Seacocks and In-Water Storage

[Brett I. Miller]

All,

I'm contemplating spending my first year in the water. I've been exploring the bubbler options etc., but my big concern in proper seacock treatment. I've done some searching in the archive, and I didn't find a straightforward answer to how to approach this. Any insight on correct positioning (open/closed and whether there's a difference based on the particular throughhull location --i.e., cockpit scuppers etc.) would be much appreciated. Also, when closed, is there an optimal protocol for ensuring no water intrusion/retention that would lead to dreaded freezing, distortion and, worse, bursting. I'm hopeful there's an easy approach to this. I have all original Spartans, btw.

Also, my marina has had a stray current problem the past couple of years, which has resulted in pretty quick zinc deterioration. I've rigged a sacrifical zinc for added protection, but I was wondering what the collective view is regarding an optimal attachment point (i.e., rigging, direct to the bonding system in the engine compartment or elsewhere).

Thanks in advance for the sage advice.

Best,

Brett

[JWSutcliffe]

I am in a large marina with a huge number of powerboats using AC power constantly, with the attendant risk of stray currents. I use a zinc "grouper" hanging off the transom and attach the clamp to the aft stay fitting on the deck, which is bonded to the boat's ground. The CD31 only has space for a Perry nut on the prop (no room for a larger zinc on the shaft), and over the course of the season I have found the grouper takes most of the electrolysis, leaving the Perry nut mostly intact.

[Jim Cornwell]

I'd say the closer the connection is to the heart of the bonding system itself, the better. A true believer in belt-and-suspenders, I've had a zinc fish the last two seasons, alligator-clipped to the backstay, mostly because it's convenient. And I've measured a small current with a multimeter, so I know there's something electrical going on. But Yankee has been going through two shaft zincs a season and, in contrast, the fish's "scales" are still visible - hardly any loss of metal. So I conclude that most of the sacrifice is happening at the shaft zinc and the connection to the backstay isn't contributing very much. Perhaps the electrical connection to the backstay isn't a good one. I'll bet (and will confirm next summer) that a direct connection to the bonding wiring or a through-hull fitting would eat up that fish much faster....

[tartansailor]

My Dad kept his boat in the water year round for many, many years. (Except for bottom cleaning and painting)
His regimen while docked was to keep all sea cocks closed!
To avoid freezing, we would dump bag after bag of rock salt in the bilge, and on week-ends we would go down to the boat and pump out any water if necessary. Of course all piping was filled with anti-freeze.
He also had a bubblier surrounding the boat.

Dick

[Steve Laume]

I stayed in three or four winters in CT. MD should be a breeze. I always leave all seacocks closed when not on the boat except for the cockpit drains. I followed the same routine for the winter.

You need to remember that the seacocks are down a couple of feet under the water. If the water is not freezing I doubt the seacocks would. I am only talking about the heavy bronze Spartans that came on our boats. Not only do they transfer the warmth of the water very well but I believe they would have to freeze pretty hard to be damaged. Salt water is kind of slushy when it first starts to freeze. I would think that if your boat doesn't get froze in solid your seacocks should be just fine.

Make sure to winterize everything just as if you were hauling then enjoy some winter days on your boat in her slip, Steve.

[Bob L]

Brett,

I keep my boat in Bodkin Creek off the Patapsco River entrance. I've kept Magdalena in the water for ten out of eleven winters. I haul every second year to clean and paint the bottom, check for blisters (none since 2000 and then only 3 small at the water line).

As far as seacocks, I pour antifreeze down the sinks, in the head and out the seacocks, closing the seacocks as soon as I can after pouring the antifreeze. I have never had a problem. Our marina owner puts out bubblers which keep any ice away from the hull. Even then, the thickness of the ice has never been that thick to really matter.

As far as electrolysis, I disconnect from shore power and keep a sacrificial zinc in the water attached to the backstay. For a few seasons there was a lot of disintegration of the zincs. It turned out to be caused by one of the boats in the marina. When the boat moved on to a different marina, the voltage difference between the boat's "ground" and the water was about 0.7 volts and dropped to about 0.2 volts after he left.

Your being in the West River should be even better than where I'm at because of the salinity difference (as far as ice is concerned), so I wouldn't worry too much, particularly if you live near your boat (I live in Wisconsin).

[M. R. Bober]

If your seacocks have drains (Spartan's do,) remove -in the case of Spartan--the two screws to drain any water trapped in the plug.

I leave the screws out all winter, but it probably isn't necessary. Put them in a safe place as many Spartan seacocks use an almost impossible to find bronze screw (12-24 Pan head,) see: http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic ... s+seacocks

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where we have winter southern style,) VA

[Brett I. Miller]

Thanks all for the replies. Very helpful -- as always.

Best,

Brett

[Dixon Hemphill]

If your boat is in the Chesapeake and in the water during this coming winter, go with Steve Lauame's suggestions and you can't go wrong.

I'm about to winterize my CD28 with antifreeze in the engine, head, water tank and holding tank (the last three are almost empty) and replace the oil with a fresh batch. This is all I need to do to be sure the boat will survive the winter.

I think there is too much concern about getting through a mid-Atlantic winter these days. Just do the basics and you'll be fine.

[Warren Kaplan]

I know you fellas use a voltmeter to measure stray voltage in the water around your boats. How exactly do you do that? Is it as simple as just sticking the two voltmeter leads in the water or do you have to connect one lead up to something else, like the backstay of your boat? What setting on the voltmeter do you use? I feel embarrassed to ask the question. Actually....I don't! Who better to ask than this group!!!

Thanks

[Jim Cornwell]

The measurement I made was of any voltage potential between the boat's bonding system and the zinc fish I was using. So I connected the multimeter's leads between the backstay and the alligator clip on the end of the fish's cable. I don't recall the reading, but it was a small fraction of one volt DC.

Most multimeters have an AC scale and a DC scale. The DC scale is indicated by 'V' surmounted by a solid line above a dashed line. Set range for milliamps to get the most sensitive reading.