Busted/Frozen Seacock wtf?

[GJD]

Just finished having the boat dewinterized and found that the port engine seacock froze and busted right at the base (before it exits the hull). How the hell could this have occurred when the mechanic swears he blew out the valve then filled the strainer (right above) with cherry juice?

We've got a steady pencil size stream of water coming into the bilge with the seacock closed (opening it would create the mighty gusher!) We're gonna have to pull the boat and replace the damaged valve.

 

[captddis]

Probably did not remove the drain plug and the ball held water.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Living in the frozen Tundra, you really gotta be aware of freezing and draining. Ive noticed that several unused seacocks leak through and hold water above the valve, and into the unused hose that has a plug in it. When winterizing I make a habit of opening even the unused valves to make sure they are empty. If the valve is piped and plugged it can hold water long enough to freeze and bust. Without being sure they are drained, the valve body can crack or worse, and you wont know until after launching... ws

 

[aquacraig@shaw.ca]

YB is right. A ball valve, by nature, holds water in the valve when closed. It freezes and cracks the brass housing. We winterize thousands of these darn things in my business and I can only recommend that they have to be drained open, til dry, then shut. A gate valve doesn't have this problem but they are a little slow to close in a panic!
Craig

 

[GJD]

Thanks Gents. We'll chalk it up I guess ...

 

[REBrueckner]

Greg,
I'd ask the yard to cover the replacement....that, at a minimum, will make them pay attention this fall if they winterize your boat again. Clearly the winterizing was NOT done properly....

Was it a ball or seacock type arrangement??

 

[GJD]

Forgive me Rob but best I know is it's referred to as a seacock and also, visually, the part that's busted is what I assume is an inner ball valve right where the lever engages the housing (toward the base of the 'seacock')

Thanks for your help!

 

[aquacraig@shaw.ca]

This info will make everybody an expert!

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/seacock_primer

 

[GJD]

We're on the hard now and yard boys say that the inner ball needs to be sort of burped when winterizing. If they're not that's what freezes and breaks. I applied the mighty putty kind of stuff to the cracked housing and that got us all the way from the marina to the boat yard. Stuff worked really well for this application (temporary patch).

Hooray for boating 2009! Time to spend those first boat bucks!

 

[REBrueckner]

Aquacraig,
good post...great photos...thnx,

As many here likely know, brass is an alloy of copper and zinc....not so good for boats.....bronze is copper and tin...

 

[jim rosenthal]

I agree that the fellow who winterized your boat ought to pay for the repair. You have a haulout, plus the costs of the parts and installation. They ought to pay for it. Properly winterized equipment survives the winter intact, don't you think?

 

[saltshaker]

Was the boat stored in or out of the water? When I leave mine in for the winter I pull the drain plug on the seacock. The ER stays warm from the block heaters and I hang a work light in the forward bilge to help keep it a bit warmer. When I store on the hard, I open all seacocks after everything is winterized. Never had a freeze problem even when I was in Northern NY where winter temps were often well below 0.

 

[GJD]

I agree, the mechanic is liable and has said as much. He'll make good on it I'm sure (even if it's future labor - he's an industrious and conscientious guy).

Boat was in the water and i'm sure the fact that he didn't pull that plug that Jack mentions is how we screwed the pooch. Next winter we'll certainly do that as well as keep the ambiant temp inside around 40.

All part of the fun, ain't it?

 

[captddis]

check post#2

 

[GJD]

Post #2 nailed it - right at the start. Thanks captddis.

 

[captddis]

Greg,
Glad you got it fixed. I wasn't looking for thanks, it just seems sometimes things get over anylized to death. Hopefully the rest of the summer will be trouble free. Dave

 

[GJD]

captddis - that's part of the charm of this site, ain't it? We got experts, schmexperts, perma-newbies (me) and lurkers who stop in for a good chuckle.

Yes, and I have already decided the rest of this season will be trouble free!