Removing Seacock in Water

[MarkJ]

The sea cock to one of the heads is jammed half open.
Its 4 or 5 months till haul out.

I am in an area without any haulout facilities whatsoever.

The handle turns but eh ball cock doesn’t move.

Is there any trick I can try to fix it?

What is the job like to stopper it and pull the whole sea cock out and fix it whilst in the water?

Yes we love having 2 heads on this boat!


Mark
PS Any advice appreciated except for "how's the head down the dunny" gags Woe is me.

[donradcliffe]

If its half open, then the head works. I had exactly the same problem with a ball valve less than 2 years old. Kept a tapered plug next to the thru hull and assigned that head to light work only till the next haul out.

Unless your Bendytoy has had a major upgrade, the sea cock is a ball valve (1/14"?) threaded on to a thru hull. Yes, you can pound a plug in the outside of the thru hull, and try to unscrew the ball valve while hoping that the thru hull doesn't turn and start to leak. Then you can stroll over to the local chandlery (the fishing boat stores in Bali) and try for a 'quality' replacement. Note that the thru hull has straight pipe thread while the valve probably has tapered, which will require liberal applications of teflon tape or some magic stuff from loctite. If your replacement ball valve has straight pipe thread, you will have to consult with your local Pom--I have never figured out how they keep their plumbing joints from leaking.

OR, you can make do with a head and a half till the next haulout, where its a half hour job to grind the flange off the thru hull, knock the remains inside, and install a new thru hull and valve.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

If its half open, then the head works. I had exactly the same problem with a ball valve less than 2 years old. Kept a tapered plug next to the thru hull and assigned that head to light work only till the next haul out...
... you can make do with a head and a half till the next haulout, where its a half hour job to grind the flange off the thru hull, knock the remains inside, and install a new thru hull and valve.

As donradcliffe suggests, I’d not attempt a repair/replacement afloat.
The consequences of failure could be disastrous.

While an in-line Ball-Valve might be removed from the separate through-hull (plugged), there’s significant potential for breaking the thru-hull loose (you’ll want a retaining wrench) from the hull connection.

An integral Sea-Cock cannot be safely removed afloat!

A true sea-cock features a flange that is bolted (or screwed) to a fairing block afixed to the hull. Sea-cocks are manufactured by Groco, Buck Algonquin, Perko, and others in marine grade bronze.
Forespar manufactures sea-cocks in Marelon, that is a formulation of glass-reinforced Dupont Zytel.

Most seacocks feature NPS (straight) threads on the flange (hull) side with NPT (tapered) pipe threads on the top side. Marelon seacocks feature NPS (straight) threads on both sides. Forespar offers Marelon hose fittings with NPS (straight) threads that are designed to work with their sea-cocks.

Ball Valves operate with a quarter turn similar to a sea-cock, but are not designed to be attached directly to a thru-hull fitting. Most ball valves feature NPT (tapered) threads on both ends and are compatible only with tapered pipe fittings.

See the Groco Service Manuals ➥ GROCO MARINE PRODUCTS

Industrial Ball-Valve Dis-Assembly:
1. Remove the lever nut (figure 6, item 1) and the handle (figure 6, item 2) from the valve body (item 3).
2. Remove the packing gland (item 4) and the valve stem packing (item 5) from the valve body (item 3). Discard the valve stem packing.
3. Remove the valve stem (item 6) and the valve stem bearing (item 7) from the valve body (item 3).
4. Remove the retainer (item 8) from the valve body (item 3)

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by GordMay

The consequences of failure could be disastrous.

OK, thanks guys
I'll leave it as it is till we haul.

As an aside can I tell you the water in Bali Marina is the pongiest in the world! Pumped into the head the whole boat just reeks....

Thanks for the advice Don and Gord


Mark

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

OK, thanks guys
I'll leave it as it is till we haul.

As an aside can I tell you the water in Bali Marina is the pongiest in the world! Pumped into the head the whole boat just reeks....

It's most likely you're pumping everyone else's head into yours, I wouldn't want to be swimming in that marina.

[Milton Bertin]

Dear Friends,

Many thanks for the comments, I was looking to put a post about this topic but I found this that serves me very well.

My boat is a Coronado 35” sitting in Panama, pacific side, it weights 7.5 ton. And there is no way here to take it out of the water.

And the seacock’s, are failing (now 3 are bad) the handle move but nothing happens, so I remove the rubber pipe and I move the ball to open.

And the space is so reduced to disarm it, but thanks, I will not remove in the water, as was my initial intention.

[anjou]

Just ask yourself, 'What if' I wouldnt attempt to mess with any through hull fitting when its below the waterline while afloat.

[Tellie]

Though it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to replace a through hull if you can wait until you haul out. It defies first logical impressions. Changing out a through hull while a boat is still in the water is actually done quite often in the marine trades. We tend to think of our little boats, but it gets real expensive to haul larger boats just to change out a through hull. Though I would suggest to hire a pro for the first attempt the idea you may be far from haul out facilities in an emergency is not unlikely at all. A prudent cruiser would be wise to consider before a situation arises the steps you'd take and the tools you'd need if you had no choice. It can be done with out sinking your ship.

[bstreep]

A friend of mine and I put a depth sounder into his boat, in the slip. This included drilling the hole.

It really wasn't THAT bad.

[donradcliffe]

Given the tidal range on the West Coast of Panama, I might be tempted to careen the boat on a beach to work on it.