Galley drain seacock access, have I made a mistake?

[Sea Dreaming]

The seacock for our galley drain is located in a deep locker behind the galley bulkhead. The locker it's self has a shelf above it and a wall along the side so that a "nook" is made between the hull side and this wall. Difficult to describe but it creates a perfect storage place for stuff.

Back to the seacock. I didn't want the seacock to get accidentally knocked with heavy stuff so I used the locker for light weight, long term storage. Things like extra empty containers and Zipp lock bags. However, at some point my bf thought we needed to stock up on note books and ordered a dozen. But the company made a mistake and double shipped. So we had 2 dozen new note books that needed a home. I put these notebooks in this locker (double baged) well below the seacock. These are the heaviest items in the locker.

What concerns me is access to the locker and whether those notebooks are a problem.

Because the space above the locker is very useful, I made good use of it. The back has stuff we don't need every day, and the front has my pressure cooker and other used often items.
But it takes about 3 minutes to remove all the stuff before we can access the locker.

Is this a mistake? Are the heavyish notebooks a mistake?

Just for the record one can check for leaks in this locker fairly easily. The locker has a gap at the bottom that opens into the space where the galley drawers are. I imagine that any leak will be obvious by water coming out from the bottom of the drawer. But I am not sure that is "good enough".

What do you all think?

[capt-couillon]

I can just about guarantee if you have water running out of that locker, you will be able to unload it in less than 3 minutes...

[Sailmonkey]

If notebooks can damage the seacock or the hose attached to it, my preference would be to replace the the hose and seacock with something more robust than the damaged by a feather variety.

[Sea Dreaming]

Hey sailmonkey, the seacock and hose were deemed sound by our surveyor. I simply don't know the limits of a seacock to sustain a hit. The notebooks are composition books. 2 dz of them weighs about 20 lbs.

Capt C. Your answer made me chuckle!

[tkeithlu]

Sailmonkey speaks with wisdom. If my (aging) memory is correct, that seacock is supposed to withstand 50 pounds applied to the side. If your impression is that it is so delicate that a box full of empty notebooks might dislodge it, replace it. Ditto on the hose. You should be concerned about storing spare house batteries, sledge hammers, and cases of canned goods in that locker, not notebooks.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Sailmonkey speaks with wisdom. If my (aging) memory is correct, that seacock is supposed to withstand 50 pounds applied to the side. If your impression is that it is so delicate that a box full of empty notebooks might dislodge it, replace it. Ditto on the hose. You should be concerned about storing spare house batteries, sledge hammers, and cases of canned goods in that locker, not notebooks.

I actually think the standards call for 500 lbs of force.

Either way, mushroom skin fittings with valves screwed on still take several hundred pounds of force to break off. A standard "proper" flanged valve seacock is going to considerably stronger.

[Hudson Force]

Many, like myself, keep a schedule of tasks that includes inspection and exercise of all the seacocks or ball valve fittings at intervals. I normally inspect and move the galley sink through hull fitting and other rarely used fittings no more than once every three or four months. I think that, as long as you keep it on some schedule of inspection, you're not taking any risk.

[S/V Alchemy]

Why not affix a rack under there to hold (some of) the notebooks? If there is no compelling reason to store all of them there at once, don't do it. Store them elsewhere. Access and reduction of hazard to such a skin fitting is more important than sketchpads or whatever. I would think that even sealed, too, there are better or rather less humid places to put paper products.

It's why we don't keep toilet paper in the head. Well, save the current one!

[Cheechako]

Doesn't sound like an issue to me.

[jhulmer]

I prefer to be able to close all the through-hulls/seacocks easily when I leave the boat for any period of time and when preparing for a storm.

I have made extensions out of 1/4" stainless rod that connect to the hole in the handle for seacocks that fall into the too hard to get to category. This is easy enough to do with a vice and hammer, then run it out to a more accessible location that is in line with the action of the seacock handle.

If you don't exercise the seacocks on a regular bases (as already mentioned, at least once a month) they get very hard to operate and eventually you run the risk of breaking or bending a handle.

[oleman]

Feed the surplus crap to the fish, just because you have the "list your stuff here" doesn't require that it should be on your vessel.
Real life story.
While in Mombassa Kenya one of my crew members bought some sheep skin "rugs" from a pier side vendor. Without my knowledge he stored them in a false deck of our working area. After several weeks at sea, there was a distinct odor of rotting animal flesh in the general area that got worse by the minute. After an exhausting search the source was located and disposed of over the side but the odor seemed to linger forever. Those sheep skins were fresh off a sheep's back when my crew member purchased them!

[captstu]

The galley drain seacock is normally well above the waterline. Is yours?

The seacock is required when the galley is on the lee side and the galley sink starts to fill because it is below the waterline. This seldom happens but is a real annoyance when it does.

I no longer have a "leaner" but when I did, I removed the galley seacock handle, attached it to the seacock, and put the stopper strongly into the galley when tacked close hauled.

Seemed "good enough" for me - with lots of long distance ocean sailing, I neer had a problem.

That said, that seacock, and all seacoks, were on a list to be closed and reopened before each ocean departure. I never left the engine raw water seacock close after experiencing a fairly severe engine problem as a guest when the skipper forgot to re-open that seacock prior to departure.

After that experience (I was a guest), I always remember, "if it isn't on your checklist, you found the problem."

[Dave22q]

Perhaps it's just me but I think galley sinks are far enough above the W/L to not require any fitting below. Just double clamp it so when on a steep heel you get no backflow. One less thru-hull to inspect.

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

Many, like myself, keep a schedule of tasks that includes inspection and exercise of all the seacocks or ball valve fittings at intervals. I normally inspect and move the galley sink through hull fitting and other rarely used fittings no more than once every three or four months. I think that, as long as you keep it on some schedule of inspection, you're not taking any risk.

Thank you for all the replies. Hudson Force, I think this is the "correct" answer. I don't think those note books are liable to damage anything now that I have some idea of what kind of force could damage the seacock.

For those who question the wisdom of 24 note books....well, one man's junk is another man's "important junk". For marital harmony some of us choose to find deep, hard to get to lockers to store said "important junk", knowing that junk will be jettisoned as soon as some other "important junk" becomes more important. The wise woman just smiles and nods.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

Perhaps it's just me but I think galley sinks are far enough above the W/L to not require any fitting below. Just double clamp it so when on a steep heel you get no backflow. One less thru-hull to inspect.

Depends on your boat, and they're still connected to the sea by hose.

Our galley sink bottom is at the waterline and on starboard tack lets the world know.