Pearson 365 and 367

I just got this boat last Nov. and in my ongoing inspections, the seacocks for the cockpit drains ARE TOTALLY FROZEN OPEN.  I've tried soaking them with "PC Blaster" and other solvents, and even tried a long "breaker bar" but I can't close these 2 seacocks.  Apparently, these seacocks have been in the "open" position forever.  They seem to be solidly FROZEN OPEN.   And there's no way to remove them as they are one- piece design connected only to the thru-hull cemented to the hull, so the only way to remove them would be a major problem.  My only solution, is to make sure the hoses are in top shape and to keep a set of wooden plugs handy, in case of a leak.  However, my ongoing wish is to someway get these seacocks to really work.  Has anyone has this problem and solved it?
Jack

I have original bronze seacocks on my cockpit drains. They, too are completely frozen open. I am replacing the entire assembly from the thru-hull to the scupper, and installing two additional drains in the aft part of the cockpit. I will be going with Marelon sea-cocks this time, apparently they are a bit cheaper. To remove them, I used a helper with a thru-hull tool, and an impact wrench, and a small amount of cussing.

I have Perko bronze thru-hulls, and Forespar Marelon flush-mount scuppers to install now.

Jack, If your sea cocks are still the origional ones they will have a nut on the back side of the shaft, opposite the handle. if you back that nut of a turn or so and tap the shaft gently from the nut side you may find that it will break loose. I have had good results with these valves as long as the metal is slill OK.
   Sandy

Sandy - I do have the old ones, but the nuts are such in a position that you can't get anything in there to tap on them.  I guess Pearson never thought of this problem when they installed these.  My only solution is to resolve myself to make sure the hoses & clamps are in perfect shape and keep a couple of wooden plugs handy.  Maybe, sometime next season, I'll have the guts to try to remove them & install something more up to date.  The only thing holding these seacocks to the hull appears to be only the thru-hull from the outside of the hull as the seacock is a one-piece design with a round flange cemented (looks like 5200) directly to the hull from the inside.  I can just imagine the difficulty of trying to unscrew that thru-hull out even with one of those thru-hull tools without shearing off those little protrusions inside the thru-hull.  But thanks for your suggestion,  that would work if I could get something behind the nuts.  There's a nice puller tool that would push the whole assembly out, if there was room for the puller, but no such luck.
Jack

Jack got me thinking....does ANYONE really close these cockpit drain seacocks anyway?  Ours are new and I do move them everytime I'm working in the sail locker....but really, we have never closed them when we leave the boat...because...well...because they drain the cockpit!

what are you guys doing?

My cockpit scuppers has a tendancy to clog with debris.  I usually only close the seacocks when I have to pull off the hose in order to clear the clog.

Rich - You are correct!  The only reason to close one of these seacocks would be if one of the hoses comes loose or breaks.  I guess this was Pearson's thinking when they installed them.  I agree that they should never be closed unless you have to replace a hose while the boat is in the water.  Mine have apparently never been closed since who knows when and that's why they are now permanently frozen open.  My current solution is to make sure there's no problem with the hoses.  This shouldn't be a problem for me just presently sailing in the Chesapeake Bay but when I intend to go offshore in the future, I think I will replace these seacocks.  Also If they get clogged with debris, I just blow it out with a garden hose.
Jack

The Risk that I see is that if the port drain clogs below the sink T-in to the line...the cockpit drain could then back-flow into the SINK!

We had the same problem with Magic. I could get the nuts loose, but no room to hit the nut end of the shaft. I ended up using a rubber dead blow hammer on the seacock handle. I kept bumping it gently with the hammer. It took awhile, but the seacock finally moved just a little. I bumped it back closed, then open. It moved a little further with each cycle until it freed up. I freed both of our cockpit seacocks this way.
 Of course, there is risk in this method. You have to be patient, you can't go nuts with the hammer. I had a wooden plug handy, and I had made sure there was a crew available for an emergency lift if needed. I have replaced the hoses on both sides, and cycle both seacocks monthly to keep them free.

