Seacock goes.. now what?

[simonpickard]

Hello all,

We've got the wooden bungs next to every seacock / thru-hull. Great!
What I'm wondering though is how these would be used?

What happens if a sea cock 'goes' ? How would you get the pipework, etc out of the way to enable you to get the wooden bung in place?

Has anyone actually had to do this? Would love to hear some firsthand experience of what you needed to do.

Regards,
Simon

[ontherocks83]

In what manner is the sea cock failing that you are referring to? Did a hose burst, did the thru hull fail, is it just cracked and leaking? Going off the assumption that a hose burst and the sea cock is seized open i would cut off the hose and then use a tru plug to stop the ingress of water. They seem to be much more versatile then a wooden dowel and are not very expensive.

TruPlug - Emergency Marine Leak Mitigation

Some more specifics would be helpful about the situation you are trying to solve

[DefinitelyMe]

I used to work in boat salvage so had to deal with a lot of problems like this when raising them. If the leak is inside the boat (let's say it's a permanently-open seacock for whatever reason and a pipe has burst) then the bung would be used by cutting the hose off and then hammering the wooden plug into place. It'll let water in in the meantime but not too much; it doesn't take long to plug up the hole. If the leak is with the seacock itself, where it meets the hull, then thing get a little more complicated. I've done a temporary fix for this in the past by cutting the hose inside and hammering something in temporarily, then getting a piece of plywood, smearing it in sealant, or tar or whatever and sticking a bolt through the middle. Then I jumped in the water and stuck the ply to the hull, with the bolt sticking up through the open seacock. Between the buoyancy of the plywood and the water pressure pushing it against the hull, it will stay there long enough for you to nip back out of the water and secure the patch from the inside using the bolt. Of course, if you have two people then the whole thing is much easier!

Another option - though one I haven't actually tried - if the seacock itself is leaking where it comes through the hull would be to remove the whole seacock, hammer the flange out into the deep blue sea and then hammer the bung directly into the hole in the hull from the inside.

[simonpickard]

Great advice as always everyone. Hopefully I never have to try any of these but I wanted to know.

[ontherocks83]

In a last ditch effort there is always trying to stick a plunger to the outside of the hull where the thru hull is. Obviously if there are no waves

[sailorboy1]

I have always felt the wooden plugs are for show. To be of use the hose would have to break all the wayy off (or you would have to cut it off or take it off) all at the same time as the valve not operating.

It would almost seem better to have some rescue tape at each valve for if a hose starts leaking.

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I have always felt the wooden plugs are for show. To be of use the hose would have to break all the wayy off (or you would have to cut it off or take it off) all at the same time as the valve not operating.
.

Which is why the foam tru plugs seem like a much better option. they can fit any size opening and expand to seal irregularly shaped holes

[Pete7]

Simon,

Yachting Monthly did a series of destructive tests in the Solent a while back oncluding blowing it up in the end. Worth watching the whole series:

Yachting Monthly's Crash Test Boat is holed Part 1 - YouTube

[avb3]

I have four packs of toilet bowl wax on board. My understanding is that SeaTow and the like have a commercial product (StayAFloat) which is essentially the same thing, except at $marine$ prices.

Of course I also have the wooden plugs, but I feel the wax is more versatile.

[simonpickard]

I have the stay a float as well.
Will look into the foam plugs.

Reason I'm asking is it's an ARC rally requirement to have plugs at each Seacocks. Made me realise that I had no idea what would happen to make me use one.




Please visit my blog:
www.sailing-interlude.com

[a64pilot]

Get a couple of Nerf footballs.
I've never had to actually use one thankfully, but they are a lot more flexible than a wooden plug, plus you can toss it around on the beach, cheap too.

[Matt sachs]

I have two sea cocks a few feet apart. They are easy to get to and there is a big tool box next to them. I think I'll have a bunch of different things in there to keep the wet stuff out like tape, wax, wood plugs, nerf balls, expanding foam, dead rabbit and a kitchen sink.....JK. I dont see how a kitchen sink would help. ;-)

[avb3]

Originally Posted by Matt sachs

I have two sea cocks a few feet apart. They are easy to get to and there is a big tool box next to them. I think I'll have a bunch of different things in there to keep the wet stuff out like tape, wax, wood plugs, nerf balls, expanding foam, dead rabbit and a kitchen sink.....JK. I dont see how a kitchen sink would help. ;-)

.

Heck... mine plugs all the time! I think it is a great idea.

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by avb3

.

Heck... mine plugs all the time! I think it is a great idea.

I was gonna make a wisecrack about washing the dishes with the running water, but I like your answer much better!

LOL

[w1651]

Originally Posted by simonpickard

Hello all,

We've got the wooden bungs next to every seacock / thru-hull. Great!
What I'm wondering though is how these would be used?

What happens if a sea cock 'goes' ? How would you get the pipework, etc out of the way to enable you to get the wooden bung in place?

Has anyone actually had to do this? Would love to hear some firsthand experience of what you needed to do.

Regards,
Simon

I found this a while back though still not in the states yet. Looks to good to be true to me.

Seabung

Check out the video on you tube