robMc
regular
Reged: 05/12/2006
Posts: 82
Loc: Nth East Scotland
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Just a quick question about Sea Cocks on a jabsco sea toilet.
I know how to work the flush & refill and I know that the sea cocks should be closed when the boat is left (on a pontoon mooring). But in the user manual there are warnings about closing the sea cocks when not in use.
Now does this mean that they should only be opened when someone needs to use the lav? (Cue. crawling on hands and knees and lifting 2 locker hatches OR can I open them before a trip and then close them before leaving the boat at the end of the day.
To avoid questions, the toilet was professionally installed at the time of build (Hardy Marine) the previous owner had never used it and simply did not have a clue about this question... there's quite a lot else he didn't know.. but that's another story!
Thanks in advance for your pearls of wisdom 
Rob
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RobMc
www.moray-cottages.com
www.morayfirthboatcharter.co.uk
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TugWilson
regular
Reged: 01/02/2007
Posts: 462
Loc: Sunny Cumbria
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I only close mine when there is nobody onboard or the boat is going to be left unattended for a while,Normaly when the boat is in use the seacocks are left open (i stand to be corrected if my method is considered "bad form"  )
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Never Argue With An Idiot,They Drag You Down To Their Level And Beat You With Experience
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Kawasaki
regular
Reged: 21/06/2004
Posts: 4459
Loc: Anglesey Wales
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As per TW
Close when leaving the boat for some time.
'Some Time' I dunno, maybe a week or so?
Leave 'Open' whilst the boat is 'active'
One thing I do with My Cock is to manipulate it from time to time.
The Sea cock too.
They tend to seize up if they are not 'worked' regularly.
Made of steel and bronze/ brass + the salt water element, tiss a recipe for disaster if not moved now and again.
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Jerk of all trades. Expert in none.
Plus Don,t do serious, lifes too short.
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carlton
regular
Reged: 08/09/2005
Posts: 2751
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It makes sense to close any seacock when you're not on board the boat, i.e., it's unlikely to sink from an open seacock if the seacock's are shut. Having said that, does anyone on here know of any boat that has actually sunk due to a dodgy seacock ?
Of course, the difficult thing to do is to remember to open your raw water intake(s) before frying your engine, so many people just don't bother.
I'd open the bog seacock when on board, and shut it before you step off the boat, but it's your call/boat. 
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gwylan
regular
Reged: 31/05/2007
Posts: 268
Loc: Portishead, on tour
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Simple and practical solution, go to nearest hardware shop and buy a red bucket and a blue bucket. In addition you will need a hank of sash cord and a set of white stick on letters.
Carefully cut the sash cord into two equal lengths.
Using the stick on letters mark each bucket with your boat name - looks stylish and it means that any wreckage can be easily identified.
With the most seaman like knot that you know attach a length of the sash cord to each bucket.
For extra style and finesse you can put a figure of eight knot or something similar in the free end of each of the lines.
Now establish a boat rule that you apply with a brutal rigor and unstinting violence - usually something like 'red before bed use blue and your dead'
Now, instill in crew, family and whatever friends you still have that they use the red bucket to relieve themselves and the blue bucket for boat washing and personal hygiene opportunities.
Your final moment of triumph is to weld the sea cocks shut and sleep easy.
An unexpected by product of this is that less and less people want to spend time on your boat - as they find sitting on the red bucket in the cockpit, whilst the rest of the party are enjoying and early evening G&T, mildly inhibiting. The other hint is not to invite back those who enjoy this invigorating routine
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The pessimist complains about the wind;
the optimists expects it to change;
the realist adjusts the sails
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houghn
regular
Reged: 20/04/2004
Posts: 2810
Loc: Birmingham-sur-Mer
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I only ever close the sea cocks to work them occasionally to stop them seizing. The rest of the time they're open. If they're going to break, they'll do it when underway, when they'll be open anyway. Only other risk is electrolysis, so I keep an eye on that, although recently found a couple of sea cocks I didn't even know I had for the cockpit drains.
Insurance companies say they have very few claims relating to flooding due to sea cocks being left open, but plenty of engine seizures due to them being left closed.
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rickp
regular
Reged: 10/11/2002
Posts: 5361
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Quote:
Insurance companies say they have very few claims relating to flooding due to sea cocks being left open, but plenty of engine seizures due to them being left closed.
Would your insurance company pay up if you screwed your engine because you didn't open a seacock?
Rick
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jfm
regular
Reged: 16/05/2001
Posts: 7480
Loc: London/Antibes
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Well it's all down to your personal view of risks and stuff and for sure you are more likely to die in a car crash driving to the boat than have it sink due to an open seacock. I've had my current boat 4 years and always leave it parked the seacocks open. Life is just way too short to worry about stuff like this and to waste time opening/closing seacocks everytime you want a slash or arrive/go home
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gwylan
regular
Reged: 31/05/2007
Posts: 268
Loc: Portishead, on tour
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Have you checked them recently? Found out the hard way, with floor boards floating that the sea cocks were not all they might be!
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The pessimist complains about the wind;
the optimists expects it to change;
the realist adjusts the sails
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No_Regrets
regular
Reged: 09/07/2007
Posts: 1268
Loc: Welwyn Garden City, Herts UK.
