......I'll need to see the paperwork

When i was young and very ginger as a child - no one likes a ginger kid  - i used to go to the boat shows with my family, a sort of twice yearly pilgrimage first to Earl's Court then Southampton - for me i loved the spectacle and clambering all over the boats much to the annoyance of the attending sales staff but what i liked most was collecting the brochures.

I couldn't tell you where my collection went but a few years back started collecting via ebay and a couple of other online outlets, i thought i'd lost the lot when reformatting an old drive but much to my surprise i've recovered more than a few - heres the westerly collection......................

Watcha cock!

My new sea-cocks from shakewell have arrived this evening, its a bit controversial to some as sea cocks are made of bronze and that's that but for me the essence of the project is to improve the boat using design and technology not previously available when the boat was manufactured.

The sea-cocks fulfil this criteria as i was crap at chemistry and have a difficult time getting my head around galvanic corrosion so the less metally things in the water can only be a bonus.

These sea-cocks need to be bonded into the hull and through using west system epoxies and additives i know how strong a bond can be created so I'm confident they will be as strong if not stronger than conventionally fitted valves. A fact borne out as all the old sea-cocks i removed were on rotten ply bases which allowed more than a few to rotate and generally become loose in the hull.

Maintenance is required although less with these and the marelon type products than conventional sea-cocks and with no need for a skin fitting as you mount them slightly proud in the hull and sand flush the cost too was significantly less than conventional fittings (even though they were paid for in Helsinki and shipped via Vigo in Spain) so all in all this was a no-brainer for me.

cheers

roger