Broken Marelon Handle

[svitineris]

In a moment of stupidity I applied too much force to a marelon seacock that serves my galley sink..... the handle snapped off and I am trying to get ideas how to get the valve open the rest of the way, I think its about 1/4 open. Didnt plan to haul out till spring and trying to figure a way out of this mess. Any and all Ideas are welcome.

[rocinante33]

More importantly, how do you get the valve closed if you have to?

Anyway, I had a similar situation. I bought a toilet bowl plunger (don't laugh) and took the handle off and threw it away. Get the old red rubber type, not a fancy new shape. Then I dove under and stuck the head of the plunger on the outside of the hull over the inlet for the through hull. Then, with soft wood plugs at the ready, I carefully unscrewed the seacock from the through hull. Be careful to NOT spin the through hull in it's seat in the hull, or I think it will leak. Put on a new seacock using teflon tape and/or pipe dope, replace the hose and you're back in business. Oh, and don't forget to pull the plumber's friend off the hull.

Hmmm, it occurs to me that you could save that handle for the plunger, cut it short, drill a hole through it and put a loop of strong twine or other small line through it, and then you could pull it off from topside and save yourself the second dive into that oh-so-clean harbor water!

[JohnRPollard]

Are the handles not replaceable? This happened to us quite a many year ago with another boat -- I thought Forespar sent us replacement handles. But maybe they sent us all new seacocks???

If the handles are replaceable, could you temporarily borrow one from another thru-hull?

[Freesail99]

Shouldn't the sink seacock be above the waterline? Why not wait for a very calm day and just replace it?

[denby]

Originally Posted by Freesail99

Shouldn't the sink seacock be above the waterline? Why not wait for a very calm day and just replace it?

My sink seacack is below waterline. As are a few other boats I know.

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by denby

My sink seacack is below waterline. As are a few other boats I know.

I've never owned a boat where it was above the waterline!? Watch-out for the grey-water police!

[Freesail99]

If it is for a sink drain, how would it drain and keep the water out ?

[Maine Sail]

Welcome to the club! You need a new valve as those handles are NOT replaceable and the stem is usually what snapped off.

Marelon valves require yearly lubing and at the very least monthly actuations. The best practice is to close all seacocks every time you leave the boat to keep them moving.

Snapped Stem:



P.S. Most every galley sink I've ever seen is well above the static waterline so it will still drain. Mine drains very fast and it's well bellow the waterline. Beyond that I don't recall the last time I saw a galley sink drain above the waterline??

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by Freesail99

If it is for a sink drain, how would it drain and keep the water out ?

The water in the drain hose will only come up to the static waterline. It's a big ocean, so when water goes down the drain from the sink, you don't have to worry about the ocean overflowing! I don't know what you'd do if you were on a small body of water, though. [ ]