Sea Ray

Don’t replace them just yet. Sometimes you need to spray them a few times and let it sit for 24 hours. WD 40 or PB blaster if their that stubborn. But give the penetration spray a good try first. Use plenty of spray, and use the straw to get it into the crevices where the handle should rotate. This should work, depending on how long they have not been moved prior. Last resort is replace like prior poster wrote.

Welcome to the forum.

The most common issue w/ seacock levers that are difficult / impossible to move is that the packing nut, under the lever handle is too tight.

It is possible to easily tighten that nut so tight that the lever will never move.

On my boat, when it out of the water, I removed the handle, nut, stem and the nylon packing washers. I then cleaned all those parts, lubricated w/ marine grease and reassembled.

My seacock levers previously had the typical difficult to move action, regardless of how much lubrication I applied. Now they all have a great feel, with the action of flipping a light switch.

Thanks guys.

@richard sifton what did you end up doing on your seacocks? Mine are the big old bronze ones with a wing nut on the opposite side of the lever. They are also tight and an old seaman told me to loosen the wing bout and tap on the handle as there’s commonly a rubber cone in there that doesn’t easily release just by loosening. Seems to have helped but still on it with small pipe wrench. Knowing it’s a rubber cone I used WD silicone spray versus the traditional 40. Not a lot better but somewhat easier. Will continue to spray and work it in coming trips to boat (wintering in the Chesapeake again this year). Curious to hear what you did. Unless I get big results I’ll probably replace them when I pull it the next time.

Get 1” pvc pipe from Depot. They sell in a section that is perfect. Makes for a great lever if they aren’t to far gone.

Airwaves - I did not replace them. it is out of the water we took them all apart and lubed them up. They work awesome now. I would not recommend using a pipe as a lever unless extremely urgent as you can cause damage at the intake and cause water to penetrate the boat if the unit is seized. Remember when you do take them apart to change the impellers for the engine.

Why change the raw water pump impellers?

Not sure why RMS, suggested impellers at this time? Perhaps unrelated?
Impellers should be replace regularly.

As far as you sea cocks ( to shut the water off)... they should be cycled regularly. I keep ours closed when the boat is in the marina and open them prior to engine start, or generator start. This way my sea cocks are worked regularly, so they don’t seize.
These valve are critical should you spring a leak while underway. Also By closing them when the boat is not attended, you don’t worry that it can sink while you are away. Bilge pumps could not handle the rush of water should a large hose fail.
Just my 2 cents worth.