Drain Plug or no drain plug??

[patsywhelan]

Just purchased a Lancer 25. No manual with it. Am I loosing my mind. Can't seem to locate a drain plug. Does it have one?
pw

 

[Billbeard]

I also have a 1975 L25 I do not believe that there is a drain plug or need for one. The design of the hull is such that any drain that will drain the lowest point of the hull will be below the waterline.

 

[novelman17130]

My 25' Lancer does not have a drain plug, however I plug the cockpit drains while sailing to prevent water from entering. The plugs are easily removed to drain if needed.
novelman

 

[BobM]

Most large sailboats don't have a drain plug because the cockpit drains are designed to be above the water line and are open all the time. As far as Novelman's drain plugs go, I'd be interested to know if his drain hoses cross or not. If they do, he does some pretty serious sailing in his L25 (crossings to Catalina Island if I recall) and that illustrates a design limitation of the boat, in my opinion.

There just isn't that much vertical distance between where the drains exit the hull and level of the cockpit drains (perhaps a foot if I recall correctly). The drains are also fairly forward on the boat. That makes it easy to bury the leeward drain when close hauled.

To be frank, I was never happy with my drains, but that was more that when I replaced the pot metal sink drains (I am not kidding) with forespar marleron drains and it turned out the the drains nice looking 2 inch grate was mostly false and the grates were easily blocked by leaves the diameter of a quarter. Pretty darn disappointing for the price, but I bought them because they looked fine on the web site and I didn't want to enlarge the holes in the floor. I pulled up to my boat July 4th weekend once and the cockpit was filled to the top of the lazarette. Water had luckily exited under the hatch and out the hole in the stern so my boat didn't do something more severe...like sink at the mooring. If I had kept my L25 I would have mounted some drains in the back wall of the cockpit in the two depressions in the floor and straight out the back. My theory being that the vertical drains would be much less likely to be blocked by debris.

 

[Steve22116]

Good evening all. Novelman's 1975 L25 has two drains at the aft end of the cockpit that drain into the lazarette, no hoses to cross. He uses plugs to prevent water from entering the cockpit while heeling. I was with him when we took his boat out for a test sail before purchasing and were surprised when water entered the cockpit. The previous owner saw the surprise on our faces and said don't worry, that's normal. I know you were expecting...be happy!

Sometime between 1975 and 1979, when my L25 was made, Lancer moved the drains exiting at the forward end of the cockpit and drained athwartship. Anyone out there with a 76, 77, or 78 who can tell us when the change was made? Did this change coincide with the single deadlight to six smaller portlight/deadlight change as well? Steve

 

[BobM]

Thanks for the info...so it sounds like adding aft cockpit drains might cause more of a problem than anything else. Unless you put some check valves in line or flapper ports.