Thru-hulls -- ease my worried mind

[onestepcsy37]

owned a vega 27 for five years and liked it. nice sailing boat and ultimately simple - especially after i removed the albin inboard and replaced it with an evinrude outboard (back in the 1970's).

two things you might check.

'chainplates' are actually U bolts. strong and simple and easily replaced. but they wear at the point where the turnbuckle meets the U-bolt. depending on how much you sail it i would loosen each shroud once or twice a year and check for wear on the U bolt.

cracks in hull where rudder shaft goes through the hull. i had some weeping around the rudder shaft and discovered hairline cracks in the fiberglass radiating out an inch or two. easy fix. i 'tilted' the stern out of the water (that's another story) to get the rudder area up and then glassed and epoxied for about four inches around the shaft.

i would have kept that boat a few years longer but it had one problem i could not easily remedy. it had 5'10" headroom. i'm 5'11". and after five years i had to move on or get a permanent slouch in my back......

[Captain Anthony]

Following

[Djarraluda]

Originally Posted by chasmains

I’m seeing a basic lack of knowledge about the types of valves out there.
Yours in the photo could be a gate valve OR a globe valve. Almost every gate or globe ever made goes SHUT by turning the valve handle all the way to the right several turns (Right is as you look at it from the exposed end of the valve stem (the stem mounts the handle)).
Sea cocks, as discussed by stormalong, are often Ball Valves. (Many in ships are not, often gate valves). Ball valves SHUT by turning the valve handle 90 degrees to the right. And OPEN by turning it 90 degrees to the left.
It it best to back off opening a globe or gate valve by 1/4 to 1/2 turn so that you will not jamb them open.
Good Luck.

Sadly not so true! Having lived in HK in 70s/80s, there were many taps and valves from China that were the reverse. For HK Gov't projects, the specifications used to define "turn clockwise to close" but for many private/commercial projects it was a tad random.
I had to replace the gate valve on my heads when the whole wheel came off in my hand and yes, I had some 6 plus guests onboard and we had just left the typhoon shelter for the day. The ladies were not amused but in those days you could safely swim in the adjacent waters.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by xxxxx

Curious... Why the hose?

That gray corrugated hose with the cuff is terrible when new, and ages poorly. It usually gets so stiff it’ll crack if you give it a sideways glance.

[Chenega]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

That gray corrugated hose with the cuff is terrible when new, and ages poorly. It usually gets so stiff it’ll crack if you give it a sideways glance.

Agree 100%... get new hose! I had the same hose break when packing gear.

[aa1bflyboy]

Originally Posted by xxxxx

Curious... Why the hose?

These hoses can over time become brittle and crack very easily. I purchased an Aloha 32 ‘1986’ and most of the hoses were original and dry rotted. At first glance they looked okay but when I was removing them they fell apart. Since you are going to be taking the hose off the seacock/valve and installing the proper system why cut a corner on the hose it is connected to it? There’s a pretty good chance that you will have to cut it off anyway so if you plan to replace it it will not matter if it falls apart in your hands when you try to remove it. That is what happened on one of mine. Actually made that part a piece of cake.

[goodoldvega]

Lots of scare stories and nonsense on here about these valves; they are actually proper bronze gate valves (not brass), as originally fitted when the boats were new. I know this because I've owned an original Vega for the last 12 years; great boat, and all my valves are still in good shape and work just fine; I'm a professional engineer and I pay close attention to such things. You can change them if you like, but if they are in good condition and working ok, you should keep in mind that the modern valves are unlikely to be manufactured from the same quality of material ( fancy DZR brasses, various plastics, etcetc; of course the people who want to sell you new valves at great expense will disagree with this). The main issue with these valves is that people sometimes forget which way is open and which way is closed; easy with a ball valve, with a gate valve, not so much. However, if you remember righty - tighty, lefty-loosy, you should be ok... I would clean them up and give them a good check over before throwing them in a skip and spending a bunch of cash. Just my tuppence worth!

