self bailing cockpit thru-hulls

[feetup]

I'm not sure if this is the best forum to post this query but here goes.

I'm re-fitting a 1981 US 25 and about to look after the cockpit drains.
The existing system uses plastic thru-hulls both in the cockpit sole and the hull, below or very nearly at the water line connected with the standard reinforced plastic hose with single hose clamps. There is an "S" bend in the hoses since the thru-hulls are spaced about 6 inches farther apart, center to center.
The whole thing gives me shivers up my back!

I am assuming that bronze thru hulls are a no brainer but I cant see that seacocks or ball valves would make any sense since I live in an area that is essentially a rain forest. Am I mistaken in this, would shut offs be wise, just leave them open except to cycle them every so often and have them in place for the worst case?

Also, I read in a forum on the San Juan 23 of a procedure to glass over the below water through hulls and re-route the drains through the transom above the resting waterline.

Any thooughts?

Thanks
Feetup

US 25 "Aquappella"

[Tim]

If your cockpit sole is high enough and positioned so as to make direct scuppers to the transom or counter (above the waterline) possible, then that's the best route, in my opinion. Those of us who are stuck with below-waterline scupper outlets lust after drains that would remain above the waterline at all times (well, generally speaking, anyway).

There's always plenty of debate over whether shutoff valves make sense on cockpit scupper drains. Obviously, the practical purpose of self-bailing cockpits is (duh) to allow them to drain themselves when unattended. So I think just about everyone can agree that no one really ever closes their scupper seacocks when they leave the boat.

So why do you need them? For coastal sailing, you don't, unless you like the security of knowing that you could close them if you needed to. Of course, there are other ways to close off an underwater fitting in an emergency, and some means of thwarting undesired inflow should always be made available, seacock or not.

Another reason why seacocks can be handy is that on some boats, the cockpit sole is so close to the waterline that if you load several people into the cockpit, water will flow in the suppers, leading to wet feet and testy attitudes. So when having a cocktail party (for example), it's sometimes necessary to close the scuppers. This may not be an issue on your boat; I suspect that it is not an issue for you, given the topside height and volume inside your boat.

I like seacocks on all below-waterline fittings, just because. But I keep my scupper seacocks open all the time, so they don't really do anything. I do close them when having people over to the boat, for the reasons indicated above.

Investigate to see if you can direct-pipe to the transom above the waterline. If you can, then I'd go that route for sure.