H37C Cockpit Drains frequently clogging

[sailnc]

All too often I find the two cockpit drains are clogged with leaves or other plant material that has blown into the cockpit. On a few occasions the water has accumulated in the cockpit several inches deep! Since we live 2 hours away from the boat, this worries me.
The drain covers have very small slits that clog easily...a small handful of leaves can do it.
I've been thinking about possible fixes... modifying the drain covers, adding some sort of large screen over them,...
Has anyone found a good solution to this problem?

 

[kloudie1]

I removed the slotted plates from mine many years ago.. Careful because the screws that hold the plates on may go through the deck and if ya don't plug those holes, you'll get water in the core of the cockpit floor.
I removed them when a seasick child chucked sandwich parts which clogged them immediately.. I chose to leave them off after that .. Boat has been involved in several hurricanes over the years (lots of rain and flying debris) and I have never had a problem with them becoming plugged with leaves or debris now that the slotted plates are gone.

 

[Ron20324]

Roll up some screen wire into a tube and stick it into the drain w/ 3 or more inches sticking out.

 

[Capt jgw]

My last two boats did the same thing till I removed the screens. I think maybe once since something big enough to block the hole fell in. Just don't leave anything loose in the cockpit that can block the drain when unattended. The idea above about putting a roll of screen in the hole is pretty good, a good way to leave it when you're away.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Good ideas above. Remove the slotted piece then modify one of those downspout screens. They are aluminum and easy to shape. I've been fortunate not to be close to any trees.

 

[Jalepeno]

Roll up some screen wire into a tube and stick it into the drain w/ 3 or more inches sticking out.

That is what I've been doing for twenty years. Just pull out, rollout and clean the screen every year or so.

 

[pateco]

I am also having this issue. Mine are clogged every time I go to the boat. It makes it very hard to keep the cockpit clean.
As soon as I remove the plant debris (mostly palm frond leaf fragments and iguana crap), the cockpit drains quickly

Does anyone have any other successful suggestion? What size screen would you use?

 

[jwing]

I had the same problem. I tried the screen tube method. Here's what happened:
When in rained, the screens would get clogged up by the leaves, and the cockpit would have water sitting in it. When I got to the boat, I'd pull leaves off the screens, a little water would drain out, the screens would get clogged again. This would go on until I ran out of patience and cleared the cockpit with the manual bilge pump. So, the screens did nothing for me.

Another problem with the screen rolls is that, whether it has rained or not, there will be leaves in the cockpit. If I kept the screen rolls in the scuppers while I sailed, then I would invariably smash the screens by stepping on them. If I took them out, then the few leaves that I did not manage to remove would find their way to the clogging position.

I solved the problem by having Sailors' Tailor make a cockpit cover for my boat. My sail cover was shot, so I had them build a combo sail cover/cockpit cover. Now, when I get back to the boat, there is no accumulation of dirt, twigs, leaves and bird crap to clean out before a sail. There's an added bonus: I keep the companionway and lazarette hatch open when I'm not sailing. The cover keeps the rain out but allows enough air exchange so that mildew growth does not happen.

 

[sailnc]

I like that idea of a cockpit cover combo. Any pics you could share?
Tom

 

[jwing]

That is not my boat, but my cover was made using the pattern that Sailors' Tailor made for the boat in the photo. I had them add visored vents to the sides and the stern wall. High quality materials and workmanship. Good people to work with. I found that they do better at answrring the phone than replying to email. http://sailorstailor.com

 

[frankies56]

Boy. I miss my mariner, brings back memories

 

[Will Gilmore]

I can't think of a better solution than preventing leaves from getting onto the cockpit with a cover like jwing's. That would also simply keep the rain out too.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[SailormanDan]

I put this together for myself out of old tarps, will upgrade it at some point after I've sewn other projects, but it works to keep the worst of the water & junk out. I sewed it because I didn't know any better, and then found out they make tarp tape that might be good enough to hold it together, but I'm not sure about a high wind.

I have little sink drain screens for the rest of the season, but you have to stay after them. I'm lucky in that I can stop by the boat on the way home and check on it.

 

[sailnc]

Did you make that from poly tarps or canvas? I like this idea also because it would provide some UVprotection to the varnished teak in and around the cockpit.

 

[SailormanDan]

@sailnc: Yes, they were old tarps laying around and I got tired of worrying about the cockpit flooding or going up and shoveling or pump it out. In "Brightwork: The Art of Finishing Wood", Rebecca Wittman talks about how you think canvas covers for all your wood is expensive, but you've just spent big bucks on having someone put 12 layers of varnish on your boat, how much more is to cover it all and save the varnish? So that's also part of the reason I do it (Until I go to Plasteak). The other reason is that the Potomac here is the glidepath for Reagan National and there is a lot of soot that settles from the jet exhaust, and the cover helps to keep it clean somewhat. It's a bit of a hassle to get on and off, so over the summer it's mostly off, when I re-do it I may refine the system to make it quicker to throw on.
It stitched it on my Sailrite solely because I didn't really know better, it worked well enough, but I did read on the Sailrite sewing forum about tarp tape and got some to repair and reinforce a seam, which I think also helped waterproof the seam. Only doing the cockpit saved me all the effort of covering the whole boat, while helping to eliminate any leaking or flooding. It could fit better, but I didn't know what I didn't know and I have learned a lot more about patterning since then and my latest projects fit much better.

 

[757guy]

We have similar problems with leaves but the two cockpit floor drains generally handle the rain no matter. Our issue is the single bench drain on the port side, since there is no redundancy. It will clog with leaves but I also found a pool of water when a charterer left a bottle water cap in just the wrong spot. I would put the rolled screen material back after going out for the day but would not expect anyone else to be so cautious. Has someone rigged a second drain for this area? I'm not sure I want to be drilling out holes just to have the area develop strain cracks