[Public-list] Cockpit drains above water line

[Roger L. Kingsland]

Hi Rachael,

I haven't tried it but am glad you asked because I thought about a similar 
arrangement only locating the drains at the aft corners and running them 
horizontally (or slightly downward) straight aft through the lazarette.  It 
might be possible to glass in some kind of flange at the bottom corners of 
the lazarette bulkhead (tangent to the cockpit floor) which would get the 
hoses a little higher.  To get drainage while healed, I think it would be 
necessary to, A) have two exit points with each slightly below and outboard 
of the outboard edge of the cockpit floor; or B),  have a combined exit at 
the centerline low enough that it is below the outboard edge of the cockpit 
when the boat is fully healed.  I have a plan to make the lazarette 
watertight from the rest of the boat (and perhaps self draining) so if this 
type of drain leaked it wouldn't fill the boat and cause a potential "glug, 
glug".  I don't know if there would be any problem with backwash in a 
following sea.  One plus would be the hoses could be much bigger allowing 
the cockpit to drain faster.  Of course, Gord Laco seems to have the fastest 
cockpit draining technique of all.  Just put the spreaders in the water and 
let it pour out over the combings.

Roger 148

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rachel" <penokee at cheqnet.net>
To: "Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all" <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 12:02 AM
Subject: [Public-list] Cockpit drains above water line


> Hi folks,
>
> I'll be replacing my cockpit drain plumbing soon - I plan to remove the
> current gate valves and through hulls.  I'm pretty sure I'll also
> replace the drains in the corners of the cockpit with larger ones - the
> originals look to be 1" or slightly less.  I like the 1-1/2" bronze
> Perkos (installed them on another boat), but will have to make sure the
> above deck flange fits - I think it will.
>
> Anyway, on to my real question:  I'm thinking about plumbing the
> cockpit drains so they exit above the waterline, and I'm wondering if
> anyone else has done that.  I did search the list archives and find a
> couple of posts from 2002, in which the idea was discouraged, but
> nothing since then.
>
> I've nothing against through-hulls in general, as I believe that good
> quality seacocks, well-installed, are fine.  On the other hand, cockpit
> drain seacocks are the one case in which you cannot close the seacock
> when the boat is unattended, and certainly no seacock is as safe as a
> solid spot of glass in the hull :-)
>
> Crude measurements show that there is probably something like 8+" from
> the cockpit drain holes to the resting waterline.
>
> I did quite a bit of cruising on a boat that had the cockpit drains
> exiting above the waterline (not an A-30), and it worked pretty well.
> They left the cockpit in the front corners - like on our boats - and
> then hoses ran aft and exited the hull on the transom near centerline;
> in this way they avoided the problem of dipping below the waterline
> when heeled.  As a side bonus, the deep (below waterline) galley sink
> drained by being pumped into one of the scupper lines (with a manual
> bilge pump).
>
> I may very well replace the original set-up (but with better parts and
> larger lines), but there's no harm in exploring other possibilities in
> theory, anyway.  Has anyone run their cockpit drains the way I'm
> describing?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rachel
> 1967 Alberg 30, #221
>
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