Open or closed seacock

[Joli]

You'll never forget to open the seacock for raw water cooling if the ignition key is hanging on it.

Originally Posted by 2Hulls

Which through-hull valve are you talking about?

I answered assuming it was the engine cooling inlet > I never close either one of them.

If flooding occurred in my engine rooms due to an open through hull, they would only flood about 10 inches, be confined to the engine rooms, and the rest of the boat wouldn't know the difference. I'll take this risk to avoid the risk of forgetting to open them before I start the engines.

As for other through-hull valves, I always close them.

Dave

[bill good]

I believe the water pump in my 1GMs don't get as much build up within the water pumps since always turning off the seacocks when engines are not being used. The impellers were inclined to unbond from their drive shafts.
Anything that seems to help with less trouble is a good thing!!

Regrads Bill Goodward

[northerncat]

i like option 3, it perfectlly describes som of the dicks out on the ocean 8-)
sean

[rtbates]

all seacocks are closed when leaving the boat except the two that drain the cockpit, and I've even thought to alternate closing one and keeping the other open, but so far I just leave both open. The biggy is the head seacock that is NEVER opened unless the head is being used and then it is immediately closed. Too many boats have been sunk or at best partially flooded because the head seacock was left open and the valve in 'flush' position. And even when in the 'dry' position there isn't much blocking the flow of water from filling the bowl and over flowing. I have NO air lock loop in my head water intake hose. Because the head's seacock is very easy to access, this method works best, as an air lock loop makes pumping water into the head a pain. I know that not all boats have seacocks so easy to access. What a pity..

[hellosailor]

Closing the raw water intake also slows down the growth of shellfish in the raw water strainer.

Which can be a good or bad thing, depending on what you like to throw in the boulliabase.

[MidLandOne]

We also close all seacocks if the boat is left for more than the same day (except for the deck waterway drains, the waterways flood otherwise ) and keep the engine key hung on the seacock.

[rwhit323]

I too leave the engine keys on the seacock. I once had a boat break loose from a mooring, and in my haste to start engines and get underway I did not properly open port engine seacock (although in my mind I couls swear I did). Luckily I only destroyed the empeller and not the engine.

[JB]

On my Caliber 47LRC, we are fortunate to have a seachest with a single seacock that covers all below the water line "holes in the boat" - engine, generator, watermaker, 2 heads and refrigeration. I have one other below the waterline seacock which is for the forward washdown pump which I only open when I am using the pump.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by JB

On my Caliber 47LRC, we are fortunate to have a seachest with a single seacock

Does your seachest have secondary valves, that allow you to open the main seacock, and any other single valve (engine), without opening all?
(ie: toilet supplied, engine geny etc off)

Does your single seachest serve both intakes and drains?

[JB]

Yes it does....a single seacock with a single valve feeds the sea chest. Out of the sea chest there are 8 individual "outlets", each with its own valve. One of these outlets is connected to the engine seawater intake, one to the generator seawater intake, one to each head and so forth. It is an awesome set up.

[MidLandOne]

We are somewhat similar to JB but we have two seawater inlets because the engine has its own dedicated seawater suction.

All other seawater services come off a second which instead of having a seachest is just a pipe manifold with all the suctions tee'd off it - these include supply to galley and bathroom seawater hand pumps, toilet flush, deckwash pump and freezer heat exchanger.

The only one of these that has its own isolation valve off the manifold is the deckwash pump - the suction to the head for flushing goes via a vented antisiphon loop on the suction side of the head pump.

It suprises me how many boats seem to have individual suctions for everything.

[Wotname]

JB, just to be clear, when you answered "yes" to Gord's question, were you also saying "yes" to the drains aspect of the question?

It seems to me that the seachest arrangement wouldn't (couldn't?) combine intakes and drains.

I guess my boat arrangement is somewhat simpler with only two intakes (head and engine/galley) but I agree with you and Midland regarding the provision of a seachest or manifold arrangement for the intakes (the less intake openings the better - IMHO).

[CS33H]

Why risk it! "They are beginning to build new boats with automated seacocks-thru hulls"
This will be a good retrofit when available!

[boris]

i have never heard of a "sea chest" sounds brillant what are the down sides, the only thing i can think of would be that you may have more pumping to get the water going

[Morgan Paul]

i have never heard of a "sea chest" sounds brillant what are the down sides, the only thing i can think of would be that you may have more pumping to get the water going

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