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Starfish wrote:Thanks, Rich, for your quick reply.
Well, I have three out of five seacocks leaking. I don't know what to do about this. If I let the yard work on them and they still leak, I'll have the expense again, of hauling out and replacing them, assuming they can't be serviced because they are "too far gone". Somehow, I find that hard to believe, but I suppose it could be. The boat isn't new, and the party who owned her before me, probably hadn't serviced them in a while.
Isn't there any way to test them before launching to see if they are ok??
Linda
I'm sure OJ has some good advice for you. I did think of one other possibility. The seacocks are matched sets, body and barrel. If they mixed them up they won't seat correctly. I don't know how you would figure this out other than trial and error.
We don't know where in the world you live. Is it possible that they were left closed over the winter and froze? If yes then they may have been damaged by ice.
I wanted to thank all of you for your quick and informative, helpful responses.
We are getting the boat hauled today and having the yard where she's at redo the servicing. I asked them to follow the Spartan instructions for lapping, and I did know not to mix them up and interchange parts. I am hoping that the yard knows this as well. As it is, I get the impression folks down there are thinking that I am some fanatic, but all I really wanted is for the job to be done properly and the boat not to have leaking seacocks! How could one feel safe aboard when they aren't secure?
I will mention the out-of-water testing process, but once again, I get the impression no one is liking "being told how to do their job".
I do have one other issue, just discovered, and opening a new can of worms, I suspect. There's a lot of water under the engine, in the pan. Don't know where it's coming from, but I did read other postings about this problem. When the boat's out of the water, I guess we'll check this out as well........what fun!
We had this problem at the start of the season - boat launched, not yet out of the sling, and a slow drip at the galley seacock. it was lifted out, and we tried to lap it while still in the sling. dipped it back in, but the slow leak remained. I think minor pitting and perhaps some water freezing over the winter made it a situation that required replacement.
hopefully all of yours can be fixed. should any need replacement, we found Spartan didn't stock the one we needed, and it took a few weeks for them to get it to us (perhaps they make them to order these days?) in the event you want to get a handle on their supply in advance.
You really should not be having all of these difficulties with your seacocks. The Spartan seacock is a beautifully designed product and is very easy to service and make leak free. There are a few simple steps that a person needs to take to avoid problems and prevent leaks. The maintenance is very straight forward and you should not need a yard to do this work unless you are just not confident in dealing with underwater hardware issues. The mere thought of "underwater hardware" sometimes scares people away from performing the service needed.
I strongly suggest you look back into the archives on this board for all posts pertaining to seacock maintenance. I know that at one time I had posted a very detailed procedure on the steps necessary for restoring and servicing a Spartan seacock. There is a definite procedure you should follow and there is also a materials list you should use.
Seacock parts must match, in other words do not interchange the plugs, bodies and washers between the different seacocks. Use proper lapping compounds in two different grits, one at a time. Do lapping in complete rotations, not back and forth motions. Always wash the seacock parts in kerosene after lapping procedures and between grit changes. Kerosene preserves and lubricates bronze. Use a tenacious waterproof grease liberally prior to reassembly (I highly suggest Morey's Super Red which I extensively tested long ago before introducing it to this board). It has proven it's worth with many owners and is well worth the effort to obtain it. Do not overtighten parts when reassembling seacocks. Grease is what seals them, not tightness. Too tight and you squeeze out the lubricating and sealing grease. The grease is your water barrier, that is why the grease quality and it's tenaciousness, longevity is so very important. Lanolin based grease is also good but it doesn't have the greatest longevity, better used on turnbuckles rather than seacocks.
If you print out the detailed steps outlined in the archived posts on seacock maintenance you shouldn't have any difficulty doing the job yourself and save the yard labor costs and also the worry that their staff did the service properly. This is a DIY project. The most difficult part may be disassembly of some binding or frozen seacocks. Remember that bronze is soft so go easy with things like hammers and 5 lb persuaders. Use professional grade penetrating fluids to help in disassembly and never strike directly on a seacock plug threaded shaft. Make sure there are nuts in place (not originals if you can help it) to strike against and be reasonable when striking blows. You can also use heat (very, very carefully) to help break free jammed parts.
