Topic: Deck and Cockpit drainage

You should "t" your electric bilge pump into your manual bilge pump hose, right near where it exits the boat.  And yes, this exit should be above the waterline, as if it isn't, water will just be able to run back in.
Your deck-side drains sound really strange!  And yes, dangerous!  I think you should have what the later boats have: a open space about three inches (or so) square, right under the toe-rail at deck level -called a "scupper".  I can take a picture of mine - it's where you see the water running out the side when someone is sailing on along close-hauled (boat over on its side!)
And yes, all through hulls near waterline, and especially below waterline should always have seacocks...you will at some point need to close them...and mostly just for maintenance...to replace a hose you need to close off the hole!  Again, I can send you pics of mine.
And always double hose clamp everything below the waterline.

Re: Deck and Cockpit drainage

I have a similar arangement on my 74 jjt.Can you send me a picture Shannon? I dont want to cut into the hull, it seems the hull is a little higher than the deck at that spot.

Re: Deck and Cockpit drainage

The deck drains and cockpit drains from either side are teed together and drain into a thru hull on the opposite side.  On my 74, it looks stock save for some replaced hoses.  I don't really like it, as the thru hulls are below the waterline and there are no seacocks...  Sounds like it could sink the boat.  Anyways, I've just today pulled all the thru hulls and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the drains. 

I like the idea of the scuppers as seen on later boats - which would drain water coming over the toerail quite fast as the boat levels out again.  The only thing I dont like is cutting into the hull deck joint,  glassing things all back together again, and keep it watertite.  That, and I don't have the foggiest where to find the aluminium caps seen on newer boats as well.  I could make some, but as the list of things I need to go grows I keep thinking I'd like to get this boat in the water in the next hundred years or so... 

Has anyone out there cut the scuppers in to an older boat?  If you did, let me know how you did it....

Re: Deck and Cockpit drainage

Re: Deck and Cockpit drainage

Re: Deck and Cockpit drainage

There are many non-seacocked boats afloat.  Many of the early Pearsons used straight drains that, under the conditions you stated, would essentially give the boat only inches of effective freeboard.  This coupled with the lack of a bridgedeck, like the Contessa, makes having readily available drain plugs a good practice. 

I don’t believe that JJT left out the seacocks as a cost cutting measure.  In order to have them readily accessible (without having to remove the engine hatch) would have made the hoses much longer than the straight run to the thru-hull.  Hoses filled with water tend to move about and cause stress loads at the connections.  I think that it was probably a compromise that had little to do with cost.  Keep in mind that the early Rogers boats drained into the bilges and their cockpit soles were at or slightly below the LWL.   

In my humble opinion, the Contessa was never designed to be a “blue water” boat.  Although the Rogers boats are better built, neither one exhibits a level of construction that is much above average.  The strength of the boat comes from its design form.  The narrow wineglass hull and fine entry keep rigging loads low and pounding forces to a minimum.  Thanks go to Jeremy Rogers & David Sadler.

Re: Deck and Cockpit drainage

My CO26 has a rather strange ansd I think potentially dangerous deck and cockpit drainage plumbing arrangement. The electric Bilge pump is joined to the cockpit and deck drainage plumbing. Custom from the previous owner.

My question is how should the Deck, Cockpit and Bilge (Electric)exit the boat? Manual bilge pump is correctly instaled.

I have 2 trough hulls below the engine compartment and potenttially 5 drains. 2 side deck, 2 cockpit and one form the bilge pump.

Currently each deck side and cockpit side is teed together and exits through it's own through hull.

Does the exit point for the bilge need to be above the water line?

The current through huls do not have seacocks, should they be fitted?

YOur help is appreciated.

CO26 #192 FBYC.