CD Typhoon cockpit drains & all the rest

[spoefish]

I have a 1979 Typhoon DS that is out of the water for some serious cleaning and long-overdue maintenance this summer. Looking to being back in the water by Labor Day for a nice fall on the Chesapeake. I have what I guess is a typical problem with the inadequate gate valves that CD used on these boats. For a couple of years I have been thinking it was time to get this fixed, and last week at a local marine supply that was going out of business I picked up the upgrade hardware (1” bronze through hull fitting, 1” Apollo Flanged bronze seacocks, barbed fitting that goes on top of the seacock) for a little less than the 3/4” hardware that would be normal replacements would have cost me. But I still am not sure of which direction to go. If it helps, I sail on the Chesapeake, and the boat is usually in the water from April until November, spending the winter on a trailer in my yard. The options seem to range from (simple to complex):

1. Take out the whole current system, and replace with 3/4” barbed bronze through hull fittings. No valves or seacocks, just hose with double clamps from cockpit drains to the through hulls.

2. Put 3/4” seacocks on the existing through hull fittings – maybe pull out the TH fittings and rebed them if necessary. This would just be an upgrade of the current gate valves to real seacocks.

3. Or take advantage of the great new hardware I have and ream out the holes to fit my new 1” thru hull fittings and use the 1” Seacocks. I would need to adapt the cockpit drains to the larger hardware – not too difficult. This would drain a little faster, but then on the other hand I have never really had much of a problem except when junk got caught in the gate valves and I had to plunge it out.

I have read a lot of the old postings, and still wonder if I really need the ability to shut things off – in 15 years with this boat I have never had a problem with hoses. This leaves me a little inclined to go with option 1, and make someone a great deal on a pair of new 1” seacocks and hardware. Whatever I do, I think the gate valves are actually worse than nothing so they will have to go.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or opinions.

Stephen

[Carl Thunberg]

Stephen,

I was assuming one of our more seasoned veterans would respond. Replacing the seacocks really is not a difficult job, and you do need to think about re-sale value. An educated buyer would have the boat surveyed and would use the lack of valves as leverage in lowering your asking price. Also, I have no idea what the implications of removing the valves would have on your insurance. I could see and insurance company denying coverage if standard equipment was removed.

Also, without a valve, there would be no way to replace a hose with the boat in the water. Just because a hose hasn't split in the 15 years you've owned the boat doesn't mean it never will. It just seems wrong to remove the seacocks. Just my $0.02.

Carl

[rtbates]

I MUST respond with a resounding NO to #1. You really must have a way to shut off any and all thru hulls.

I'd bite the bullet and go with #3.

Best wishes

[Serge Zimberoff]

Just to add to the confusion I'll vote for #2. Whereas upsizing etc could be a good idea, because of the limited space I would be reluctant to do anything to shorten the distance between the seacock and the fitting on the cockpit sole. That short hose is hard enough to install as it is and be happy it is as straight as possible and the 1" fittings will reduce this already tight fit by at least 2".
Serge

[Al Levesque]

There is too little space to have good drainage through a valve. I have seen older Tys and other boats with the simple hose double clamped on both ends. If you feel proficient with glass work, consider moving the through-hull forward where there is more space. That would improve your options.

[Al Levesque]

As I reread your post, I noticed the DS. That may modify my comment about getting more space by moving the thru-hulls. I don't know what the arrangement is for the daysailer.

[spoefish]

I think my brain must have been waterlogged - my boat is a weekender and has been for the last 15 years. The DS must have come from the Day Sailer that I just bought. Much as I love the Typhoon, I often miss taking my DS along on trips - towing and launching the Typhoon is just a little too much for me. So now I have both. And I guess I will eliminate Door No. 3, so if anyone is interested in a new pair of Apollo 1" traingle flange seacocks with thru hulls and barbs let me know - I don't think they need to go in the box of stuff I save for when I get a bigger boart - that seems less likely all the time. And thanks for the input.

Stephen

[RIKanaka]

I tried to do #2 (stop snickering!) but ended up having the cut the through-hulls off because the gate valves were frozen onto them. If you can get seacocks that already have a hose fitting instead of having to add a separate piece you will have less of a problem with the hose kinking between the drain and the seacock. Or get the lowest profile seacock you can find that requires a separate hose fitting.

[MBolton]

While I know this goes against all nautical wisdom -- I too am tempted to replace the frozen corroded gate valves on my Typhoon with high quality straight-thru hoses and premium double clamps. Yes, no sea cocks, ball valves or gate valves at all.

My reason -- can anyone give me any instance when a seacocks on a Typhoon (kept in the water all the time) would ever be closed?

The boat is floating unattended at the dock 99.99 percent of the time so on my boat the seacocks are open to drain rain water. The only time I would ever be able to avail myself of the safety of a sea cock would be if I happened to be sailing when a hose failure occurred. Then I would grab a tapered plug or something and pinch off the hose.

I've owned larger boats with way too many holes in the bottom (engine, head, sink etc.) and ALWAYS maintained those seacocks meticulously and made sure they were closed. But even on my 27 footer, the cockpit drain seacocks always had to remain open.

All comments and verbal flaming welcome and appreciated!

J. Mark Bolton
Cape Dory Typhoon
Ossabaw Sound (Near Savannah) Georgia.

[bottomscraper]

If you aren't on the boat and hose breaks you lost the boat. If you are on the boat and a hose breaks you might end up going down with the boat! I also suspect that the most likely cause for a hose to break is some human action.

[Dick Villamil]

I replaced my old frozen and plugged gate valves on my '76 Ty. Since I sail in fresh water I used gate valves. However I strongly recommend using standard seacocks or bronze ball valves for salt water. There have been a few postings a year or so ago on this very topic with some great advice. Do #2 even though the 3/4" elbow is a bit of a bend it saves space and works if you keep her clear. I wouldn't recommend closing them when not on the boat because a good strong rainstorm or three may flood the cockpit. It is just a safety factor in case the worst case happens. Be sure to exercise the valves on a regular basis and keep them lubricated so they don't sieze.