Broken Seacock

Skip ThunderBolt

Skip ThunderBolt

New Member
Nov 16, 2022
18
Louisville KY
Boat Info
390 Sea Ray
Engines
2 454 Mercruiser
I was working on winterizing my boat, and the stupid seacock handle broke. This is a perfect example of an easy job going wrong. I live in Louisville, Ky and was planning on keeping my boat in the water this year.

Questions:
Should I try and fix this in the water?
Any idea why the seacock was so hard to shut?

Thanks
 

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Broke closed, or open? They need to be exercised often or they will freeze/lock up. Go easy on it next time :) I am not a seacock expert, they handle may bolt on, some do. My vote is to do it out of the water, not something you want to test in the water IMO.

I don't recognize your type of seacock. From the pics it looks like you could get a pair of vice grips on the end and try to turn it. Again, this is risky in the water.

And do us all a favor; find the source of that oil leak, fix it and clean your bilge :)
 
I wish I had better news for you. That model seacock is really old and uses a membrane internally to stop water flow.

attachment.php



Using this type means you have to release the pressure on the membrane with the t handle on the right side of the valve (see above picture). If you did not do this.....the yellow handle will snap off.

Even if you released the pressure.....the valve has a long history of seizing up on its own resulting in a broken lever. Fortunately.....based on the pictures.....it is stuck in the open position.

There still is hope. What I would try is releasing the t handle and using a large set of vice grips to wiggle the stem back and forth to see if the valve is truly seized. If it is....it needs to be replaced. I'm not sure anyone makes a rebuild kit for that version any longer.

If you can get it to close, at least you can kick it to next season to deal with.
 
you have the old style one. the tee handle on the opposite side lock its in place. meaning to open it or close it. if its not loose its really hard to open or close. you might be able to loosen it and use plyers to close it. than lock it back up
 
As PlayDate advised you must work these valves. I do mine every two months when I clean the strainer baskets. I also remove the drain plugs, insert a Z fitting and grease them once a year. Be sure to use a grease that will not harm the membrane

If it was me I’d use this as a good time to replace or rebuild the valve. Pull the boat and replace the valve and the other valve that isn’t hooked up to anything could be addressed at the same time.
 
I wouldn't try to fix this in the water. The reason is that this is an old Groco design that is no longer in production so there are no parts available anywhere. If you break the rubber core or damage the stem, and the boat is in the water, you will have to get an emergency haul out because you will have a 1-1/2" hole in the bottom of the boat and no way to stem the flow into the boat.

Repairing the valve may actually be simple ………drill t he broken handle part left in the stem of the b=valve then use an easy-out to back the part out……(which, I assure you, is easier said than done.) Then thread a suitable bolt into the threaded hole in the stem then, loosen the T handle on the back side of the valve, then move the stem a little at a time, perhaps a light tap on the stem side with the broken handle in it, a little lubricant of your choice, might help. Keep in mind that the center section of the sea cock is a tapered rubber plug. Don't go nuts beating on it, just get it to move. Here is the disclaimer, if the valve is stuck, getting it to move is going to require replacing the brokern handle so you have something to hold on to is almost mandatory because if you damage the stem or booger up the threads in the stem, you are done because you cannot get replacement parts and that gets you to sentence #1 in paragraph #1.

If t his were my challenge, I'd arrange a haul out and order an Apollo Style seacock:

https://www.apollovalves.com/products/369


then, replace the old seacock before this gets to be an emergency. With the boat out of the water you can take a warm morning and free up the other 3 seacocks and try to save them. If you can't, then order new Apollo style seacocks and replace them at your leisure while the boat is winterized and on blocks in the boat yard.

Good luck with it………….
 
I'd pull the boat this winter and replace them. From the looks at your posts, it's new to you, and probably needs a lot of work and learning it's systems.
 
@Skip ThunderBolt Please do yourself a favor and listen to @fwebster and replace as many of them as you can. It sucks getting in there and having to do it. But they are the worst valves ever and really tough to manage. I know I had them and have replaced them. Had one in my 340 and it lock open and the had to hammer a wooden plug into stop the water. That happened right before the 4th and did an emergency haul and replace the gen and AC through hulls, with the ones referenced. Best thing I did, made things supper easy.
 
SKybolt said:
@Skip ThunderBolt Please do yourself a favor and listen to @fwebster and replace as many of them as you can. It sucks getting in there and having to do it. But they are the worst valves ever and really tough to manage. I know I had them and have replaced them. Had one in my 340 and it lock open and the had to hammer a wooden plug into stop the water. That happened right before the 4th and did an emergency haul and replace the gen and AC through hulls, with the ones referenced. Best thing I did, made things supper easy.
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FootballFan said:
I agree. Frank is correct. You do not want a sea cock that you cannot close. Hose blows and you are not able to close the valve you have a boat taking on water.
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more with replacing all with new.
 
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