Valves on cockpit drains or not??

[Graham376]

My cockpit drain valve has been seized open for several years, from never been exercised. Haven't quite got around to replacing it as not easy access and it discharges above waterline. If below waterline I would definitely change it.

 

[Stemar]

Jissel had bronze gate valves in the cockpit drains. Unfortunately, the innards were brass originally, but pretty much pure copper by the time I bought her. They were in the bottom of a lazarette, and difficult to access, so I couldn't shift them, but they were seized in the open position, so they got some new pipe and clamps and had bungs tied to the pipes, just in case. They never gave me any trouble in the 18 years we had the boat.

 

[Daydream believer]

My cockpit drains are at the rear of the cockpit & feed to the transom. The outlets are only slightly below the cockpit floor but are quite a bit above the water line. Seems to me the best option, as they work well when at sea when sailing, or motoring & do not need valves. The pipes are only about 400mm long so easy to keep clear with a waste pipe brush from home.

 

[Bodach na mara]

On recollection, not one of my boats have had valves on the cockpit drains. If they had cockpit drains. The first boat that I kept on a mooring was a YW Dayboat, a 14 ft open sailing dinghy. Sailing from Gourock, getting aboard after rain was "interesting". Spoiler alert: we get a lot of rain in Gourock. The water level in the dinghy would be nearly up to the top of the centre board case and it took a lot of work with a bucket to remove it. My next boat was a keel boat, actually an old 6-metre with quite a small cockpit, which self-drained. Into the bilge. With the smaller catchment area it was much less effort to bail out after rain. That boat did me well for 8 years until we needed to put a heating system in the house, so the boat had to go. The arrival of a dog and 2 children were also a factor.
The next boat was more civilised. It had a real toilet, the decks didn't give you a shower on a wet night and it had a BIG diesel engine. It was in fact a Commando motor sailer and the cockpit was well above the waterline and self draining through two plywood trunks, like very small centre board cases at the rear end of the cockpit. The pre-purchase survey report contained a recommendation that valves should be fitted to the drains but when I discussed this with the surveyor he agreed that it was standard recommendation but daft in this case. My final 2 boats are both Westerlies. First a Renown with drains and no seacocks. My surveyor friend had removed the automatic recommendation of fitting seacocks from the survey report and i never had any problems with the drains. My final boat is a Seahawk. The cockpit floor is quite high above the waterline and the drains descend into the depths of the hull then rise to exit in the topsides, above the waterline. I admit to considering fitting seacocks but have rejected the idea, because I follow the advice "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and also because I'm not sure how to access the location without unsightly intrusion in the living area.

 

[Boathook]

My cockpit drains don't have valves, but they are just above the waterline until 3 or more people are in the cockpit. If they had seacocks it would be difficult to reach them anyway and would possibly mean emptying two lockers.
Surveyors have never made comment about lack of seacocks either.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

I had a 1970's Folkboat clone one time.

Two Blakes seacocks below waterline, cockpit drains. Both seized.

My problem was delaminating plywood seacock bases shaped to the turn of the bilge weeping.

The engine had to come out for access which was about a morning's work , wiggled out on a railway sleeper. The seacocks were ok and reground . I replaced a number of engine hoses and unions, remade the seacock bases with epoxy soaked ply and proper strengthened hose for the drains.

Perhaps, depending on access, might be worth doing if there are other jobs to be done.

 

[Refueler]

How do I remember to close valves when underway ? Wet feet !!

How do I remember to open valves when boat is moored ? Wet cabin carpet !

 

[Paul1962]

Actually they are very important. If a hose breaks or leaks your boat might sink and you get water backfilling the hoses when going forward. a leak and your done for. so they are a crucial safety feature.
Steveeasy

Totally agree - any breach of the hull shuld be able to be made safe etc

 

[Refueler]

Actually they are very important. If a hose breaks or leaks your boat might sink and you get water backfilling the hoses when going forward. a leak and your done for. so they are a crucial safety feature.
Steveeasy

Many here say they don't need because cockpit is above waterline etc ....

That's fine until you get caught in awful weather than boat then gets swamped to such extent that the drains fail to cope with it ... more water swamps boat ... down she goes .........

Think I'm exaggerating ?

OK - this does not add fuel to the argument to have valves ... but just shows that even though those drains may be above W/L .... they can fail both ways ...

 

[Stemar]

Even if the cockpit is full of water, the drains won't let water in until the level of water inside the boat is lower than the water outside, at which point, I reckon I'm going to be too busy abandoning ship to worry about shutting the drain valves

 

[awol]

CO32s have below waterline cockpit seacocks with cross-over pipes. Mine stay open except when I expect visitors. With a full cockpit of bon viveurs wet feet would be the result with the cocks open. They were well seized when I got the boat but I'm happy to say they have been exercised every year since.

 

[Refueler]

Even if the cockpit is full of water, the drains won't let water in until the level of water inside the boat is lower than the water outside, at which point, I reckon I'm going to be too busy abandoning ship to worry about shutting the drain valves

Agreed ... I was just pointing out that common drains are not so good when volume of water is large ...

There cases of boat being swamped .... the drains failing to clear enough before swamped again and putting boat past the self draining point. Its part of the reason Ocean Racers often have open transoms ...

 

[garymalmgren]

Don't valves restrict flow?
I have valves that I have never closed, but this thread is making me thing of rerouting my cockpit drains out the stern above the water line.
gary

 

[Boathook]

Don't valves restrict flow?
I have valves that I have never closed, but this thread is making me thing of rerouting my cockpit drains out the stern above the water line.
gary

Some valves are what are called full bore, the valve opening is the same size as the pipe so in theory no restriction. In practise though any joint, bend, etc, causes a restriction.