Manifolds the way forward

[Emmalina]

When I bought my boat it had no fewer then 14 thru hulls below the water line.... In varying states.
I figured that one thru hull and a manifold was the way forward.
I believe it is. I can now isolate anything I want and get water to whatever I want.
I manage to run everything through a 2" thru hull and manifold array.
This includes 2 air-cons a Perkins 6354 and a gen-set not to mention water maker,heads and fridge.
If I have any problems I have ONE sea cock to close and one strainer to clean.
My point is why don't commercial builders do this. !!
Best thing I ever did.

[nigel1]

OK, I'll bite, so you have the discharge from the heads/holding tank connected to the water maker intake

[Emmalina]

Sorry you lost me there Nigel
I have a black tank that i can pump out
But the heads are fed for flushing only not much chance of a back up...

[tamicatana]

It's not anything new, water manifold is called a 'sea chest' if I recall...

[NahanniV]

I thought about doing this when I replaced my through-hulls, but didn't.

Seems to me it's a trade off between a single seacock and long runs of seawater filled hose inside the boat.

I also had concerns about winterizing all that hose.

[Emmalina]

Not saying its anything new just wondered why manufacturers didn't use them.
Sea chest Manifold or Distribution system. Sure they have many other names.
Or does everybody profit from popping more holes in the hull ?

[Emmalina]

Originally Posted by NahanniV

I thought about doing this when I replaced my through-hulls, but didn't.

Seems to me it's a trade off between a single seacock and long runs of seawater filled hose inside the boat.

I also had concerns about winterizing all that hose.

Not really a problem here in the tropics

[hellosailor]

"My point is why don't commercial builders do this."
Actually I think commercial boatbuilders DO.

It is the mass-market folks building them by hand to a price for the recreational market that don't. Because organization costs money, planning costs money, the sea chest costs money, and anything "different" scares away the mass market buyer.

[FSMike]

A few things have always puzzled me about manifolds/sea chests -

When I start my engine, I am in the habit of looking at the overboard discharge to make sure the cooling system is pumping water. How can I tell if the air conditioner or gen set or something else is already running water through?
If I had an air conditioner lol.

Secondly, I always thought it a good thing for bilge pumps to have their own through hulls so one would know when they kicked on. And how often.

?
Mike

[Matt Johnson]

How often does a properly installed and made Seacock actually fail? It seems it's typically the hose or clamps that fail and the boat goes down. Does this manifold actually eliminate any danger? Even if all the items (engine, water maker, head intake) are close to each other, you now have most likely added more hose and a manifold to the possible failure point. The only benefit I see is having one seacock to close in case of a leak or when you leave to boat.

I thought of doing the same thing, but decided to instead install top rated hose, clamps and make sure all my thru hulls/ seacocks were in good shape.

[daddle]

Originally Posted by FSMike

Secondly, I always thought it a good thing for bilge pumps to have their own through hulls so one would know when they kicked on.

Shouldn't bilge pumps discharge above the waterline? Similarly it is good if as many outlets as possible discharge above the waterline. 5 underwater thru-hulls here...

[Palarran]

Emmalina is talking about intakes - not discharge outlets.

I think it is a good idea. I've blocked off 9 thru-hulls so far. Now I only have one located in our main hull area, 4 in one engine compartment and 2 in the other. I probably won't bother to change them but if building from new, agree with you. Why not?

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Emmalina is talking about intakes - not discharge outlets.

Aah - the light dawns. A minor detail I never picked up on. Thanks.

[mischief]

Does anyone have some good schematics of a typical sailboat set up using a manifold or sea chest.
I know we used them for fire/bilge systems on commercial vessels but they still had multiple thru hulls. I'm also an advocate of having less holes below the water line (I would have said holes in the boat but I just finished cutting 12 descent size holes in the deck for all my dorades; cowls and mushroom vents). ;-)

[atoll]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

How often does a properly installed and made Seacock actually fail? It seems it's typically the hose or clamps that fail and the boat goes down. Does this manifold actually eliminate any danger? Even if all the items (engine, water maker, head intake) are close to each other, you now have most likely added more hose and a manifold to the possible failure point. The only benefit I see is having one seacock to close in case of a leak or when you leave to boat.

I thought of doing the same thing, but decided to instead install top rated hose, clamps and make sure all my thru hulls/ seacocks were in good shape.

+1