Weeping seacock

[afterwork]

I have a weeping seacock and the boat is not planned to get hauled out until late next year. The leak is not bad just a little water that sits in the bottom (see attached). I’m thinking about just adding 5200 or marine goop around the fitting to give it a little better seal and keep it at bay until I can haul the boat out. Any ideas or should I not even worry about it?

[SailingHarmonie]

Let me rephrase your question: “There is water leaking into my boat, is that ok?”

On no ocean I have ever been on is the answer to that, “Don’t worry be happy.”

[HopCar]

You can try the sealant but my guess is it won’t help much. When you next haul replace those ball valves with real flanged seacocks.

[boatpoker]

Depends on exactly what is leaking. If those are typical Euro plated brass ball valves I'd move up the haulout schedule.

[MicHughV]

Had a leaking bronze thru' hull once. Tried everything, but could stop the slow drip.

Had the boat hauled and took the thru' hull apart and found that the tapered plug had several large holes in it from some type of electrolysis/corrosion as was the inside of the actual housing. Spent hours trying to lap the plug smooth using lapping compound, but the holes were simply too big and I could not stop the leak.

This prompted met to check all the other thru' hulls and found the same situation in several, but not all the thru' hulls.

All my thru' hulls were bonded to each other and to a bronze grounding plate under the hull.

Obviously some kind of electrolysis was at work here, but I had no idea of why or when.

Long story short, it became an expensive haulout. Still not sure today what caused it, but I'd recommend a haulout as you simply don't want a leaking thru' hull on your boat for any reason.

[deblen]

https://marinehowto.com/seacock-thru-hull-primer/


https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...er-211436.html

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by afterwork

I have a weeping seacock and the boat is not planned to get hauled out until late next year. The leak is not bad just a little water that sits in the bottom (see attached). I’m thinking about just adding 5200 or marine goop around the fitting to give it a little better seal and keep it at bay until I can haul the boat out. Any ideas or should I not even worry about it?

Me - I would worry. Today I would start researching and gathering the items and materials needed to replace the weeping seacock. I would then look at what I need to do to get the problem solved ASAP (like weeks not months). I would also inspect every other seacock when hauled.

Obviously it is not so urgent that it needs doing yesterday but the leak will only get worse - what are the odds, what are the costs and what sort of risk / reward gambler are you?

[Fortytwo]

Is it leaking above or below the ball valve?

[skipperpete]

Your photo seems to show that the PSS bellows is in contact with the nearest hose clamp, not offering any advice, just pointing it out.
There seems to be something unusual about the condition of the two hose barbs on your seacocks, what metal are they made from? They look corroded.

[Tin Tin]

Does the leak stop when you shut the valve?

[5BTM]

Mine had a crack, resulting from the previous owner leaving it closed during winter haulout.

I used JB Waterweld putty and self sealing silicone plumbing tape to reduce a guscher to a weep for the season.
.

[gonesail]

from my experience .. minor weeping can resolve itself over a short amount of time. it could be condensation. but your seacocks don't look like proper seacocks .. so there's that to be concerned with

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by HopCar

You can try the sealant but my guess is it won’t help much. When you next haul replace those ball valves with real flanged seacocks.

I agree. Also, afterwork does not provide some pertinent info. What boat, how old, where is the boat, is it in freezing water over the winter?

Are those really bronze? My guess is probably not. Most ball valves are not.

If they are old brass and in freezing water I agree that a haulout should be scheduled much earlier than late next year.

Once hauled I would give those fittings a good whack with a hammer just to see how deteriorated they actually are.

[SailingHarmonie]

Just wow….

I guess I am just chicken. There is no way I would take a boat with a leaking thru-hull fitting further offshore than I was willing to swim back.

These fittings don’t develop leaks for trivial reasons. They don’t unthread, or otherwise have minor issues. They start leaking because they have serious corrosion issues or mechanical failures. They don’t “get better.”

Rule #1 on a boat is “Keep the water out of the boat.” If you can’t afford to fix a leaking seacock, or, even worse, don’t consider it important, you have a boat I’m never sailing on.

[jamhass]

For what it's worth, I have had thru-hulls and seacocks replaced in the water. One, where I only replaced the seacock using the original thru-hull (it was in very good condition) was accomplished with no (nada, zero) water in the boat. Another time my diver installed a brand new seacock, including drilling a new hole in the boat, with nearly no water in the boat. His trick is basically using a clear plastic bowl sealed to the outside of the hull. He has one with a rubber glove sealed to the bowl for good access.