page_title: Seacock
hierarchical_section_title: Seacock
caption_attribution_description: Valves regulating the flow of sea water to certain parts of the boat located in the after engine room of the USS Pampanito (SS-383), berthed at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.
context_page_description: A seacock is a valve on the hull of a boat or a ship, permitting water to flow into the vessel, such as for cooling an engine or for a salt water faucet; or out of the boat, such as for a sink drain or a toilet. Seacocks are often a Kingston valve.
  Seacocks are left open or are closed depending on the situation. Seacocks feeding into or out of a closed system, like the engine cooling system, are almost always left open. Seacocks connected to something open, such as a sink drain, might be opened up in port but closed when at sea. The reason for this is that when the boat is level, the drain or other opening will always be above the waterline, and so water will only flow out. At sea, when the boat rolls in the waves, the opening may sometimes be below the waterline. If the seacock is open, water may flood the boat, causing it to sink.
  Along the same lines, some seacocks on warships are designed to flood the ship when opened. Typically, this is done to magazines to prevent detonation of the ammunition in the event of fire, such as the case with HMS Glatton, or to maintain trim due to battle damage.
context_section_description: A seacock is a valve on the hull of a boat or a ship, permitting water to flow into the vessel, such as for cooling an engine or for a salt water faucet; or out of the boat, such as for a sink drain or a toilet. Seacocks are often a Kingston valve.
  Seacocks are left open or are closed depending on the situation. Seacocks feeding into or out of a closed system, like the engine cooling system, are almost always left open. Seacocks connected to something open, such as a sink drain, might be opened up in port but closed when at sea. The reason for this is that when the boat is level, the drain or other opening will always be above the waterline, and so water will only flow out. At sea, when the boat rolls in the waves, the opening may sometimes be below the waterline. If the seacock is open, water may flood the boat, causing it to sink.
  Along the same lines, some seacocks on warships are designed to flood the ship when opened.  Typically, this is done to magazines to prevent detonation of the ammunition in the event of fire, such as the case with HMS Glatton, or to maintain trim due to battle damage (counterflooding). Additionally, opening the seacocks is one of the main methods used to scuttle a ship so that it cannot be captured by the enemy (for example in the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow in 1919).
caption: Engine room sea water valves
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