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Post by Tafika II on Feb 24, 2013 16:18:38 GMT
I final got rid of all of the factory junk thru hull fittings during last week haul out...just in time. They removed the engine hose and the "pink fitting" broke off at the hull. When I replaced it, I installed a side valve allowing to use the engine pump to pump water from the bilge in an emergency. (see photo attached).  |
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Post by sailbleu on Feb 25, 2013 9:57:14 GMT
Very smart that emergency bypass .
Regards
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ChrisH
Full Member
Out West, or in the office.
Posts: 36
Jeanneau Model: 342
Country: Scotland
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Post by ChrisH on Feb 25, 2013 23:52:31 GMT
I'm in the same process on my 1999 SO 34.2. Following on from the publicity of the last year or so surrounding dodgy seacocks, I 've kept an eye on mine and all appear fine except the raw water intake for the engine which had a bit of green surface corrosion. On removing the seacock, F-F tail and pipe which lead up to the Vetus strainer, the scoop skin fitting appears to be solid and the right colour (was reading a couple of Vyv's articles from PBO Nov 10 and YM Sept 11). Also the ball valve despite the surface corrosion looks ok. However the F-F tail looked very 'copper' and when I started to clean up the threads with an awl, a bit of the thread broke away. I then brike a bit away with my finger!! As I said... EEK. At least the duff part was on the inboard side of the seacock. Looking at the setup, I think this bit is cheap material and has suffered the dezincification which has caused the green corrosion on the outside of this set up below the tail. Remember to have a look at yours and not leave things that are out of sight and out of mind.   I will be replacing the ball valve and F-F tail but I suppose the question I have now is that whilst I think I can see the component that has failed, should I replace the through hull strainer which appears okay as this looks like being a hard job? If I do need to replace the through hull strainer, which I assume is bedded in with Sikaflex, has anyone done this or got any advice on how best to do it?  Chris |
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Post by sitara on Feb 26, 2013 3:44:01 GMT
Had the same occurrence on a mates Sunfast 36 (1996). The hosetail on the sink drain disintegrated on a trip. The only positives were that it was upstream of the seacock and that it did not fail at night or when we were away from the boat.
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Post by sailbleu on Feb 26, 2013 9:00:14 GMT
Had the same occurrence on a mates Sunfast 36 (1996). The hosetail on the sink drain disintegrated on a trip. The only positives were that it was upstream of the seacock and that it did not fail at night or when we were away from the boat. and exactly for that reason I installed watersensors some years ago. I have 4 locations in my boat with detection of rising bilge water. I get a audio alarm when that happens and also an indication where the water is detected , be near my watermaker , center boat , back part or engine room. I also intend to expand these detections with a GSM / cellphone device that sends a text message when water is spotted. Just need to wire things it up. It really supprises me that there are still that many boaters/boats without such alarms. I like to know what happens beneath my floorboards you see. Regards |
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Post by Mistroma on Feb 28, 2013 1:12:42 GMT
Cheaper and more effective to check and maintain the skin-fittings, valves, elbows and tails. If a part crumbles as easily as shown in picture above, the boat may be underwater before you get back on-board after getting an SMS.
I have 2 sensors and get an SMS for water in the bilges (or fire, freezing, break in, position change etc.). However, I've always considered the bilge alarm the least useful feature. However, I check the skin-fittings regularly and turn all valves off when not on-board. I think that's a lot more useful than having the sensors.
Alarms are fine but I think checks and maintenance are a higher priority.
A friend had a call from his marina many years ago. He only lived 30 mins. from the boat and rushed down as soon as they called. Someone reported that his boat was low in the water. When he arrived there were lines going down into the water and a mast sticking up from the surface. A very old valve had crumbled away and water poured in at quite a rate. He's pretty paranoid now about checking valves and related items.
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