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I leave my single seacock open, although I'm only on the Thames in around a fathom.
The pipe from the seacock is in good condition and secure, whats more it ends up above water level, so is the only weak point (i.e. anything else in the system isn't going to have an effect if it fails at berth)
I see no reason a solidly mounted chunk of brass should fail.
(Ice excepted)
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Birchwood Owners Association (BOA) forum now open here -> http://birchwoodboats.aceboard.com/
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houghn
regular
Reged: 20/04/2004
Posts: 2810
Loc: Birmingham-sur-Mer
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I think so. I know of one that paid up when a poly bag got sucked into the inlet and achieved the same end result. I also know of one where the sea cock was left open, and the inlet pipe on a plastic strainer snapped off and partially sank the boat, and they paid up then as well.
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jfm
regular
Reged: 16/05/2001
Posts: 7480
Loc: London/Antibes
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Yes I have checked them thoroughtly and recently! Passed my "MOT" (MCA inspection) 2 weeks ago! I'm not saying one cant break and sink my boat right now while I'm typing this. It's just that that is VERY unlikely, and I'd prefer to take that risk than faff about (twice) with seacocks every time someone wants a pee
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gwylan
regular
Reged: 31/05/2007
Posts: 268
Loc: Portishead, on tour
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Sailors do it over the stern
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gwylan
regular
Reged: 31/05/2007
Posts: 268
Loc: Portishead, on tour
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oops, maybe I should re pharse that......
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The pessimist complains about the wind;
the optimists expects it to change;
the realist adjusts the sails
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motayotty
regular
Reged: 09/10/2005
Posts: 152
Loc: Somerset
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I have always been led to believe that on a boat underway if it slams the force of the water into an open port could cause it to fail. Hence when travelling at low speeds I will leave them open. For faster modes I will close them.
When unnattended for the aforementioned periods of time they will always be closed. Cant remember who told me but seems to make sense? Close to an old wives tale but suits me sir!
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Oneaway
regular
Reged: 16/12/2005
Posts: 804
Loc: back in the UK
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I know this a bit anorakish of me, but jabsco's intructions state;-
"after every usage, both seacocks (or secondary valves) must be shut, wheneveryour craft is unattended,even if for a very short period of time, both seacocks, (even if secondary valves are fitted)MUST be shut"
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"It's Better to Have Memories Than Dreams"
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Dave3729
regular
Reged: 01/11/2006
Posts: 129
Loc: Hornchurch, Essex
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Being one of the sad people that have to attend work during the week i only visit my boat on the weekends. I could not think of anything worse than lifting up the carpets to turn on the toilet seacocks every weekend and of when i left. I have just had new toilets fitted and left the floor up for a week to make sure of no leaks. They will now stay open until winter.
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Is that land over there ?
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TugWilson
regular
Reged: 01/02/2007
Posts: 462
Loc: Sunny Cumbria
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At the end of the day i suppose its like most things in life its down to personal choice,Whatever your happy with, niether is right or wrong.(or am i wrong?  )
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Never Argue With An Idiot,They Drag You Down To Their Level And Beat You With Experience
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James_Calvert
regular
Reged: 06/10/2001
Posts: 93
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If your heads has a small lever near the pump marked "flush" and "dry" - or words/symbols to that effect, you should return it to dry for the last few pumps, and leave it there when finished. If you don't, water can - and in particular cases will - enter through the inlet seacock. I guess that's one reason why it's held that the best practice is to turn sea cocks off.
For my boat - a raggie with a two tonne keel - the top of the bowl is below the waterline and I woke up early one morning to see a flipflop surfing past about six inches above the cabin sole. Took me over an hour to pump out - I've had a thing about turning off those sea cocks ever since.
I guess the same effect could be achieved in a stinky when planing, depending where the inlet is oriented ie whether it would blow or suck.
Otherwise, at rest, if the heads is above the waterline, I guess the risk of flooding is just from the piping connected to the seacocks. If this is inspected regularly (eg at least annually), and there's no danger of it getting dislodged between inspections, the risk of failure would be very low. Just as well as it's a risk I have to take with my cockpit drains which drain through seacocks below the waterline. If I turned these seacocks off, my cockpit would fill up with rain water when I was away and cause all other kinds of problems.
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Martynk
regular
Reged: 28/12/2004
Posts: 1009
Loc: Cheshire, UK
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I sort of tried both - I thought one day I would turn them all off before I left the boat for 4 weeks. Stuck a big sticker on the keys and a yellow sticky note on the dash.
Got back and had trouble turning one of the engine seacocks on, in the end I got it replaced, but i couldnt help feel that leaving them open, and then opening and shutting them everytime I came on teh boat tp keep them moving worked a lot better than leaving it shut. I think lots of rubbish must have built up, preventing it from opening again.
Also I felt a right pillock when the only other time I turned everything off, I forgot to turn the aircon stopcock on, and of course it overheated, so cue new pump. Expensive mistake, so bugger it, I just leave them open now. I asked on the marina, and no one I came across on my pontoon shuts them.
Lets hope that I continue to find that
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jfm
regular
Reged: 16/05/2001
Posts: 7480
Loc: London/Antibes
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No, only some of them.
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