Proper Through Hull for Sink and Cockpit Drain

[rustyw007]

I have an 80s era Catalina 22, and I'm not at all impressed with the thru hull fitting for the sink and cockpit drains. I don't know if its original or something a previous owner did, but the fitting seems to screw into a threaded receiver embedded in the fiberglass "tube".

Couple questions I'd love input on:

1. do you leave this closed during sailing? I guess the sink and cockpit drains are all above the water line, so if the system is intact, I guess it could be left open?

2. Has anyone redone this fitting with a more traditional style through hull fitting?

3. What about totally sealing the hole? I never plan to use the sink - but that leaves an open question about how then the cockpit drains?

4. What about sealing the factory hole, and drilling a new through hull altogether?

I search the forums - admittedly not exhaustive search - but didn't find anything.

Thanks!
Rusty

 

[rpludwig]

Pre-86 model cockpits slope forward (yea, dumb), to the drains, so your valve below must be left open. Many of us have added aft scuppers thru the transom, to supplement, should the forward drains become clogged with leaves/debris, etc., (common occurance). You can use the brass tube method as utilized on post 85 models, or just drill and epoxy, or marelon fittings (which I and others have used). Regarding the sink drain which is T'd into it, I leave it closed and open only when needing to drain the sink. Do a search and you'll find Cloud Diver's, Gene Neill's, mine and others threads on this issue.

Sure, you could seal off the factory hole, add proper thru hull fittings, but redundant IMO, and you can lose the sink drain fitting altogether to simplify things down there regardless.

Some pics of my plumbing and aft scuppers here, look at post #89 https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/another-newbie-hull-12502.179236/page-5 may help some.