• Welcome to this website/forum for people interested in the Morgan 38 Sailboat. Many of our members are 'owners' of Morgan 38s, but you don't need to be an owner to Register/Join.

Closing Seacocks

barefoot

Scott J Brown
<div>Ever since I've had my M-383, I've struggled with the seacocks,
especially the one for the head discharge. (And, although the one
for the engine intake isn't difficult to operate, getting to it
IS a hassle.) My previous boat had the same number of seacocks
(5), but they were all easily accessible. Not so the Morgan. Unfortunately, I'm compulsive about closing all of them when no
one's aboard. Should I be? What do other people do? Anyone
have a neat solution?

</div>
 
Lenny. I share your concern. However, I only close the seacocks to the head. All of my 1-1/2 inch seacocks are very stiff and because of the ackward positions I must assume to reach them, it takes all my strength to open and close them. In the engine, I must remove the port side engine access panel to gain access. I do this in the autumn and spring. I will open and close it repeatatively 12 times or so everytime I am there. The galley, I neglect, although, I do inspect all of the seacocks, hoses and connections very frequently for corrsion and deteroration. The head I open and close every weekend and it stays closed when I'm gone. The intake is easy, the discharge is normally closed (I use my holding tank and never discharge while on the Bay). When I do open it I must stand on my head in the trash can opening and brace my feet on the shower bulkhead to operate the seacock. I believe that the head is the most prone to fail. The engine and galley hoses are much heavier and all fittings other than the one at the seacock are above the static water line. Note, the engine strainer is just above the waterline on Njord. I keep wooden plugs at hand for all through hulls and have a hammer on board to install them. I may divise an extension, in the near future, to put on the seacock levers in order to gain some leverage. I wish I knew of a way to lubricate the seacocks while Njord was in the water. My yard will not let me on board while she is on the hard.
 
Lenny, I am from the "new" school. I don't close any of he seacocks on my 384 because they are all such a pain (except the gally drain) to get to. I inspect the hoses and clamps once a year, exercise the seacocks twice a year and lubricate them on haul out. I take good care of my bilge pumps (plural), one of which is always on auto, and make sure the insurance is current. I also visit the boat 2-3 times each week and am there practically every week end. I do have a friend from the "old" school who closes all seacocks every time he leaves the boat, even though he is on the boat at least once each week. We are both comfortable.

 
Lenny: My guess is that if you're already accustomed to spending the time and effort to close them, you probably won't be comfortable otherwise.
Our '79 382 has seven seacocks, and the only one we close is for the air conditioner, to keep it from losing its prime (and it's very accessible). The others take too much time and acrobatic contortions. It's a pain (sometimes literally) just to go around and work them all from time to time. I'm assuming that if your hoses and (double) clamps are in good shape, you don't have much to worry about. And if they're not in good shape, they shouldn't be there. (We always leave one bilge pump on auto, with the battery charger on.) I hope I'm not being too naive, but I think of seacocks as being for rough seas and maintenance closures. If I'm taking a major risk that I'm not aware of, I hope somebody on the board will let me know.
 
Jay. An excelent extension called a cheater can be made from 1" galvanized electrical conduit about 12"-15" long for your head discharge seacock. Flatten one end a little bit in a vice so it will fit over the handle of your valve. I live on our boat and leave out seacocks open all the time but check the hoses and clamps on a regular basis. The valve handles are steel and will rust and corrode. The valve handle on my galley sink drain broke the first time I closed the valve after we bought the boat, and this was without using a cheater. I would recomend checking the condition of all the valve handles.
 
One item overlooked is that all seacocks should be proper
seacocks and not gate valves that are used in many Morgans.
I replaced all after buying the boat and maintain them all monthly.

 
If I am gone for more than a few hours, all sea cocks are closed. I have seen the results --sunk boats. I have bronze groco everywhere, which I intend to dismantle and lubricate once a year if I remember, when the boat is out. the only problem for access is the engine, which is deep in the port cockpit locker, but it still gets shut off. I want to figure out better access or a cheater, however, because it would be tough to access in an emergency, especially if water was coming in.
 
I live on board my 382#46 but I travel a lot and for long periods. I close them every time I travel. I check them thoroughly upon return for wear and tear. Then monthly I inspect them as part of my routine.
My boat has 2 groco's in the head and I assure you it is a pain. I lay down on the hall sole and close them. This year during haul-out, I disassembled them, cleaned, lubed the rubber, put it all back together. It's now very easy to operate. The rest are ball types and still very new. They operate easily. The engine access is difficult. I climb thru the starboard engine access over the trany. It works but it's not a smart set up. Before going off shore for extended cruising I will replace all with groco's.
 
Back
Top