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by chasmains

clip...

Yours in the photo could be a gate valve OR a globe valve. Almost every gate or globe ever made goes SHUT by turning the valve handle all the way to the right several turns (Right is as you look at it from the exposed end of the valve stem (the stem mounts the handle)).

clip...

.

Not so much.

Most ball valve through hull shutoffs (not laminated into the hull nor bolted down, at least) will have a stopper screw to determine which way "off" is.

Universally, however, it's in line for open and at right angles for closed...

I believe nearly any globe valve will be that way, other than the half-turn PVC valves I've seen sometimes.

I dunno about the conical old-style, rebuildable ones, either, but...

Just replaced one (in this case, due to the available space, turns "left," as viewed from the handle side, to shut), so fresh in my memory; it's been so for the 14+ years I've lived aboard...

[bgallinger]

Ya done good, but do get rid of that Gate Valve and replace it with a 1/4 turn Ball Valve!

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

Not so much.

Clip.

Just replaced one (in this case, due to the available space, turns "left," as viewed from the handle side, to shut), so fresh in my memory; it's been so for the 14+ years I've lived aboard...

Funny, it's such an abominable chore (due to location and how I have to be while servicing), I'd forgotten about the through-hull cutoff for my refrigeration water; it's a lefty, too, as is the more accessible one for the toilet feed/sink drain in the forward head, nearly never touched, so forgotten in this example...

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by goodoldvega

Lots of scare stories and nonsense on here about these valves; they are actually proper bronze gate valves (not brass), as originally fitted when the boats were new. I know this because I've owned an original Vega for the last 12 years; great boat, and all my valves are still in good shape and work just fine; I'm a professional engineer and I pay close attention to such things. You can change them if you like, but if they are in good condition and working ok, you should keep in mind that the modern valves are unlikely to be manufactured from the same quality of material ( fancy DZR brasses, various plastics, etcetc; of course the people who want to sell you new valves at great expense will disagree with this). The main issue with these valves is that people sometimes forget which way is open and which way is closed; easy with a ball valve, with a gate valve, not so much. However, if you remember righty - tighty, lefty-loosy, you should be ok... I would clean them up and give them a good check over before throwing them in a skip and spending a bunch of cash. Just my tuppence worth!

They may be bronze but gate valves have no business being used as seacocks. The internal screw can break, the gate can jam. in either case the valve can be open when you think it is closed. Only with a 90 degree turn valve - ball or cone can you be sure it is open or closed.

[Mark Thurlow]

Originally Posted by chasmains

I’m seeing a basic lack of knowledge about the types of valves out there.
Yours in the photo could be a gate valve OR a globe valve. Almost every gate or globe ever made goes SHUT by turning the valve handle all the way to the right several turns (Right is as you look at it from the exposed end of the valve stem (the stem mounts the handle)).
Sea cocks, as discussed by stormalong, are often Ball Valves. (Many in ships are not, often gate valves). Ball valves SHUT by turning the valve handle 90 degrees to the right. And OPEN by turning it 90 degrees to the left.
It it best to back off opening a globe or gate valve by 1/4 to 1/2 turn so that you will not jamb them open.
Good Luck.

More accurately: Ball valves can be added in many ways but the valve is closed when the handle is opposed to the angle of the flow ie 90 deg and open when inline with the flow, traditionally the open end of the handle is on the upstream side when open but not always!

[chasmains]

Thanks for adding your comment, Mark. I wasn’t clear there.
Please note that lever handles are on most ball valves but not all. Some have round handles but are likely not in the pleasure craft world. This is often the case if no lever swing clearance exists in the location. Another clue to valve position, most Ball valves I’ve seen also have a small straight notch stamped into the end of the valve stem. It aligns with the ball’s port, and indicates the valve’s position (open or shut). The notch is parallel to the pipe when the valve is open.