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Seized seacock

8K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  sgjfrods 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi,
On a westerly discus 33 the seacock on the toilet has seized up I have tried simple things like trying to put some Wd 40 and moving it but no sign of any movement. The boat is out of the water. I am just wondering if you have any advice on how to free it.
Iv'e inherrited the boat off my grandad who has unfortunately passed, it needs lots of work doing on it but I am very inexperienced with boats but very keen.
Any help much appreciated,
Thanks very much,
James
 
#3 ·
what type of seacock? If you could list the age of the boat that might help, too. Heat in the form of a heat gun or if you have good access and have good control with the flame a little butane torch (used primarily for soldering copper pipe) has worked for me in the past, sometimes heating from the outside via the thru hull has also worked. if you have limited access pull the hose and spray penetrating oil not WD 40 onto the drum of the sea ****. If it's an old wilcox crittendon or sparten seacock you should contact sparten marine for there maintenance kit and use that once the seacock if freed. Good luck
 
#4 ·
Thanks for your comments When i go tomorrow i will take a picture and post one on here, ambian.... I will take a picture of the access tomorrow you say heating with a blowtorch, what part of the seacock should I heat?

Also you say pull the hose i presume just to clarify it is the hose that leads from the sea **** and then squirt penetrating oil through the pipe were the hose was attatched into the seacock?

The year of the boat is 1985... she's an old girl.

Sorry for the noviceness of my reply.
 
#5 ·
Yes pull the hose off the throat of the seacock then squirt the penetrating oil into the throat onto the drum then let it sit for twnety minutes or so then squirt again. The brand I have used with success is Aero Kroil in an orange can with white and black label. If you use the torch be careful! wipe up any excess oil, get it dry. What I have done is used the heat before spraying any oil. A heat gun might be safer. After spraying and waiting i have used a metal pipe to fit over the handle to get some more leverage but be gentle! dont use a lot of force, just so you feel it in the forearm but no more than the elbow for muscle if you get my thinking. you could break the seacock if you use to much leverage! It is a slow process so take your time. I have also sprayed the drum from the outside via the thru hull. I am no expert but have wrestled with my 33 year seacoacks and had to change two this spring due to old age and leaks, etc.
 
#6 ·
sgjfrods... you need to make seacock one word, or our anti-porn filters take the word out like ****..
An 85 what? Pictures will definitely help.
 
#8 · (Edited)
If it's a tapered valve, a little heat is a good idea to expand the outer casing as mentioned already. You can also back off the tightening nuts until they get to the top of the thread (to protect the threads) and tap the valve out. Make sure you use some something SOFTER than the bronze. I use an old 5# lead solder ingot. The mass of something like this works wonders. Wood is also good but not as good as lead or a brass drift. Most of the time it does not take much tapping but if really stuck, don't pound so hard as to deform the shaft/nuts. Of course if the hull is a cored hull or just modern-thin, don't do this at all.
 
#13 ·
OK, while I realize that the pic you've linked is someone else's install, what you're looking at there is not a seacock but a gate valve. Gate valves are not recommended for use as seacocks, for a variety of reasons. First is that they are notorious for seizing up (as you've discovered.)

More importantly, a proper seacock can be closed with a simple quarter turn. You can also tell with a quick glance is a seacock is open or closed.

I'm with the others in strongly recommending that you remove the old set up and replace it with a real seacock.
 
#11 · (Edited)
If that were my boat, I would change that to a proper seacock and thru hull with a backing plate. To me that does not look safe since if it breaks you could sink the boat. If you want to open and close that valve then just heat the valve (handle area) and squirt penetrating oil on the valve. It will likely work again but do not really upon it since if it looks like that on the external surface just imagine the rust and corrosion on the internal parts of that valve might look like. It could start to leak once you launch the boat so I strongly recommend changing the seacock and thru hull before launching.

Again go to this link Compass Marine's Photo Galleries at pbase.com and read the how-to article on changing out a seacock and thru hull. You might want to research other sources too. If you are relatively handy you might be able to take on this task, if you haven't changed one out then you might want to work with someone to insure a proper installation.
 
