift out in a week. Initially thinking of a simple solid push/pull cable but perhaps it needs something a bit beefier like a morse cable?
Not read my insurance policy yet but presuming they would like them closed when the boat is left.

Thanks for any thoughts, Col.

 

[petem]

My insurance policy (Y) makes no requirement for sea cocks to be closed. If I recall correctly Deleted User actually checked with his and they weren't bothered. Despite that most people seem to agree that closing them when leaving the boat for any length of time is a good idea.

I've never seen cable operated levers but it seems like something that would exist.

I believe JFM has electrically operated seacocks which might be an option for you?

 

[simonfraser]

i dont get all these 'its required by the insurance' bit
so if you forget, your boat sinks, the insurance is not valid ?
surely the whole point of insurance is that we all make mistakes and mess up ??

 

[jfm]

I can't see cables working except maybe on tiny valves: ball valves get stiff in seawater use.

Electric will work. Remember the good gearboxes/motors are big and expensive. You have to buy a valve with a din flange rather than a lever handle, then the din flanged delectric actuator bolts on. Din flanged valves seem not to be available in bronze in all sizes, so I have some in nickel plated brass on a 6 year change regime.

Pete I don't have all electric seacocks; just my black tanks system. I don't have a "closed" clause in my insurance (Y)

 

[sarabande]

The Previous Owner was a RN engineer and fixed up a solid push-pull lever to the heads inlet. The thin tufnol (?) strip passes through a slot in the bulkhead, to the lever valve which is located in the for'd cabin under a berth - which means moving bunk, board and various anchory bits to operate it directly by hand.

The strip is marked OPEN and CLOSED, and I keep the valve in smooth operation so there is no real effort to work it.

[/IMG]

 

[MapisM]

I can't see cables working except maybe on tiny valves: ball valves get stiff in seawater use.

Agreed.
In fact, the only typical case I can think of are the valves feeding fuel to the engines, which can be closed by pulling a cable (either manually or automatically) in case of fire.

PS: btw, in all boats I've seen, it's just a pull cable for closing the valves - to re-open them, it's necessary to enter the e/r and operate them directly.

 

[Portofino]

They get pretty stiff quickly , the main engines because of the size .I do exercise them at least once a month .
Can’t see a cable working occasionally they need a bit of a gentle knock to to get moving .
I leave all open in the season and only close from Nov to May .
Remember if you are gonna follow a close routine every departure then may as well close all .
I think we did a poll recently and it’s soon gets double didget and the minor are skattered about etc .

You wouldn,t want to get in a muddle and close a bilge pump exit accidentally in the mele rushing to close down the boat !

We have no insurance requirement either .

 

[Portofino]

Agreed.
In fact, the only typical case I can think of are the valves feeding fuel to the engines, which can be closed by pulling a cable (either manually or automatically) in case of fire.

PS: btw, in all boats I've seen, it's just a pull cable for closing the valves - to re-open them, it's necessary to enter the e/r and operate them directly.

Yup we have manual pulls on the tank cocks by the helm ,
Buts it an oil basically and the they never get stiff - the diesel cocks .

There’s no frictional growth .

 

[Just_sayin']

Something I learnt about my increasingly stiff seacocks last week is that the WD40 I have been spraying up the inlets to free them has actually been causing the stiffness.

Apparently it reacts with and swells the (delrin?).

PTFE spray is the suggestion.

I did not know that :nonchalance:

New seacocks being fitted today ... the two really large ones :ambivalence:

 

[petem]

I don't have a "closed" clause in my insurance (Y)

Nor me, blame Android for the typo!

 

[petem]

You wouldn,t want to get in a muddle and close a bilge pump exit accidentally in the mele rushing to close down the boat!

Interesting, my bilge pumps drain above the waterline so no seacocks to accidentally shut off.

 

[jfm]

Interesting, my bilge pumps drain above the waterline so no seacocks to accidentally shut off.

Yep, which is how it should be.

 

[BruceK]

Interesting, my bilge pumps drain above the waterline so no seacocks to accidentally shut off.

