Seacocks

[Artif]

No one has mentioned marine growth crawling its way up you inlets/ outlets.
I came across this numerous times on boats with open seacocks.
Also opening/closing forces you to check them regularly, and keeps them free.
Lost count of the amount of sea cocks I've changed due to lack of use.

One tip for the engine sea cock/s, hang your motor keys on the handle, you shouldn't forget to open it then.

[sushirama]

Has any one seen inexpensive remote actuators/indicators for seacocks? I know they have them on large vessels. I would pop a little extra to have a switch board and status indicators on a panel at the nav station where I could flip a switch and critical valves shut with a green/red indicator on a master status panel. Keep in mind I do come from a submarine world and they have them all over the place.

[Artif]

Originally Posted by sushirama

Has any one seen inexpensive remote actuators/indicators for seacocks? I know they have them on large vessels. I would pop a little extra to have a switch board and status indicators on a panel at the nav station where I could flip a switch and critical valves shut with a green/red indicator on a master status panel. Keep in mind I do come from a submarine world and they have them all over the place.

I think you might struggle, sea cocks are not where you want cheap.

[sushirama]

not seacocks, actuators that run them. Something that can attach to the handle of a ball valve or gate valve that will operate and indicate valve position. a relay/servo/switch like something from a car window actuator. But also something that can allow manual override if needed.

[Artif]

Something like these
Electric Actuators - High Performance - Valtorc International - Ball Valves, Butterfly Valves, V Port Ball Valves - Made in USA

not sure on there suitability for marine use though.

[Rex Delay]

Do yourself a favour and close all of them when you leave the boat, except the engine cooling if someone else has a key. In the last couple of years, 3 boats have sunk at their moorings at or near my marina from hose or seacock failure.

[Lagoon4us]

Along with Nigels comment that regular opening and closing is good exercise for the seacocks keeping them fit for use with nothing clogging them up. It is good for all crewmembers to know where they are located, if never really operated the will never really be found at a time of dire need.

Also a bilge visit opens your eyes to ensuing problems, one thing hose has a habit of doing is working loose over time due to thermal changes, first hint is a rusty dribble indicating a screwdriver is needed.

If there are concerns of forgetting to re-open them put the engine start keys on the main seacock.....

[Buchido]

I keep all seacocks closed at all times unless they are in use. With the exception of the seacock for the water pump">raw water pump, which I'll usually leave open as it's almost impossible to access and I've burnt out one impeller because I forgot to re-open it. Luckily I was checking to see if water was flowing out the exhaust and it didn't harm the engine. I inspect and excerise this seacock regurarly (couple times a season) though, and even during the off-season I usually check on things every couple of weeks and I will run the engine to ensure everything stays lubricated. So I feel fairly confident that it won't fail and I think there is a higher probability/risk of closing it and burning out the engine IMHO.

[endoftheroad]

Originally Posted by Artif

No one has mentioned marine growth crawling its way up you inlets/ outlets.
I came across this numerous times on boats with open seacocks.
Also opening/closing forces you to check them regularly, and keeps them free.
Lost count of the amount of sea cocks I've changed due to lack of use.

One tip for the engine sea cock/s, hang your motor keys on the handle, you shouldn't forget to open it then.

Thats a good tip.