# Clogged seacock...please help!



## lowcountryking (Jan 26, 2009)

Okay...I'm a sailor on a budget, so please, any answers short of hauling the boat out would be great. Back in August, I ran Honu up onto an oyster bar (my friends call me Captain Runaground). After finally getting the boat off of the bar, I noticed that no water was coming out of the exhaust. After some time, I finally found that the seacock is clogged (I discovered this by disconnecting the hose, and opening the valve... no water). Please bear in mind that this is the seacock for my raw water cooling system, and that the nearest marina capable of hauling my boat out of the water is an eleven hour sail from the dock. I've been under the boat with a screwdriver (and dive gear) and the block seems to be inside the boat. Any ideas?


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

We need a little bit more Info!!!! is the engine overheating? is it rawwater intake you are speaking of? is the strainer clear? what type of valve ball or gate? Have you tried the screwdriver from inside with hose removed?

Welcome to Sailnet!


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

You disconnected the hose at the seacock, opened the valve, and no water came gushing in?

Pull the hose again, open the seacock and poke down in with the screwdriver. When you get a gusher, close the seacock!

Does this thru-hull have a scoop outside the hull? You might have packed mud into the scoop.

If you get the gusher from inside, you might go under the boat and block the thru-hull with a toilet plunger so you can poke at the stuff inside the thu-hull without a big gusher. You'll probably have to do that several times to clear out the stuff. You could attach a short hose to the seacock that ends just above the waterline so you can poke something long down into the seacock once you've figured that is the problem


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

I have a K-mart socket wrench with a round knurled handle that is just the right size to clear the raw water intake from inside, also had a blockage that I needed to clear quickly and found my "new" hard chrome steel 'seacock sealife removal tool' in the toolbag.


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## timebandit (Sep 18, 2002)

Compressed air?


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## lowcountryking (Jan 26, 2009)

Thanks guys! To answer your questions, it is the raw water intake, and yes the engine is overheating. I'll try your suggestions, please feel free to post any others that occur to you. Thanks again.


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## Rockter (Sep 11, 2006)

Open the seacock and poke it through with a screwdriver. Unless it's full of concrete, it really will clear and you will get blasted up the face with water.

Sometimes a plastic bag is over the intake, so it seems to clear then the bag seals over it again. I have had it happen once and it cleared when I shut the seacock then ran a big brush down the hull to sweep it away.

Whatever you do, DO NOT attempt to clear the blockage with the engine running and hot. It is not a risk if the motor is cold. If the motor is hot and the blockage suddenly clears, cold water will come racing into the hot motor parts and.... ssssccccrrrraaaaaccccckkkkkk!
.


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## higgins (Jun 20, 2006)

Hello,

not sure if it is proper etiquette do jump into this thread with my question,
but as the thread is new and my problem similar, I thought it to be OK.
Otherwise, please let me know.

The similar problem is this:

My boat is in a docked in a brackwater channel. This Sunday I happened again that the engine started fine, water was splashing out of the exhaust nicely. I motored into the river (5 minutes), throttled up and and few minutes later, I realized that the splashing had nearly stopped, and the engine temperature was rising.
I throttled back and it was getting better. I limbed back home, dove under the boat and found plant residue stuffed/sucked into the raw intake seacock.
In contrast to this lowcountryking, I could clean it out easily with a plastic stick.

My question: Any idea how I can prevent this without diving under the boat each time before I start and check ? And even that would not be foolproof, as some plant debris could float by JUST the moment I start the engine.

Are there any sieves or protector devices used to prevent this ?
The boat is a Catalina 30 / 1985 with a wing keel

Thanks


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## svthefilthywhore (Mar 29, 2008)

Higgins,

by dumping the strainer/scoop on the outside of the boat and installing a large strainer on the inside of the boat, you can see any plant matter in the strainer and clean it out while on the water.


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## higgins (Jun 20, 2006)

thanks svthefilthywhore  

I don't have any strainer or scoop on the outside. 
All my "inlets/outlets" are nearly flush on the outside and maybe
1/2 inch wide. (seacocks are all "plastic")

I have a strainer on the inside, size a little bit bigger than an oilfilter,
a clear container with a round metal sieve inside.

But it was clean before I started, had only a tiny bit of debris after I checked it back on the dock, but the "hole" was stuffed from the outside by some black rodden peace of reed.


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## CaptainForce (Jan 1, 2006)

Back to Lowcountryking with the impacted oyster shell debris. Once you clear your seacock and your are running again be prepared with your spare impeller and keep an eye on the engine temperature. It is very likely that some of the oyster shell pieces have damaged your rubber impeller blades.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Higgins, I'd go with a "grill" or other intake cover (solid cover with slots or holes in it, which is the norm for a cooling water intake) that has as much surface area as possible. Yes that means more drag and in theory a slower boat, but that's also less likely to clog or be covered over.

Then you add a strainer on the inside, making sure it is secured properly and easily accessible. You eyeball the strainer every time you open the intake valve.

If something covers the intake strainer, odds are that a push with a broom will clear it off, or a short move in reverse will dislodge it, unless you've really sucked it in and jammed it. Sometimes, you just have to go over to clear it.

xort, I'd be concerned that the valve might not close at all if oyster shell has jammed into it. If the shell mass has reached the valve area--it could prevent the valve from rotating, so I'd work it a few times to make sure it could close, first. If the jam is really hard in there, removing the hose and pouring some acid in there will help dissolve the shell mass and loosen it, if it can't just be pushed out.

The acid can be vinegar, citric acid (Kool Aid), radiator cleaner, muriatic acid (toilet cleaner)...pretty much anything that won't eat whatever the through-hull is made of. Let it set for a while, shells dissolve in acids.


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## Bene505 (Jul 31, 2008)

CaptainForce said:


> Back to Lowcountryking with the impacted oyster shell debris. Once you clear your seacock and your are running again be prepared with your spare impeller and keep an eye on the engine temperature. It is very likely that some of the oyster shell pieces have damaged your rubber impeller blades.


Same thing with the heat exchanger. If you have a heat exchanger, shell pieces could be clogged in it.


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

Prepare to find some blockage in the line too. This may, or may not happen, but it'spossible before he thru-hull was blocked some got into the line, and , or pump.....i2f


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## higgins (Jun 20, 2006)

tnx for the answers and ideas, I'll check how to get a sieve over the outside.
And sorry for using this thread, but as the last answer was 6 weeks ago, I thought we could use it to sidestray a bit.


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