|
|
Post by hawker63 on Nov 29, 2020 8:50:50 GMT -5
I close my sea cocks when I leave the boat but they are
Very awkward to reach down into the bilge abs it’s a tight fit between the engines. Has anyone figured or found an extension to add to the handles to open/close without having to reach into the bottom of the bilge?
|
|
|
|
Post by gofast24 on Nov 29, 2020 12:20:57 GMT -5
We have never closed the sea cocks when leaving boat. Just make sure they don't leak while open (or worse yet, closed) and no sea water leaks anywhere else in engine room every so often!
|
|
|
|
Post by lg260ss on Nov 29, 2020 12:26:11 GMT -5
I too have never closed a sea cock when leaving my boat.
|
|
|
|
Post by hawker63 on Nov 29, 2020 13:13:58 GMT -5
Thanks. I close them because it’s ensures they never seize and I’d rather be absolutely sure no water can get into boat through the AC sea cock or the engine sea cocks in the remote event anything g ever failed. So back to my original questions, has anyone found a good handle/extension to make this easier?
|
|
|
|
Post by sgilbert on Nov 29, 2020 16:57:02 GMT -5
I'll agree with all the other comments, but, if you insist, I think you'll have to make or have one made. Talk to friends, neighbors, or, as a last resort, a machine shop.
(where are you located? My son is a machinist )
|
|
|
|
Post by lg260ss on Nov 29, 2020 17:47:26 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by sgilbert on Nov 29, 2020 19:02:34 GMT -5
Well, not a bad solution--IF--there's a place to mount it on the upper area(s). My choice, and I believe, the OP's, would be a 'portable' solution. |
|
|
|
Post by hawker63 on Nov 29, 2020 22:17:51 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by gofast24 on Nov 30, 2020 10:45:52 GMT -5
Ok, but you are the only one I know of that wants to shut of sea cocks every time your leave your vessel? Our 2001 4160 sea cocks are fine, just turn on/off once a year and when changing out sea water impellor's ever two years or so. Guess if you want to turn yours off thats fine?
|
|
|
|
Post by tc33obx on Dec 1, 2020 10:31:18 GMT -5
With my 4460, I ended up getting talented enough with my feet to open and close those seacocks that are at the bottom of the bilge. My Generator was back there in the center on my 4460 as well so if I wanted to close them with my hands I normally ended up laying across the top of one of the engines and reaching down that way. Getting back up was a challenge and I'm fairly fit. After doing it that way several times I ended up practicing the foot approach. Need to have skinny shoes, and I'm a size 10, but it worked.
I should note, that I never closed the seacocks during the season unless I was going to be away from the boat for over a few weeks.
|
|
|
|
Post by hawker63 on Dec 1, 2020 20:49:28 GMT -5
Thanks. We live 4 hrs from boat and are away for weeks at a time so I just took the routine of closing the 3 sea cocks and shutting off the batteries to the engines. It’s part of my close up as I also flush the 3 AC units to try to contain the growth and blow out any dirt/debris that accumulated. Probably overkill, just a routine. Unfortunately I am not as nimble so I find it really tight. My biggest fear is some unexpected failure of a bilge hose/engine hose and with the sea o is closed, no small sea animals get into the air conditioning lines or the engine cooling lines.
|
|
|
|
Post by gofast24 on Dec 2, 2020 11:37:09 GMT -5
If your on shore power at dock I recommend not turning off your starting/house batteries! You need to have charger on all the time your docked, if batteries off, may disconnect your bilge pumps etc? Same if not on shore power, batteries off "may " also render bilge pump inoperable? On your 4460 you should have engine room auto battery charger, let it do its job?
|
|
|
|
Post by sgilbert on Dec 2, 2020 14:25:09 GMT -5
Bilge pumps should be wired direct to batteries--mine are--juat as Regal did them. Might be a CG requisite, but I don't know.
|
|
|
|
Post by hawker63 on Dec 2, 2020 15:06:07 GMT -5
I may not have been clear. We are on shore power and we keep the battery chargers on all the time and leave house batteries on. I started turning off the engine batteries because I ran into an issue where I lost shore power and the galley fridge went to 12vdc which killed the house and starting batteries which meant I couldn’t start the boat or the generator to recharge the batteries. This way, nothing should kill my starting batteries, even if I have a power outage and drain the house battery.
|
|
|
|
Post by gofast24 on Dec 3, 2020 11:16:19 GMT -5
Ya, understand! Gen set starting battery should not be powering your fridge? Our gen set battery gets charged/maintained by either/ both the gen set running and house battery charger, but it is isolated from powering anything else on vessel. Isolator in line on gen set starting battery not allowing any power to flow "back" into boat DC system".
|
|