With care and attention to detail you can do this job yourself and know that if a problem ever arises with a seacock in the future you will be able to handle it and not be dependant on yard personnel.
Dear Starfish,
I am not familiar with things on the 25', but on my 27 if heavy rain comes from the right direction so that a bit of water gets in through the companionway, it can find its way down into the engine pan. Of course, water may be coming out of your engine hoses somewhere, but consider this less serious possibility as well.
Best, Bob
Bob Owens wrote:Dear Starfish,
I am not familiar with things on the 25', but on my 27 if heavy rain comes from the right direction so that a bit of water gets in through the companionway, it can find its way down into the engine pan. Of course, water may be coming out of your engine hoses somewhere, but consider this less serious possibility as well.
Best, Bob
Other possibilities:
Stuffing box in need of adjustment or packing replacement;
Raw water pump with worn seals in need of replacement;
Leaking raw water hoses.
If you're in salt water, taste the water and see if it's salt or fresh. Saltiness would tend to indicate the above.
It is so good to see so many others offering advise on seacocks. Parfait's head is plumbed to the holding tank permanently, the intake is closed and I use fresh water to aid in flushing when necessary. No, I don't use it much.
On the 36, it might be possible to heel the boat enough to get the head seacocks free of the water. That is the only way I would start messing with them while the boat is afloat. The coincidental damage of a flooding can be very expensive even if the boat doesn't go to the bottom. We have a relatively new Yanmar and the insurance did not cover the entire costs by a long shot.
I appreciate the incredible advise I have received and decided to order the replacement seacock and have her hauled. I am too afraid of working on her while she in the water..If anything can go wrong it will....If we pull her out and recondition the old one how do we know it wont leak? is there a way to test the lapped seacock without putting her back in the h2o??
Well I got to the bottom of the seacock problem. I plugged the hole with noodle material..the commercial plug isnt long enough
and I dissassemble it . the penetrtant worked well and was able to remove the plug with a gentle tap.
the plug doesnt rotate 360 without binding at 90 and 160 or so ...
so I lapped it and reassmebled it still leaked a little so I lapped it again it is much better
is still leaks a little around the body and plug area but doesnt when closed...So I will lap it again when I have more time..this took 1 1/2 hrs to lap it tiwce....I will haul and replace when a trailer is avaialable.
Out of curiosity what commercial plug type are you referring to? We used to use only black rubber stoppers that are approximately 1" in length for say a 3/4" thru hull. We never used anything like a "noodle". I assume you are describing the pool play toy noodles, correct? I have heard rumors that others have used them but we never did and so more details on your experience with the noodle would be interesting to read about so the info can be passed on to others whom might consider that technique.
BTW, your seacock is likely still good and the reason you probably have the slight leak is because it would be impossible to do a 360 degree lap with the plug unless the handle set screw is removed and the handle taken off. It then would be very difficult to do the lap properly without the handle to use as a lever to vigorously rotate the plug while drawing the plug inward with the tensioning nut. If I understand your description properly your lapping was only a partial rotation in any direction, such as a back and forth motion say maybe half a rotaion at best, being about 180 degrees limited by the hull. That will not result in a true round plug or seacock body after lapping and it will manifest in a low spot and high spot in the part surface mating. Then when you rotate the plug you will wind up with the seepage you mentioned.
When you get the seacock removed from the boat you can just lap it again utilizing different grits, moving the plug 360 degrees in complete rotations to mate and seat the parts to a uniform true fit. You do this little by little, starting with coarser lap grits and ending with fine grit. You snug the tensioner nut little by little while doing this. Clean completely between grit changes. Finish with a thorough kerosene wash. Then your seacock should be perfectly servicable again. If your plug does not have at least a small amount of the plug extending at the handle end when the plug is inserted in the body then the seacock should be discarded. If the plug reinstalls and some of it remains exposed at the handle end after you snug up the tensioning nut then you should be good to go after a proper grease application.