#16 ·
If the "seacock" in question looks anything like the pic in your link, it's almost certainly a gate valve. Gate valves are problematic for several reasons, not the least of which is that it is extremely easy to think they are closed when they are actually partially open. You need to replace that valve with either a traditional seacock or, as is more common these days, a ball-valve. Either of these require a quarter-turn to open or close, and so one can tell at a glance which position the valve is in (if the handle is in line with the flow the valve is open, if it is normal to the flow the valve is closed).

You can replace the valve with the boat in the water, as long as the thru-hull is in good condition. Just spin the old valve off and spin the new one on. It will seem like a "boatload" of water is coming into the boat while you are fiddling with the valves, but in reality it will just be a few gallons. However, if the thru-hull is at all suspect, do yourself a favor and pull the boat out of the water so that you can replace the valve and thru-hull at the same time.
 
#17 ·
As others said, if the valve you have looks like the one in the picture it's likely a gate valve and not a seacock. If it's a gate valve and it's seized, your chances of freeing it are highly unlikely. Equally importantly, a gate valve isn't considered appropriate for a boat, so might as well channel that energy to replacing it. Also, I would advise against combining WD40 (flammable), a torch in a confined space and a fiberglass boat.
 
#19 ·
In your place I would change it, without hesitation. Even if it is above the waterline, what if you are heeling? I have had sinks flood before, not a disaster of course, but messy and irritating! And it is good practice to learn how these things should be done...

Like many sailors, I am a bit neurotic about critical components; e.g. only stainless steel in the boat, always marine grade wire, correct seacocks, etc. Generally it costs a bit more, and people will argue alternatives are "generally okay", but it is good practice to use the right parts for the job.
 
#20 ·
Something that close to the waterline should really have something other than a valve screwed onto a thru-hull. There's just too much leverage in that arm without a base to spread the load. Look into just a base and then you can screw a new bronze ball valve/hose barb onto that. It's a bit less expensive than buying a real seacock.
 
#21 ·
Ok, in the original post it was for the toilet and I missed that the photo wasn't yours. (Why put up a photo that is not a true representation? FYI- A bit confusing for my simple mind.) You should change the valve to a real seacock and put a proper backing plate on the inside of the hull. Having said that, it is a sink drain above the waterline so you might be okay, so sail for the season, limit the use of the sink or come up with an alternative for the drain or do as I mentioned above and take your chances it won't fail mid-season. I have a 1979 sabre 34 and heel quite a bit. Our gas vent is a little higher than 8-inches but essentially is a plastic thru hull with a 3/4 inch hose venting where the propane tank for the stove is. I catch a tiny bit of water in the box where the tank sits but nothing to worry about. This might be true with your sink drain. Best of luck- Joe
 
#22 ·
Try using some pb blaster from local store and spray into seacock from under the boat, and remove hoses to the seacock and spray into it from that angle as well. Wait 20 minutes or so and try acuating it a little at a time. It takes a while to loosen that which has been stuck so long. Cheater bar over the valve handle, but don't break it.
 
#24 ·
sgjfrods,

You've gotten quite a few good ideas presented to you. The best one was take some pictures. Before you do anything, I'd suggest you get someone who's worked on boats and knows his way around them, like a yard person, a surveyor or a really capable boater. It's possible the yard where he kept it or worked on it can help you.

The reason I say that is the red flag inherent in your comment "Iv'e inherrited the boat off my grandad who has unfortunately passed." I'm sure your Grandfather was an accomplished sailor and when active really looked after his boat. However, as we get older things tend to slip through the cracks (I'm 69). It's not uncommon for a boat to spend many years in the water and never used. Then sit on the hard for more years.

The Westerly is a tough English made boat with a lot of old fashioned heavy duty (by todays standards components. But, they may have been sitting for some time.

For example, I'd suggest disconnecting the hoses on each seacock and checking to see what kind of valves they are and in what condition. I'd check all hoses for age. And don't forget the stuffing box hose, it's small but can sink the boat easily. The list can go on.

Also, the westerly is an old boat. see if your Grandfather left any records as to what he replaced or had fixed on it. Anything that can give you a clear insight as to it's maintenance. Especially in the last 5 or 20 years.

They're not a fast boat, but well built and seaworthy. With some time and a few $$$ up front I'm sure your grandfather would be happy seeing it on the water again with you at the tiller.

Fair winds,

jed
 
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