Sea Cocks ( are they real) no rude remarks.

[j.sabourn]

We have all read sea going adventure stories in our youth and opening the sea cocks to sink a vessel is often referred to. Where are these allusive valves to do such ?
I know to scuttle a ship the quickest way to do so would be to blow off a ships side valve as was the case described to me my a British vessel boarded by the IRA in Southern Ireland. But to just open a cock, ? Reminds me of the Salonometer cock on a Scotch Boiler , but that is not to open up a vessel to the sea. if these elusive sea cocks were on a vessel surely we would all know where they were or was it just on certain vessels. Or just in the mind of the author of sea adventure stories ? JS

[happy daze john in oz]

A number of German ships during WS2 were scuttled by the Germans when the ship was lost in battle and according to reports the 'sea cocks' were opened.
But of course that would come from journalists who would not know port from starboard.

[J Gowers]

I was at sea as C/E for 15 years on Merchant ships then over 30 on floating rigs which were mostly self propelled and been though numerous five surveys with ABS, DNV etc where the ships side valves were inspected I never came across anything called a sea cock, the only cocks (generally a small valve which opens and closes with a quarter turn) I saw were the gauge glass cocks on boiler sight glasses. If you had no explosives to flood an engine room you could take the covers off the main sea water cooling water filters and then open the shipside valve feeding this filter

[Tony Taylor]

I was at sea as C/E for 15 years on Merchant ships then over 30 on floating rigs which were mostly self propelled and been though numerous five surveys with ABS, DNV etc where the ships side valves were inspected I never came across anything called a sea cock, the only cocks (generally a small valve which opens and closes with a quarter turn) I saw were the gauge glass cocks on boiler sight glasses. If you had no explosives to flood an engine room you could take the covers off the main sea water cooling water filters and then open the shipside valve feeding this filter

I once accompanied a Lloyds surveyor to inspect ship side valves; we started in the focsle and he witnessed the emergency fire pump ship side valve excercised, then down below where he requested the sewage tank discharge valve be operated. Next question, where's the bar.

[John Arton]

When you think about it just flooding the engine room of a merchant vessel would not necessarily result in the ship sinking, reserve buoyancy includes a calculation that allows for at least two compartments to be breached and still allow the vessel to remain afloat even if one of those compartments is the engine room.
I was 3rd mate on a small container ship where the main engine cooling water filter end cover failed, the ship side valve failed to prevent water ingress due to foreign materials being jammed in the intake. The engine room flooded and we obviously lost all power and the captain ordered us to abandon ship. This was in a gale on the grand banks. The captain and chief engineer stayed on board and we were picked up by a German cargo ship and a German research trawler.
We all eventually ended up in Saint John Newfoundland, where she was eventually towed into. Engine room was pumped out , cleaned and repaired and she was put back into service.
Rgds
J.A

[j.sabourn]

#4 Did you have to take him and show him that as well Tony.Of course you would have had to stay with him and show him the hospitality of the vessel to the owners account no doubt ? Cheers JS

[j.sabourn]

#5 Probably the similar thinking of the R.N. Where all void spaces are usually filled with ping pong balls of varying sizes , to try and maintain some reserve buoyancy if got the worse of an encounter with a more powerful vessel. JS.

[j.sabourn]

Another theory on the innocuous thinking of the landlubber about opening the seacocks of ocean going vessels maybe due to their experience of boats
On boating lakes and know they all have plug holes the same as ships lifeboats which invariably due to size have two.Putting two and two together and arriving at the usual wrong answer they think their bigger brothers are just the same especially if they have ever been around a Drydock and seen the various tank plugs being pulled or replaced. Can see Ivan’s aversion to anyone calling ships boats, Cheers JS

[happy daze john in oz]

But of course there would be those who know no better.
Two plug holes in a boat.
Of course, one to let the water in, the other to let it out.

[j.sabourn]

If had long arms could maybe stick a finger in each aperture .JS