So do mine and it includes +/- 8 feeds from all the cockpit drainage etc. Sits about 6 inch above the waterline. It does have a very large (for the boat size) seacock of about 5 inch. It stays open. My presumption is that it has a seacock in the event that should the boat take on water and there be a failure that the boat does not ship water from that entry point albeit there is an elbow on the internal fittings rising about 2.5 foot above the water line

 

[Portofino]

Just to be clear we have twin internal manifold s running inside ,one each side .
Start about 1M above the WL Fwds a d slope back to the outlet at the stern with is below .
To visualise think on a U.K. house the external drain pipes from a bathroom, with bits ( sink , bath etc connected)

The outlet is seacocked btw so you can close it and there an alarm in that compartment.


With Petes boat once the water level ( for what ever reason ) reaches that external say 8 inch’s ? ( guess ? ) and the there’s a problem with the pipage then it could flood the boat or it’s another way water could get in .

Bilge pumps have LED lights on the saloon consol identifying them and a audible alarm and light on the dash if any run.

Point is every exit is cocked , should the need ever arise to close them .

Initially I though it was some weird Italian style over substance thingy - no visible pepper potting of the sides of the boat , but on reflection if must cost more to do it this way particularly as the internal manifold
Have to pass through two water tight bulkheads ( ER ) to get to the stern .
Less watertight glands I guess .

The RINA cert runs out this year and I,am not gonna bother getting it re certed - survey etc .
As it now in Private use —- me
Remember this particular example , hull #12 was built as a commercial boat for a posh hotel in Capri .

Hotel has a XL 53 currently called Fiammetta 3 , Fiammetta 1 was an Itama 38 .

 

[MapisM]

Interesting, my bilge pumps drain above the waterline so no seacocks to accidentally shut off.

Yep, which is how it should be.

Do you mean that they should be above w/l (which is sort of obvious, imho) or that they should have no valves?
In my boat, drains are above w/l, but all of them have also valves anyway.

 

[petem]

Do you mean that they should be above w/l (which is sort of obvious, imho) or that they should have no valves?
In my boat, drains are above w/l, but all of them have also valves anyway.

I'd venture to say "no valves" unless someone could give me an example of a boat that has sunk as a result of not having valves in the above waterline fittings for the bilge pumps.

As I've said before.....

"Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away"

 

[BruceK]

"Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away"

You want a SUP not a boat. Personally I find your stance rather amusing considering how particular you are with the minutiae of everything else. Any hole below the freeboard should in my opinion have some sort of valve. What would happen when your bilge pump looses battery power from constant pumping of a small leak only now to face a much larger one as water flows back?

 

[julians]

"Any hole below the freeboard should in my opinion have some sort of valve"

Including the holes/scuppers for a self draining cockpit?

 

[BruceK]

"Any hole below the freeboard should in my opinion have some sort of valve"

Including the holes/scuppers for a self draining cockpit?

Yes in some circumstances yes. Mine does as I posted above. (Edit, because they drain out 6 inch above the waterline and that's the inherent weak point, not the scuppers themselves) I'm also sure you can successfully score brownie points in top topping to find exceptions to prove the rule.

 

[petem]

You want a SUP not a boat. Personally I find your stance rather amusing considering how particular you are with the minutiae of everything else. Any hole below the freeboard should in my opinion have some sort of valve. What would happen when your bilge pump looses battery power from constant pumping of a small leak only now to face a much larger one as water flows back?

I guess that if you have seacocks for the bilge skin fittings you might sink a little slower! That's if you could get to them to close them (on my boat you'd have no chance of doing this if taking on water) and they haven't seized from lack of use.

As Porto has said above, if you have seacocks on the bilge skin fittings then there's the risk of shutting them and not remembering to open them again. Now that could cause a boat to sink that would otherwise stay afloat.

I suppose the optimum solution would be non return valves. I dunno if my boat has these.

Anyhow Bruce, you're in very good company if the quality Italian brands have the same set up as you.