Galley Sink Drains --- A Word Of Caution

[Jim Walsh]

It grew a little crab inside the scoop strainer until he got too big to get out, then the engine overheated one day. I ended up manually drilling a 3/16" center hole under water so I could get at him with a long skinny screwdriver to bust him up in little pieces which fell out.
Best wishes
Bob C

You need one of these.....

[Astronomertoo]

It grew a little crab inside the scoop strainer until he got too big to get out, then the engine overheated one day. I ended up manually drilling a 3/16" center hole under water so I could get at him with a long skinny screwdriver to bust him up in little pieces which fell out.
Best wishes
Bob C

You need one of these.....

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Wow, way cool. Everyone with an inboard engine needs one, or equivalent, like that.
Really. I also hope the non bronze fastening parts are all SS, and the strainer is bonded.
Thanks
Bob C

[Jim Walsh]

It grew a little crab inside the scoop strainer until he got too big to get out, then the engine overheated one day. I ended up manually drilling a 3/16" center hole under water so I could get at him with a long skinny screwdriver to bust him up in little pieces which fell out.
Best wishes
Bob C

You need one of these.....

----------
Wow, way cool. Everyone with an inboard engine needs one, or equivalent, like that.
Really. I also hope the non bronze fastening parts are all SS, and the strainer is bonded.
Thanks
Bob C

Yes...bronze, stainless, and delrin. The strainer isn't bonded, it only touches the fiberglass hull. The through-hull it protects is bonded.

[jen1722terry]

That is one cool strainer, Jim. Brilliant.

But on the wider subject of poor accessibility to some of our seacocks, I have a question:

Why does the shutoff portion of a seacock have to be next to the hull? Humor me here, but, thinking off the top of my pointy head, I was wondering if the valve portion of a seacock couldn't be moved up the hose a foot or so to increase accessibility for use and service. You would just have a straight thru-hull down in the bottom of the locker, under the sink of wherever and the shut-off valve higher up on the hose. Sure you'd want top quality hose, clamps and valve, and cleaning the hose from the valve down to the thru hull would require a long screw driver. I presume that someone sells a valve in bronze or plastic that would fill the bill.

Am I missing something obvious here? Why wouldn't this work?

Like many of you, I'm not as nimble as I once was and servicing some of the seacocks is a recipe for sore joints (and the need for the single malt).

Haul-out Tuesday. We winterized the engine and drained the hot water heater yesterday. The two coats of new prime-kote on the deck will have to wait until spring for the finish coats of Perfection and Kiwi-grip. Time to put the cover on.

Y'all have a great fall in the yard doing the close-up chores.

Jenn and Terry

[Paul D.]

J&T,

If the shut off is right at the point in the line inside the hull, that is the most secure. And allows you to work on anything after the seacock even in the water. Imagine a busted one or two foot section of hose between a shut off and the inside of the hull. I for one wouldn't have it any other way onboard, even if it is a long reach to move and/or pull apart and clean some of the seacocks. Onboard Femme, only one, the starboard cockpit locker drain, is a little hard to reach. And I can shut it off through the quarter berth wall.

[Astronomertoo]

That is one cool strainer, Jim. Brilliant.

But on the wider subject of poor accessibility to some of our seacocks, I have a question:
Why does the shutoff portion of a seacock have to be next to the hull? Humor me here, but, thinking off the top of my pointy head, I was wondering if the valve portion of a seacock couldn't be moved up the hose a foot or so to increase accessibility for use and service. You would just have a straight thru-hull down in the bottom of the locker, under the sink of wherever and the shut-off valve higher up on the hose. Sure you'd want top quality hose, clamps and valve, and cleaning the hose from the valve down to the thru hull would require a long screw driver. I presume that someone sells a valve in bronze or plastic that would fill the bill.
Am I missing something obvious here? Why wouldn't this work?
Like many of you, I'm not as nimble as I once was and servicing some of the seacocks is a recipe for sore joints (and the need for the single malt).

Jenn and Terry

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Yes, that would be a nice thought, and Paul has already provided the logical answer.
The boating and yachting industry has followed the standards provided by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) which basically specify (paraphrased) that immediately inside the pressure boundary (in this case on the low pressure side) of the vessel boundary the first thing to be installed inside SHALL be a quality, reliable, shutoff valve, which will protect all following connected equipment, such that should there be damage to any internal hose or other line material or equipment, the internal hull/interface valve can be closed to prevent or control any uncontrolled flooding from the high pressure side into the low pressure side. To make the long story short, all vessels in industrial, chemical, manned submersibles, and all power plants (including nuclear) follow the same design criteria, with the more hazardous and safety related designs having addtional requirements for redundancy, safety criteria, and methodology, including the method of remote control and related reliable power supplies.
For us little boats, like for ships and submarines, it means a manual valve SHALL be installed immedidately on the inside of the hull which as stated, must be able to be manually SHUT to protect any other equipment inside the vessel's hull, thus preventing uncontrolled flooding.

Therefore, if an owner adds an improperly clamped double hose to hose (!) joint at the sink drain below the water line, and it comes loose, and you find 6 inches of water on the floor, you can open a locker and SHUT that valve to save yourself and your boat from a much worse day.
Btw, you are allowed to use reach rods or other means to access that valve if you can not easily reach it, as long as it can be operated expediately. The standard design assumes you can put your hands on the valve if you are scared enough. The single malt in this case would be for afterwards.
Best wishes
Bob C

[jen1722terry]

Well, I agree that the current ABS and other requirements for thru hulls and seacocks are based on many, many decades of experience and wisdom. I also agree that a device could be used to reach a (for us older folks) inaccessible seacock to keep it working well or in an emergency.

Servicing is another matter, and it is the servicing that kills me and, I presume, many other disabled owners. If you can't service a seacock, it will eventually fail and that's a cold fact.

On many boats of any size, owners have had to make changes that vary from accepted practice to enable them to use their boats within the limits of their own disabilities. Many of these changes are well thought out and, while not ideal in the context of the professional councils who publish standards in this regard, can be reasonably safe and can keep a disabled person with a limited budget on the water.

Not to preach, but I will anyway: I was a regulator at a large state environmental agency for 33 years in a state that had some of the toughest and most detailed regulations and laws in the US. Nonetheless, we prided ourselves in adapting the laws and regs to meet special circumstances based on legitimate need. We always preferred the best way, but for members of the regulated community that simply could not comply with the requirements, we tried very hard to accommodate these folks based on that (sometimes) rarest of regulatory considerations: common sense!

So, back to the case at hand. Is it that much more dangerous to put a short length of top quality, well-clamped hose between a thru-hull and a well constructed shut-off valve if such an arrangement will improve vigilance and maintenance of the thru hull, hose and valve by the owner? Sure, in the rare event the hose ruptures and you're not on board with plugs on hand, the boat will sink, as will a hose rupture on top of an open thru-hull, if the owner is not prudent and vigilant. But if the disabled owner is otherwise prudent and vigilant and can even be more so if the shut off valves are easily accessible, what, I wonder, is gained by adherence to a general standard?

Just my two cents. Y'all enjoy your fall sailing and haulouts.

Terry