Notice - Experienced boaters can skip the following paragraph:
A seacock is a heavy bronze valve that allows you to close a thruhull on a boat. A thruhull is exactly what it sounds like, a hole thru the hull. Thruhulls can be most importantly classified as above or below the waterline. If a hose connected to a below the waterline thruhull fails, in the absence of a workable seacock, water will enter and in fairly short order sink the boat. Seacocks are very important. A picture of a seacock follows:
The seacock in question is on a 1 1/2" thruhull below the waterline through which our sewage is discharged after going through our Electro Scan marine sanitation device. Simply put, it is a mini sewage treatment plant. But the Florida Keys are a 'No Discharge Zone' in which no waste can be discharged treated or otherwise - very stupid rule IMHO. In this configuration all our waste goes into a holding tank to be later pumped out into a sewer system (which in the Keys is a whole other story).
However, being compliant law abiding people, we shut down the Electro Scan and closed its discharge seacock. Last week I (Tom) wanted to flush it out more thoroughly and went to open the seacock. No go - it would not budge - it was frozen closed.
Now being frozen closed is better than being frozen open because the above boat sinking scenario is less likely, but it does, however, render our Electro Scan inoperative.
Fixing this problem is complicated by the fact that if you removed the seacock with the boat in the water, the boat would sink. In the worst case, you need to haul the boat out the water to fix the valve, not an easy or inexpensive task on a 23,000 pound boat.
So after a little internet reseach, I pulled the hose from the discharge side of the valve, removed a drain plug (no water leak with the valve closed) and began to bathe the innards of the valve with a product called PB Blaster (on the label - 'as seen on TV'). It usually takes a day of so to work, so religously each morning I tapped lightly on the valve and tried to open it up - no luck for over a week.
We had almost given up and were ready to schedule a haulout, when without much hope, I again repeated my morning ritual of tapping and trying to open the valve. Totally unexpectedly, it cracked open!!!
At this point a small amount of water was leaking from the drain hole. My mind refused to shut the valve - for crying out loud it had been stuck for over a week. I quickly analyzed the situation- if I open the valve completely, the water will not be able to come out the 3/8" drain. Even the slow-witted reader will identify the weakness in this 'plan' - remember the hose I removed from the 1 1/2" outlet of the valve.
Well opening the valve stopped the small leak from the drain, but water began to gush from the outlet. Then I finally conceded to closing the valve, but not before several gallons of oily water filled the bottom of some of our storage compartments.
Well the story ends well. After reattaching the hose, and applying some grease through the drain plug, the valve works fine.
Moral to the story:
- PB Blaster is great stuff, although it make take longer than you think;
- If you try to open a valve, always assume it will open, regardless of past history.
Tom
S/V Barefoot
Docked in Marathon, FL
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