Underwaterline self-darining seacock

[Roach1948]

It looks like I can't get a decent enough run on my self-draining cockpit seacock without making it go under the waterline! This worries me a bit as I don't want too many under-the-water holes. I would appreciate other's thoughts...

 

[Mukes]

Bryher's cockpit draining seacocks are below the water line. I know what you mean - I leave them open to drain gathering rain water but I would rather not to be honest.

 

[Bajansailor]

Re: Underwaterline self-draining seacock

I think that Contessa 26's have an extra drain in the aft side of the cockpit, a few inches above the floor, for helping to drain the cockpit quickly if they eg have a large wave come on board un-invited.
Perhaps you could do similar, and keep the seacock on the drain below the waterline turned off when sailing or not on board, and have a full cockpit cover for when you leave Roach on her mooring?
Or would it be feasible at this stage to raise the cockpit floor a few inches? Probably not!

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Underwaterline self-draining seacock

Quite normal to have self draining cockpit seacocks below the waterline, thats why they have seacocks on them! I understand your thoyughts, but you´ve got other ones below the waterline, why worry? Just make sure they are well looked after, like all your seacocks.

 

[Peterduck]

The biggest disadvantage that I found with cockpit drains [and any similar opening] is that mussels like to breed in the pipe, effectively blocking it. Even with the antifouling paint carried up into the aperture this still happened. There is no way to check whether this has happened or not except to slip the boat. One year I found that a small fish had swum up the pipe. Because he couldn't swim backwards, he died in there.
Peter.

 

[Roach1948]

Re: Underwaterline self-draining seacock

She was designed with a self-draining cockpit, The problem is that a repair (new doubled frame) means that I need to move the seacock so I can actually reach the handle, and hence moving it lower rather than higher.

It is all very complicated, and have looked at how I can sort this carefully. Gas regs mean I have pinched the Stbd self-draining seacock to drain the gas locker, so I will be down to only one seacock only on the Port side of the hull with the drain in the cockpit on the starboard side. The reason for this is that I have made a lipped cockpit sole that can hold around 2 gallons of water, and do away with the old messy "drip-on-the-engine" boxed hatch affair. So with two crossed over hoses I would not be able to lift the new sole anyway - if you get my thinking. Now I have to raise from stbd to port along the lie of the new hose. I am down to one drain, so will need to tack to stbd to drain any water collected on a port tack...

 

[mickshep]

I've followed Roach's progress for a while now, she's looking great. Re' the cockpit drains, I had the same problem with janina, a teak YW 5 Tonner, built in 1946, I ended up doing away with the cockpit drains altogether, I had an acrylic 'bucket' made that fitted the cockpit perfectly, any rain water that entered was safely kept out of the bilge and a dedicated bilge pump with a flexible pipe was used to pump the whole lot overboard, In warm weather the bucket would fold down to nothing letting the cockpit 'breath', Regards, Mike.

 

[RogerH]

From my experience the value of self-draining cockpits on small yachts with small cockpits is over-played. The self-draining capability is often so marginal it would take an age to clear if you were swamped. Better to drain straight into the bilge which spreads the weight, keeps it low and avoids the increased risk of further swamping from having a cockpit full of water. You just need a cockpit cover for when you leave the boat on the mooring to stop rainwater getting in.

Roger

 

[Scarboroughsloop]

I think I have to agree with you. I was looking at a self draining cockpit, but have now gone away from that idea. I had similar problems to Roach1948, and in the end am keeping a deeper cockpit but with the sole over the engine watertight to stop the thing turning to rust!.

 

[cliffordpope]

Somewhere I read two points to consider when designing a SD cockpit for a small boat:
1) Remember the weight of the water, so raise all your calculations by several inches.
2) Nothing shifts water so fast as a worried man with a bucket.