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Flexible gas hose

12 March, 2017

Rubber gas hose from the regulator to the bulkhead connector should be rated for LPG and marked as BS3212:1991 and also have the manufacture’s name and date on it. Many boats I come across have old pipes that are cracked and damaged such as the one in the photograph from a boat surveyed recently.

Remember to;

  • Keep the hose away from bight sunlight to avoid UV damage, damp and mechanical abrasion. They are in a harsh environment and can degrade faster is abused.
  • Check for damage to the hose such as cuts, cracks, swelling or abrasion and replace the hose if damaged.
  • The useful life for regulators and hoses is approximately 5 years and they should be replaced after this time.

Regulators cost around £20 and the hose is around £3/m. We all know gas onboard boats can be dangerous so it is worth checking and replacing these relatively inexpensive items.

Redundant seacocks

5 March, 2017

Old and redundant seacocks are often found left in-situ with a short length of hose in the bilge and a soft wooden bung pushed in and hose clipped. This is not a secure way to seal an old seacock.

Remember, wooden taper plugs are supposed to be temporary fixe not a permanent solution. Wood can rot, shrink and split so you need to do more than leave a short length of hose with a softwood plug in a damp bilge to secure your vessel.

Best practice is to remove the old seacock and fully repair the opening in the hull. Understandably many owners are unwilling to do this due to cost, time and the fact that they may want to reinstall the fitting at some time in the future.

If leaving the seacock in place, unscrew the hose tail and fit a proper blanking plug to the thread. These are readily available from chandleries but do make sure the cap is marine grade bronze and not brass.

If you can’t remove the hose tail or get a blanking cap you should as minimum take the hose length as high as possible so that the end is well above the water line even when heeled over and then plug the end. This way if the seacock does leak the hose end will be above sea level and will not flood the boat.

Fuel tank sight gauges

27 February, 2017

Sight glasses in tanks to measure the fuel level are wonderfully simple and clear and do not need electrics which is always a bonus on boats. However they are often poorly installed making them a safety hazard.

A poor installation often consists of a length of nylon pipe or PVC hose coupled directly to the tank top and bottom as shown in the picture at the top.

Normally the pipe is not fuel grade and will become cloudy as the fuel degrades it. If the tube is damaged and broken by a knock from loose objects in the locker it will empty your tank and leave you with a dead engine. In the worse case scenario, a fire melts the tube and continues to feed the fire with the contents of your tank and there is nothing you can do to stop it. In the tank on above, that’s 157litres of fuel in the bilges.

To correctly install a sight glass it should be fitted with a self closing valve at the bottom and top so that in the event of the tube breaking - or melting - the fuel will not empty from the tank. The self closing valve in the bottom picture was reasonable cost from Aquafax and simple to install. The sight glass is protected by a metal cover and still clear after 3 years in use.

Just remember push the button each time you need to check the fuel level as it will continue to indicate the last reading.

Swan necks & anti-siphon valves

18 February, 2017

Seacocks connected to below the waterline fittings such as bilge pumps or sea toilets can be prone to back flooding by siphoning. If the seacock is left open or has a small leak past the seals then it is possible for the vessel to slowly flood and sink.

Having witnessed a vessel taking on water due to siphoning, I can confirm for a relatively small outlay they are definitely an invaluable safety item! Never rely on one-way valves as I have seen on boats. In my experience they will fail to seal properly after about 6 months.

Swan necks should rise above the sea level by at least 8” or 200mm when heeled over. In practice this is normally limited to below the side deck. The anti-siphon valve is a small one way valve inserted in the top of the loop that is normally closed. When you finish pumping and the water level tries to drop back to sea level and small vacuum is created inside the loop which forces the valve open and allows air into the pipe. This breaks the siphon and prevents water flooding back into the vessel.

Swan necks on their own will not prevent back flooding, you need the anti-siphon valve as well to allow the seawater side to fall back to sea level.

The small valve is often a small rubber moulding under a screw cap and it requires regular cleaning to keep it working. Never use Vaseline on these or any other rubber seals as it deteriorates the rubber, use a silicon based grease.

Corrosion

7 February, 2017


Corrosion has been the enemy of boat owners for centuries and can cause severe damage to underwater metal fittings if not controlled properly. It is caused by the exchange of electrons between two different materials when in an electrolyte such as seawater. The material that gives up its electrons is called the anode and the material that receives them is called the cathode. The anode will loose material and the cathode will be coated by them.

There are two main types of corrosion to worry the boat owner, these are electrolysis & galvanic corrosion. Galvanic corrosion is caused by two dissimilar metals being in an electrolyte solution and causing electrons to flow which leads to corrosion of one of the metals. Electrolysis or stray current corrosion is caused by one of the metals being charged by a different electrical voltage. This can happen due to a wiring or equipment fault or even a fault on the wiring of the boat moored next to you!

Galvanic corrosion can be prevented by the fitting of sacrificial anodes to the hull in strategic areas. The anode material should be selected to suit the salinity of the water the vessel is cruised in and should have enough surface area to protect the vessel's metal work below the waterline. MGDuff a well known producer of anodes offer an excellent online search facility to choose the correct anode and a helpful database. The anodes should be inspected annually and replaced when they are 50% depleted.

Electrolysis is more of a problem and can cause severe corrosion very quickly even if you have galvanic isolator fitted on board. The propeller in the picture below was fitted to a yacht with a galvanic isolator but still suffered electrolysis so severe the propeller as beyond repair and had to be replaced. This type of damage will often only become apparatent when the vessel is lifted for its annual inspection or repair. If electrolytic damage is found it is worth conducting a test for stray voltage in the water around the vessel by hanging a silver chloride reference cell with a multimeter to determine if there are stray voltages at each skin fitting.

The main signs to watch out for when inspecting your underwater metal gear are a slight pink tinge to the surface colour and pitting of the surfaces. These symptoms indicate that there is something amiss that requiring closer investigation to prevent serious damage occurring. Contact your local yacht surveyor or speak to a qualified marine electrical engineer to discuss the problem and find a solution.

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