seacocks

Dean Abramson · Post by **Dean Abramson** » Mar 8th, '11, 02:09

John, if they are not leaking, and they turn freely, then you can do them every other year.

I used to not do them every year, on previous boats. On our last boat, all of the seacocks except the head's were in the engine compartment. So whenever I went to check the engine oil, I would grab each seacock, and open/close them a few times. This will keep them from freezing up at a bad time. The head one got used a lot, so it was never hard to turn.

I do think it is good to be proactive and just do them each year, because then you see the condition of each one annually.

It had not been mentioned in this thread: if they seep a little, lapping compound will make them seat better. The boat MUST be out of the water. Clean the barrel and the housing, and inspect the barrel for pitted spots. Liberally put the lapping paste (it's abrasive) on the barrel, put the barrel back in the seacock, and while applying some inward pressure, work the barrel back and forth for quite a while. Grind away for a few minutes. Then clean, lube, and reassemble. See if if feels that it is turning better without a little hitch at some point. Repeat the process if you think you can get things a little smoother, but don't go nuts with this. Re-assemble and then when the boat gets wet, you SHOULD be ahead of the game. But some barrels/housings are past the point of being able to seal totally bone dry. I have one like that and the rest are fine. Thicker grease may help. I recently switched to the red automotive grease, and it improved the situation with my one weeper.

Good luck,

Dean

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Mar 8th, '11, 07:18

Johnd wrote:Do the seacocks need to be serviced every year?

John d

Best is to service them every year. It takes less time to do all of them than it will take to deal with one that freezes.

Bob Ohler · Post by **Bob Ohler** » Mar 8th, '11, 08:14

Every year is best... especially if your boat is hauled-out for the winter. I would say the MINIMUM is every other year, but we service ours annually without fail.

Bob O.

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Mar 8th, '11, 08:16

Mention was made of red auto grease. Morey's gets the highest praise here and one tube will last several lifetimes.

Bob Ohler · Post by **Bob Ohler** » Mar 8th, '11, 08:30

I was waiting for that (Morey's) to come up. There are pages here on this board about Morey's Red (and alternative greases). I switched from Spartan grease to Morey's and I have been extremely pleased with the results. I like the consistancy, the price, and the feel of the seacock operation following the use of Morey's Red.

It used to be available frm NAPA and I am sure others will jump in here and tell you where they found their tube of the red stuff!

Johnd · Post by **Johnd** » Mar 8th, '11, 08:31

Thanks to all for the info. I will definitely tackle this while she's out of the water.
John d

Steve Laume · Post by **Steve Laume** » Mar 8th, '11, 09:08

I do mine every time I haul. Some times this is every two years for a summer short haul. I have not had problems with them freezing up or leaking.

Turning them from time to time and red grease seem to be all that is needed. Also not making them too tight so that you squeeze out too much of the grease is also important. Some of my seacocks have some pits and scoring. I have never bothered to lap them and they all seal well.

One thing I do between hauls is dive down and clear out any marine growth that is starting inside the barrels. I also do the engine intake and clean the prop on these summer swims, Steve.

gates_cliff · Post by **gates_cliff** » Mar 9th, '11, 16:06

Well the good news, for once I thought more thn 15 mintues ahead and my boat is still out of the water. So, I'll be able to do them without trying to see how much of the Chesapeake I can fit inside my boat.

Hopefully, I will get there this weekend and see how it goes.

Now,yet another question. How often do you replace the hoses that connect them to the scuppers? And, are there any tips on breaking them loose?

Thanks

Como No Cruising · Post by **Como No Cruising** » Mar 14th, '11, 10:38

If you must work on a seacock when the boat is in the water try placing a toilet plunger over the thru hull first. Then you can take your time without worrying about flooding the boat.
Check those backing pads periodically and replace if delamination is evident or if they are getting soft.
Hoses come off more easily if heated with hot water or a heat gun.
Will

gates_cliff · Post by **gates_cliff** » Mar 14th, '11, 12:29

That's a good idea but for the life of me, I don't see how I could get a toilet plunger over the seacock, maybe if I put over the through hull from the outside! DOH!

Actually got my boat this weekend and actually took the seacocks apart and cleaned them off and applied grease and reassembled. Well 2 of them, the cockpit drains. And...I didn't have any parts left over and I'm pretty sure I got everything back in order.

I'm still a little uncertain about tightening the bolts. too tight, not tight enough?.

While there I also replaced one of the hoses, need to replace the other one but didn't have enough new hose. And, of course West Marine was out, and it was Sunday, and I'm in Deale and there's no place else nearby. Oh well, will get more hose this week and replace the other one next weekend.

I had trouble getting the old hose loose enough to remove it, so took some channel locks and just worked it back and forth a bit and it slipped right off.

Those were the ones that were fairly accessible. If you call contoring yourself enough to get down in a cockpit locker accessible. Wondering about how to get access to the one for the engine.

Como No Cruising · Post by **Como No Cruising** » Mar 14th, '11, 12:58

Yep. Place the plunger over the thru-hull--under the water. We learned this trick when a Marelon Seacock on a friend's new Catalina broke when they were closing the seacock. Jumped in with a plunger in hand - slapped it over the thru hull and they were able to motor to the travel lift. [i]If you move the boat we recommend you take the handle off the plunger before getting underway. Incidentally, the soft wood plug is not a fail safe when a seacock breaks[/i]

Steve Laume · Post by **Steve Laume** » Mar 14th, '11, 16:38

I keep some closed cell foam plugs on Raven for plugging the ice box drain. I believe these would work very well for plugging seacocks from the outside. I would worry a bit about the weight of the toilet plunger and a rough bottom allowing it to drop off.

I suppose a plastic shopping bag, stuffed in there would work too.

I still haven't tried seacock maintenance while afloat, Steve.

Jeff and Sarah · Post by **Jeff and Sarah** » Mar 14th, '11, 18:50

gates_cliff wrote:
Now,yet another question. How often do you replace the hoses that connect them to the scuppers? And, are there any tips on breaking them loose?

Thanks

I was able to free mine by shaving off some of the hose until the wire reinforcement is visible, then I clipped the first several turns of wire with snips. It releases the hose from it's death grip every time.

The Cape Dory Board

seacocks

Re: Newb here

John D...

Morey's Red

I second the motion made in favor of Morey's

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