Cape Dory 25D seacocks

[Sea Hunt Video]

Anyone who owns (or has owned) a Cape Dory 25D have any thoughts or pearls of wisdom on accessing for service the port side cockpit Spartan seacock

I spent 3 hours today (I would have spend longer but it started pouring rain) trying to access this sea cock. My idea was to work on the most difficult one first. Clearly, this is the most difficult. I cannot access from the port side cockpit locker (too fat to get in it and too far away from engine panel cover access ). Working from behind the cabin stairway (removed), my arms are a little too short to be able to easily get to the two nuts. Even when I barely get to them I have no room to ratchet them off.

Suggestions

This is only step 1. Once I get them off I have to figure out how to service them. I will be reading Maine Sail's excellent tutorial on this subject but I fear it will be well above my comprehension level.

[Markst95]

Betcha missed the Typhoon a little today huh Robert?

[Oswego John]

Robert,

I can see that I'm just going to have to send Fifi, the college cheerleader down to Miami on Christmas break to help you with your sea cocks. After all, she is petite, agile and lithe. Piece of cake for her to fit in there.

O J

PS: Ed Haley or Mike Ritenour. What is the name of the breakfast waitress in Waterford at the end of the Erie Canal? I bet that she could help Robert out.

[Steve Darwin]

Robert:

To rehab the Spartan seacocks, this site has step-by-step instructions:
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/tape ... e_seacocks

Steve D.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Robert,

I can see that I'm just going to have to send Fifi, the college cheerleader down to Miami on Christmas break to help you with your sea cocks. After all, she is petite, agile and lithe. Piece of cake for her to fit in there.

O J

Promises, promises, yet still no "Fifi". If I did not know you better I would think you might have made up Fifi after a wee bit of grog.

Robert:

To rehab the Spartan seacocks, this site has step-by-step instructions:
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/tape ... e_seacocks

Steve D.

Steve, yes, that is exactly the site I referenced by "Maine Sail". Outstanding website. Sadly, most of it is way beyond my skills. Also, before I can even begin to try to walk through the steps Maine Sail references I have first got to figure out how to get to the seacock nuts holding the portside cockpit seacock in place.

[Russell]

Robert, nothing there is beyond your skills, that is why its clear step by step instructions, for any able person to be able to follow no matter how inexperienced.

As for reaching the seacock, cant help you there, but "Fifi" reminded me of an experience of mine.

I was in Trinidad, a local fabricator made my arch for me there. When they brought it to the boat for the first of many dry fits, I noticed one of the tubes fell in an impossible to access spot for getting the bolt fastened. I pointed this out to the workers, and they said "No problem, we have a special tool for that". I asked what they meant, and they just told me, "you will see". I was imagining some screwy shaped wrench custom made for such things. Well the day came for the final fitting, and again I pointed out the impossible to access spot. They responded with "Oh yeah, we got to go get the special tool", sure enough they left and returned with said "special tool", it was a guy who was at best 4'8" tall and thin as a rail, he crawled right into the locker, and even for him it involved some very impressive contortionist moves to get to the bolt to install the nut.

Sometimes, you just need a "special tool" to get to some of these spots. A few years later when putting on the new bowsprit, I had to pay a skinny short guy to crawl into the chain locker to get the forward most bolts.

There is a special place in hell for boat designers and builders who came up with these impossible to access spaces, especially those that contain items that require regular maintenance such as seacocks. More then once I have cursed Alberg and Cape Dory while crammed into some impossible spot that took me 30min to get into, only to realize I forgot a tool...

[Neil Gordon]

Robert,

I can see that I'm just going to have to send Fifi, the college cheerleader down to Miami on Christmas break to help you with your sea cocks. After all, she is petite, agile and lithe. Piece of cake for her to fit in there.

O J

PS: Ed Haley or Mike Ritenour. What is the name of the breakfast waitress in Waterford at the end of the Erie Canal? I bet that she could help Robert out.

Too many pieces of cake and she won't fit!

[Zeida]

If you can wait until next Monday, I will be able to join you in your pursuit of the "seacocks" adventure. But be sure to have those Miller lights...

zeida

[ch.ocallaghan]

When I replaced the backing plates and replaced/reconditioned the stbd seacocks (engine raw water and cockpit drain) last winter, I found that the bronze nuts and bolts had corroded so much that I had to use a dremel with a cutting wheel. After cutting them off, I punched the stubs of the bolts out from the inside. I found Maine Sail's tutorials to be invaluable. If I could do it, then so can you. Am saving the port side seacocks for this upcoming winter.

Final and initial condition:

[Sea Hunt Video]

Am saving the port side seacocks for this upcoming winter.

Boy are you in for a treat I can access the two on the starboard side - raw water intake and starboard cockpit drain seacock. I can also access the seacock in the forward Vberth/marine head.

It's the two on the port side that are not playing nice, especially the portside cockpit drain seacock. That's why I started with that one. 3 hours later, I remain in the same position as when I started - as does the seacock.

[ch.ocallaghan]

If all else fails, I'll take the 1GM out and crawl in there. I need to get it rebuilt sometime anyway, and want to redo the stuffing box ( now that's another impossible access )

[Joe Myerson]

Hi Robert,
Those port-side seacocks are indeed difficult to reach. I found that I had little trouble dealing with the sink drain--just remove the companionway ladder and the engine panel, and there it is.
But the port cockpit drain requires lots of stretching (or a Fifi, if you can find her). I removed the engine cover from the port locker, lay down in the locker and strrrrrretched as far as my short arms would reach. I then had to work from inside the cabin, reaching around corners (with the in-cabin engine cover also removed), and strrrrretched again. Lots of skinned knuckles later, I did it.
If you can get another person to help you, and not necessarily a Fifi, I'd think you could do it easily. I do most of my work solo, and a lot of it is difficult.
Good luck,
--Joe

[Steve Laume]

If you can't get Fifi to help out, I would suggest that you tie lines around both of your wrists and secure them to your ceiling every night when you go to sleep. After a month or so, but definitely before Christmas break your arms should be long enough to reach the seacock.

It will also make it easier to tie your shoes, Steve.

[Noel Heslop]

G'day Robert.

You have a very difficult job lined up, but everyone's advice is good fun.

No motor makes it easy to work on seacocks.

My personal experience, which may or may not help, is that I followed Maine Sails excellent instructions in full as I and a mate removed all seacocks as most were either stuck open or shut. Soda blast cleaned them up before reseating them all. A local marine diesel tradesman Bruce did the job as I was not able time wise. Bruce stamped each seacock with a number before disassembly. I did have to buy a new raw water intake seacock with strainer from Spartan Marine, as it was too far gone. Paul was extremely helpful at Spartan.

Yanmar Removed Info:
A timber boat builder acquaintance (another Bruce) gave me advice, which was check everything properly re age of Breezy by removing Yanmar. Result was a new cutlass bearing, as motor alignment was out. You would not have known this as propeller was tight when checking by hand, only because alignment was crook. Also, steel base plate holding muffler was just about rusted away, so replaced in SS. I now have minimal vibration from the 1 cylinder yanmar at idle, when I previously thought in my inexperience that solid vibration was normal!

Not sure if you need or want to go this far, as you only have the port side to finish.

[Oswego John]

Noel,

Good on yer, mate.

Best regards,
O J