• Registered: 2005-03-12
  • Posts: 101

Topic: Reliability of cockpit drain hoses

My boat has rubber hoses connecting the cockpit drains to the through-hulls.  I check them every few years and they seem fine but are very hard to reach.  I don't have an inboard (there never was one) but still I have to be a bit of s contortionist to get to them.

My questions are:
Are inboard-powered CO26 the same? Ie rubber hoses between cockpit and hull.

If so, is there a recommended lifetime of the hoses?

Does the sole of the cockpit come off?

If one of the hoses fails sounds like I'd need to scramble and contort to get a bung in.  Any other suggestions?

  • Registered: 2011-06-12
  • Posts: 137

Re: Reliability of cockpit drain hoses

Hi And4ew...

I wasn't aware they produced any Contessas without an engine, so that might explain your difficulty.  Most (all?) other Contessas have a removable cockpit floor for engine access.  I believe there were 1 or 2 designs for this hatch, but in both cases they allow easy access to the cockpit drain hoses.

In our cases, the port through-hull is connected to the starboard drain and vice versa.  They are bronze through-hulls and I know that mine have been replaced at some point in its life.  If yours hasn't, then I would definitely look into replacing them.  Rubber is rubber, and it will dry out and crack eventually.  Also, it would be a dire situation if you could not reach the through-hulls in an emergency.

Could you post a picture of your cockpit sole?  And perhaps how you reach those through hulls?

  • Registered: 2005-03-12
  • Posts: 101

Re: Reliability of cockpit drain hoses

I won't be at my boat until und of July.  I live in Ottawa and keep the boat in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.  I will send pics in the summer for comments.  I will also try to remove the cockpit sole.  I do remember that the hoses do indeed cross port/starboard.