Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
I need to remove the marine head from my 1983 C-25 while it is still in the water. My boat still has an old gate valve (think that's what it is called) rather than a seacock.
Can anyone tell me which way way to turn the valve to close it? (I'd rather know this now before removing the hose!) :)
Thanks in advance!!!
Joseph Washburn (Southport, NC) 1983 C-25 FK/TR "Disciple Ship" #4090
Clockwise or Righty tighty. If this is the famous gate valve that's in a fiberglass volcano then please be very cautious when applying any pressure to it. The have been known to just pull out of the volcano leaving you with a hole in the boat. Good luck!
Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688 Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound
Clockwise or Righty tighty. If this is the famous gate valve that's in a fiberglass volcano then please be very cautious when applying any pressure to it. The have been known to just pull out of the volcano leaving you with a hole in the boat. Good luck!
Thanks! And I will. Replacing these things is high on my list!
Joseph Washburn (Southport, NC) 1983 C-25 FK/TR "Disciple Ship" #4090
Have a wooden or rubber cone available. Those bronze pipes have crumbled in people's hands (from what I've read here--I had ball-valve seacocks on proper thru-hulls).
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Have a wooden or rubber cone available. Those bronze pipes have crumbled in people's hands (from what I've read here--I had ball-valve seacocks on proper thru-hulls).
That is a great idea! They are always close by...but I'll make sure they are EXTRA close by when I take on this project.
Here is a picture of the valve I am dealing with. Of the three thru hulls on our boat, right or wrong I have always felt this one was the least of my concerns.
Those things give me the creeps. How old is it by now, 30 years?
Re: "If this is the famous gate valve that's in a fiberglass volcano ... have been known to just pull out of the volcano leaving you with a hole in the boat."
The photo linked looks like the gate valve may be atop a bronze thru-hull fitting in this case.
Re: "Can anyone tell me which way to turn the valve to close it?"
I suggest you also verify the valve is closed as early in the procedure as practical. I don't know how your head is plumbed. Maybe try flushing some clean water with the valve closed, and see if the pump feels like it's hydraulic locked? As I recall, one of the failure modes was handle feels more or less normal, even though the gate (a.k.a. guillotine) itself is partly corroded away.
Re: "Have a wooden or rubber cone available. Those bronze pipes have crumbled in people's hands..."
I suggest you also think past having a tapered plug handy. If you need more encouragement to be prepared for trouble, maybe calculate the flow rate through that size pipe that far below the waterline. Would your boat's automatic bilge pump be able to keep ahead of that? For how long? From a potential "Oh crap!" moment, how long will it take you to get your boat out of the water? By the time it's being lifted, how much more might it weigh from taking on water?
I try to avoid messing around with holes near or below the waterline while the boat is in the water.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
It is easy to replace a gate valve with a proper one when out of the water. And, after 5-10-20 or so years any valve should be inspected and changed out if the inspection shows any unusual wear.
Peter Bigelow C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick Rowayton, Ct Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.