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Ryban · 11-09-2021, 22:49

I just purchased a Westsail 32 and am planning to haul out soon to re-paint, inspect the hull, and service the thru hulls and seacocks.

I think the internals and valves of all the seacocks need to be serviced, as a few are difficult to operate (or I'm afraid to put signifcant force on them to get them to operate). Additionally on 1 or 2 of the sea cocks, the wood backing block seems soft from water exposure, and so I think it's prudent to re-bed all of these.

Since the boat will only be out of the water for a week, what's a good checklist of parts to get in-hand as well as repairs, projects to expect to have to tackle in servicing these thru hulls and their seacocks?

Bowdrie · 12-09-2021, 15:02

Those are the original Groco sea-cocks, been out of production for a long time.
Bud Taplin, over at the Westsail forum may have replacement barrels for them.
That said, those do not look so good, good time to replace them.

ohthetrees · 12-09-2021, 15:44

Consider replacing with Tru Design. Very pleased with mine, cheap, and I prefer to expensive bronze at any price.

HopCar · 12-09-2021, 15:47

Those seacocks haven’t been made in a long time. They are near or at the end of their service life. Parts are extremely hard or impossible to find. Now would be a great time to replace them. The current Groco seacocks are very good.

Bowdrie · 12-09-2021, 16:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohthetrees

Consider replacing with Tru Design. Very pleased with mine, cheap, and I prefer to expensive bronze at any price.

Has ABYC changed their specs?
In the past they would never have approved the practice of simply screwing a valve on to the threaded stem of a thru-hull fitting.
Perhaps I'm being old fashioned, I want a real seacock, that has a flange that's thru-bolted to the hull.
Hanging a valve on some threaded plastic doesn't seem the best of ideas.

shimari · 12-09-2021, 17:55

Trudesign is ABYC H-27 compliant when you use their thru-hulls and collars.

ohthetrees · 12-09-2021, 18:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

Has ABYC changed their specs?
In the past they would never have approved the practice of simply screwing a valve on to the threaded stem of a thru-hull fitting.
Perhaps I'm being old fashioned, I want a real seacock, that has a flange that's thru-bolted to the hull.
Hanging a valve on some threaded plastic doesn't seem the best of ideas.

Tru design has a reinforcing collar that works great. Very strong. Not expensive. Easy to use.

Ryban · 12-09-2021, 19:58

I might also be old fashioned, but anything other than marine grade bronze for a seacock or thru-hull fitting makes me nervous. How do those plastic seacocks compare in longevity and ability to tolerate an impact?

I think I'll just replace them all while I have the opportunity. To their credit though, this boat was the very last "Westsail" built (it was actually built by P&M, hull #9), and the boat wasn't splashed until 1987. So the seacocks might have some more life in them, but why risk it.

The next question is whether I should fork over the money and go with the BV Groco valves over the FBV hardware...

ohthetrees · 12-09-2021, 20:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryban

I might also be old fashioned, but anything other than marine grade bronze for a seacock or thru-hull fitting makes me nervous. How do those plastic seacocks compare in longevity and ability to tolerate an impact?

I think I'll just replace them all while I have the opportunity. To their credit though, this boat was the very last "Westsail" built (it was actually built by P&M, hull #9), and the boat wasn't splashed until 1987. So the seacocks might have some more life in them, but why risk it.

The next question is whether I should fork over the money and go with the BV Groco valves over the FBV hardware...

You do what makes you comfortable, but time and technology march on. If I had to pay more than I would good bronze to have Tru design, I would. Just a happy extra that they are cheaper. They are made of glass reinforced composite, and I would bet money that they had better impact resistance than bronze.

HopCar · 12-09-2021, 21:50

The Groco FBV is an good seacock. The BV is an excellent seacock.
The BV has a stainless ball. The FBV has a chrome plated brass ball
The BV has a heavy bronze handle. The FBV has a stamped stainless handle.
The BV weighs significantly more than the same size FBV.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use either.
The Tru Design is made of glass reinforced plastic and appears pretty strong. It looks much better than the other plastic seacock on the market. It is distributed in the US by Raritan who has a good reputation for quality and customer service. The collar looks like an innovative way to protect the thru-hull fitting.

vpbarkley · 13-09-2021, 09:17

With non-metal seacocks there is no bonding to worry about, a plus.

guyrj33 · 13-09-2021, 10:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

Has ABYC changed their specs?
In the past they would never have approved the practice of simply screwing a valve on to the threaded stem of a thru-hull fitting.
Perhaps I'm being old fashioned, I want a real seacock, that has a flange that's thru-bolted to the hull.
Hanging a valve on some threaded plastic doesn't seem the best of ideas.

I suggest you take a second look at those pictures the OP provided. The seacocks are flanged and through bolted.

stormalong · 13-09-2021, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryban

I might also be old fashioned, but anything other than marine grade bronze for a seacock or thru-hull fitting makes me nervous. How do those plastic seacocks compare in longevity and ability to tolerate an impact..

You have a glass reinforced plastic boat. Why are glass reinforced valve's any different?

My 35 year old boat still has some original Marelon seacocks and through hulls. I replaced one a couple of years ago and the through hull was still solid. Plastic has no galvanic corrosion issues. They will outlast bronze.

Ryban · 13-09-2021, 12:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyrj33

I suggest you take a second look at those pictures the OP provided. The seacocks are flanged and through bolted.

I think he was referring to the TruDesign seacocks not having a flange nor thru-bolts.

Actually, the more I read about the TruDesign composite seacocks, the more I'm becoming a fan. It does seem like a lot of the advantages: no corrosion, no tri-flange thru-bolts needed, about 3-4x cheaper (compared to the BV series), seem to hold up at least as long as the bronze ones -- though I am still a fan of marine-grade bronze on a boat for almost everything.

One drawback right now is that it seems to be hard to find a US supplier with TruDesign seacock sin stock.