"Skip Gundlach" wrote in
message ink.net...
I'm a bit confused, apparently, by semantics or my limited exposure...

I hadn't heard of plug valves, so I went looking. What I saw looked about
like every ball valve on the insides - except none had easily
position-noted
lever handles on the outsides.

A tapered plug valve led to visions of the kind of valves I used in
titration in school - a tapered seat with a matching taper on the

Your visions were correct. A plug valve has a tappered plug, just as you
discribe here..

If you are looking as something that resembles a ball valve then your not
looking at a true plug valve.

I have been boating for 45 yrs and all of my boats until 10 years ago had
tapered plug seacocks. (my last boat being a '76 Cheoy Lee Clipper 33) This
boat had 'knock off' tapered plug valves. That was the standard and the
proper valve or sea cock in boats built up into the '70s.

I just wish I had a good online reference to what a proper tapered plug
valve looks like..

I'll do some Googling on my own.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions