typhoon seacocks

[Simonr]

I am new to having a boat with seacocks. My typhoon has faucet like valves from the cockpit drains. When do you open them and when do you close them? Do they need to be winterized? Thanks I cant wait to sail her .

[jbenagh]

Leave them open whenever you don't want the cockpit (and maybe the whole boat) full of water if it rained. This is just about all the time. You would close them if their hose broke and was flooding the boat.

It sounds like you have gate valves. These are generally less-desirable as they can jam and don't have a positive indication of whether they are closed. If you choose to replace them, there is a lot of information about this in the archives.

Congratulations on the new boat!

Jeff

[Steve Laume]

If the boat is new to you and you don't know how old the hoses are, you might do well to replace them. When you do that, it would also be a good idea to pitch the gate valves. On the Typhoon there is very little reason to have the valves. True seacocks would be okay but the gate valves are probably more of a liability than an asset. The system may well be safer if you had good through hull fittings with hose barbs and just high quality hoses up to the cockpit drain. If you do chose this route and even if you stay with what you have it would be good to carry a soft wood plug and some duct tape.

The only time I ever closed the seacocks on my Ty was when I had four adults all sitting in the cockpit while eating dinner and listening to a concert on the beach. We had enough weight in the stern to sink the cockpit sole below the water line and flood the sole with a half inch of water. We moved forward and closed the seacocks to eliminate the flooding but could have just redistributed the weight a bit.

Every boat should carry duct tape, Steve.

[John Martin]

The above comments are spot on. I closed the "gate valves" on KnoTy Boy only when heeling a lot, in high wind. The lower one would alow water to come back into the boat. If you do this, make a special tag, to be placed with your keys, to remind you to open everything before leaving the boat.

[Steve Laume]

If the winds are high enough and you are heeling so that water comes back up the scupper you are probably already wet. If it matters at this point you can cross the hoses when you install them so this will not happen. The crossed hoses make it a little harder to access the stowage area under the cockpit sole.

I miss sailing the Typhoon, Steve.

[Markst95]

Going on 5 seasons at a mooring now with no problems, just check and tighten the hose clamps at the start of the season. Also went with a larger thru hull to help drain faster.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Mark:

Here's a question from a rookie. Why no seacocks What if hose somehow comes off of hull stem piece or the hose develops leak or cracks,etc. Would you not want a seacock to be able to quickly shut off water ingress

[Markst95]

I like the simplicity of the system. Its easy to check and very little can go wrong. If a major leak developed I would either plug the hole from inside or dive overboard and plug it from underneath(same thing I would do with a seacock that wasn't working). I keep an extra section of hose along with a couple of plugs zip tied to the drains. If I feel the need to close them I just use a couple of rubber plugs on the deck. Easier to see when I'm locking up the boat. The seacocks require much more maintenance, can clog easier, don't fit very well in a Typhoon, and have more places to leak. Also the Marelon Thru hulls are non reactive and are tough. Remember we are talking about a Typhoon here, although I feel comfortable taking her in the ocean with this setup.

Oh by the way Robert you must be getting old, we had this discussion before. Are you sure your decompressing enough on your dives? That excess nitrogen is rough on brain cells .

[Sea Hunt Video]

Oh by the way Robert you must be getting old, we had this discussion before. Are you sure your decompressing enough on your dives? That excess nitrogen is rough on brain cells .

Mark, thanks. Sorry about the repeat. Sometimes I do not remember my name. Most days I don't remember what I had for breakfast.

Fortunately, I do not have to worry about residual nitrogen in my system affecting brain cell activity. No brain, no problem

[Dick Villamil]

When I got my Ty the old gate valves were corroded and stuck/plugged closed with junk. The hoses were also plugged. I replaced the valves with new brass gate valves and new hoses. If you are in fresh water the brass gate valves should be OK since you will never have to close them unless you have a full boat and need to keep the cockpit dry. It is a good idea to work the valves regularly to ensure that they are still functional and not plugged. However they should be left open all the time. If in Salt water it would be best to get the styandard bronze valves since they will not corrode and can be disassembled and lubricated easily.