I'm replacing all my thru-hulls.  Here are some photos of the old ones.
http://picasaweb.google.com/MarcPRoth/ThruHulls#

We had this problem with Magic, and again now with Abracadabra. Our boat is still on the hard, so this is the time to get them working before we go into the water. I tried the same method I used on Magic and the port seacock and through hull spun in the hull. We are going to see if we can get the seacock and through hull out today. The starboard seacock freed up OK- I disassembled it cleaned/inspected, and greased it.The starboard seacock has been caulked around, so I wonder if it was seeping. I want to remove it too and rebed. I will post the results. This is the biggest project we have left before we can go into the water.

The problem is that they never get cycled closed. I think the seacocks are good quality, but they need to be cycled (probably monthly) to keep them free. I think it would be a great idea to disassemble, clean and lube them during haulouts.

The yard worker removed them in minutes.  I watched what he did.  He put a pipe wrench on the inside nut, which jams when he inserted the thru-hull remover tool and spun from the outside. 
I've worked the valves on my thru-hulls regularly.  They are good thru-hulls, but 30 years is enough.  The head intake and engine raw intake had already been replaced by a previous owner.
Best Regards,
Marc

both my cockpit seacocks and the black water seacock were stuck open on Moonlight Mile, I loosened the rear nut two or three turns and useing a long pipe cheater with moderate force and tapping the cheater with a hammer was able to get them all free, I held the tension while a buddy did the tapping.

We sheared off the drive tangs inside the port thru hull, so I had to grind the end off it to remove the seacock. Once it was out, I sawed and split the thru hull stub and got it out of the seacock. The starboard side came apart like it is supposed to. The starboard seacock was stuck, I warmed it up with a propane torch and it freed up easily. I cleaned it up, repacked it with waterproof grease. I actually found a thru hull locally, and everything is back in the boat with polysulfide compound.

All we need now is a little more wiring on the engine, install the battery charger, batteries, change the head intake seacock, install another bilge pump, shift linkage, fuel plumbing...

Quote from: RayNWanda on April 08, 2009, 07:15:16 AMAll we need now is......

Famous last words of a Boat Owner...ha ah ha...

My original seacocks and thru-hulls don't look so bad, they're not stuck or anything.  If the yard OKs them I'll sell them for a very reasonable amount to another P365 owner.  Maybe even P367, P424....hehe
Best Regards,
Marc

I think it is probably important that we be able to close all of the seacocks on the boat.  If there was a problem with a cockpit drain hose, say an object damaged it, the water would start coming in with no way to stop it, except for a wooden plug, etc.  I wish the cockpit hoses were a bit farther away from the seat storage area so that there was not a danger of damaging them with something.

Quote from: SV THIRD DAY on April 08, 2009, 11:57:29 AM

Quote from: RayNWanda on April 08, 2009, 07:15:16 AMAll we need now is......

Famous last words of a Boat Owner...ha ah ha...

Ain't that the truth... I think we are going to splash Friday... If we don't get bit by something.
We got house batteries and fuel plumbing today. The electrical system seems OK- we put a 10A fuse on the house batteries before we closed the battery disconnect switch. We didn't blow the fuse... the cabin lights all appear to work, we got an engine alarm. We connected the battery without the fuse and fired the engine for a few seconds. Bottom paint tomorrow, the other battery, charger,...

On Both of my seacocks, I didn;t have the guts to do it in the water, but the first time I got lifted, the yard freed them with a hammer and lubed them both. I now regularly exercise them.

I had a slightly different issue. On my port scupper, there was some debris in there, so my wife grabbed a screwdriver to get them out. the lttle cross bar in their immediately broke off, taking the side wall of the scupper with it. I checked it, and it was as brittle and aged as it could possibly be. Trying to get 4 new marleon head scupper to do both these and the mid deck drains (already did the aft deck drains closest to the cockpit), all for th e same issue.