Seacock valve frozen on Marlin...

[NikM820]

I just got my new to me Marlin, and going through the process of flipping switches and figuring her out. The seacock valve that controls the live well is stuck in the 3/4 open position. The pump turns on but wont pump any water, not sure if its a bad pump or the valve is not open enough. The valve was tough to open but it just wont go back to closed and will not advance any further open. It was only open for a few hours before I tried to close it. The boat is in the water so I don't want to force the valve so I am looking for suggestions on a product that I could apply to free the valve.
Thanks!
Nick

 

[ocnslr]

Congrats on the Marlin. You didn't say what year it was, but they are all nice.

This problem should have been detected on a survey. Did you have one done?

Unfortunately, no product I am aware of will do what you need.

This is a serious safety issue and should be corrected soonest. Boats have taken on water and been lost due to frozen seacocks, particularly the one with the livewell pump mounted to the top of it.

I would strongly suggest that you have the boat pulled, and then test all the seacocks. You should have them for the livewell, raw water washdown, head flushing water, and A/C cooling water if you have A/C. Replace all the ones that do not operate smoothly from fully open to fully closed, repeatedly.

If you don't want to do that, and you have the livewell pump that is mounted on top of the seacock, then I recommend you get a pipe cap of the correct size (bronze or Marelon), then remove the pump body and screw on the cap. This will, of course, mean no livewell but it will blank off that hole in your boat.

Brian
Master, Oceans, Steam, Motor or Sail, 1600-Tons
Chief Mate, Oceans, Unlimited
Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret)

 

[NikM820]

Congrats on the Marlin. You didn't say what year it was, but they are all nice.

This problem should have been detected on a survey. Did you have one done?

Unfortunately, no product I am aware of will do what you need.

This is a serious safety issue and should be corrected soonest. Boats have taken on water and been lost due to frozen seacocks, particularly the one with the livewell pump mounted to the top of it.

I would strongly suggest that you have the boat pulled, and then test all the seacocks. You should have them for the livewell, raw water washdown, head flushing water, and A/C cooling water if you have A/C. Replace all the ones that do not operate smoothly from fully open to fully closed, repeatedly.

If you don't want to do that, and you have the livewell pump that is mounted on top of the seacock, then I recommend you get a pipe cap of the correct size (bronze or Marelon), then remove the pump body and screw on the cap. This will, of course, mean no livewell but it will blank off that hole in your boat.

Brian
Master, Oceans, Steam, Motor or Sail, 1600-Tons
Chief Mate, Oceans, Unlimited
Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret)

I had an engine survey done but because I got such a good deal on the boat I did not have a survey done on the hull. The boat is a 2005 and was stored in a climate controlled garage its whole life, I took a risk on not having the hull surveyed I know but so far, so good. We did discover some minor issues but like I said due to the nature of the sale and the deal, it made no difference as far as purchase. I do understand the urgency and danger of a malfunctioning seacock and plan on taking action on the issue asap. It was Just a bit puzzling to me why all the others operate so smoothly and this one is frozen as it is. I would guess due to use but the generator only had 100hrs of use so I doubt it was used much either. I was hoping before I got down to replacement talks I would see if any quick fixes were available. I am not going to complain to much though, after all with out a hull survey it could have been a lot worse than a frozen seacock.
thanks again
Nick

 

[97208ct]

Had same problem this past spring on our new to us '97 208.

Try removing the handle and a few days of PB Blaster soaking along with tapping it with a brass drift.

Using a vise grip as the handle (wouldn't take much leverage) was able to free up some movement, but unable to get closed.

Decided to not take any chances & replaced including the thru hull strainer.

Looked and sure felt like 5200 was used on the pipe threads to mount the seacock valve on the strainer.

Not good. Wouldn't budge using a strap wrench, large vise grip all the way up to a pipe wrench.

Was able to save & reuse pump.

 

[uncljohn]

First it could be a physical blockage.

Second, if you got such a good deal on the boat, then do yourself a favor and hire a surveyor to go over the boat. He/she will find things that you would only "discover" at a bad time.

 

[dgreen1069]

In addition to the 4 seacocks in the rear, there are 2 more under the floor in the cabin. One is the raw water intake for the head, and the other is the black water pumpout.

Not sure what to tell you about the stuck valve. If you can't close it, I would definitely have a new one installed ASAP! Congratulations on the new boat. I bout my Marlin this past year and love it....I just wish I had more time to take it out.

 

[freddy063]

If the valve is easy to get to , replace it. I found that grady uses the wrong valves so make sure you get the right one. I have a 1994 sailfish so they may have started putting in the right ones now. The proper seacock will not have taped threads, but before you change it, try some penetrating oil. Also there might be a y valve that makes the wash down and live well pump do both jobs so see that it's in the right position too. The y vale will have 3 hoses on it. My valves only turn 1/4 from open to closed, do you have the same type? I would find a friend that haves a Grady like yours and have them show you all the ins and outs of it. Have fun.

 

[NikM820]

Ok so I pulled off the back hatch so I would have access to the valve. Actually the problem was two fold. The valve arm (not sure what its called) the one you use from the actual port to close the valve, had frozen at its pivot point as well as the actual joint was stiff too. The way that pole is mounted to the valve makes it really hard to move if that pivot point is stuck. Once I could get some tools in there and get the pole off I was able to manually work the valve slowly back and forth and free it up. Took off the live well pump and sprayed lubricant inside the valve and worked it through as well. Went down to west marine and rigged up, in my opinion, a more corrosion resistant rig for that arm. The valve now is the smoothest one!
While I was down there I went ahead and cleaned the bilge out and changed out the generators fuel filters. I can't believe I thought I was going to get anything done through that small hatch. Removing that back panel is the way to go for sure. Hope this helps someone in the future and thanks for all your input.