I surveyed a Sabre 42 yesterday and while down in the engine room I noticed that all the sea cocks were labeled. That makes my job that much easier but I am sure that the labels were not there on the off chance that a surveyor might happen to come aboard. But I did get to thinking how sensible it is and wishing more builders would routinely label through hulls and sea cocks. Especially when one considers how many skin fittings and sea cocks there are on the average boat.
If the boat has a couple of air conditioning units, saltwater wash down, engine and generator intakes plus all the other sanitation fittings and so forth then a 40 foot boat may well have 15 or 16 holes below the water line.
It was also good to see some softwood plugs which in an emergency can be hammered into a failed skin fitting to prevent the boat from flooding although a plug of the correct dimensions should be secured adjacent to the skin fitting rather than just hung up on the windshield washer reservoir as shown above. You are going to be in a panic if you need a plug and remembering where you left it is not the place to be when the water is flooding in.
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