I'm getting a lot of rainwater collecting and staying in the forward part of my cockpit floor on my OD 22 ('75) (directly below the companionway opening) while sitting in the slip. It only drains out the factory rear drain/scupper when I stand (all 250 lbs) on the transom. I hate finding the boat with a cockpit full of water all the time and the mold/algae is going to start sooner or later. Anyone else with an OD22 have the same problem? I have the boat basically empty--no water tank forward, no other weight forward and a 5hp hanging off the sterm motor bracket--I don't think this is a balance thing but a design flaw or oversight. I'm planning to install a flush head thru-hull in that area midpoint on the floor (drilling, wetting
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Don Evans
Best Alternative...
Rich, you mentioned this design flaw before. I'd be doing exactly what you proposed. The only other alternative is to lay a new floor, perhaps, glassed in plywood that would be tilted to stern. Will you be able to get enough slope in the drain hose to the throughull, above the waterline? Perhaps running it to the stern would avoid the heeling dilemma, i.e. putting the throughull under water when heeled. Your plan sounds good to me. Don
Rich, you mentioned this design flaw before. I'd be doing exactly what you proposed. The only other alternative is to lay a new floor, perhaps, glassed in plywood that would be tilted to stern. Will you be able to get enough slope in the drain hose to the throughull, above the waterline? Perhaps running it to the stern would avoid the heeling dilemma, i.e. putting the throughull under water when heeled. Your plan sounds good to me. Don
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Rich
Thanks for the OK
Don, thanks for the reassurance--as you noted that I had posted this before, you obviously also note that I'm pretty timid about putting holes. I had not even thought about "raising the river" (i.e., the floor) instead of "lowering the bridge"--that also seems like a good solution but for the added weight that might be a consequence. I'm trying to keep boat weight to a minimum as I have pipe dreams of sailing the boat competitively in PHRF club races...Maybe the water in the cockpit is the least of my problems....
Don, thanks for the reassurance--as you noted that I had posted this before, you obviously also note that I'm pretty timid about putting holes. I had not even thought about "raising the river" (i.e., the floor) instead of "lowering the bridge"--that also seems like a good solution but for the added weight that might be a consequence. I'm trying to keep boat weight to a minimum as I have pipe dreams of sailing the boat competitively in PHRF club races...Maybe the water in the cockpit is the least of my problems....
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Rich SC
Sounds complex
I have the little pool of water collect at the front of the cockpit sole, too. I guess all O22's do. I would say that it is awfully complex a solution for that one small puddle to add a drain, tubing, and connectors. It just adds so many more things to clog, leak, and break. That "solution" sounds worse than the problem. I just keep a big sponge handy, and soak it up once in awhile. Richard SantaColoma, Oyster, O22, in the Hudson Valley NY (since we have two "Rich's" now, I've added "SC" to my screen name).
I have the little pool of water collect at the front of the cockpit sole, too. I guess all O22's do. I would say that it is awfully complex a solution for that one small puddle to add a drain, tubing, and connectors. It just adds so many more things to clog, leak, and break. That "solution" sounds worse than the problem. I just keep a big sponge handy, and soak it up once in awhile. Richard SantaColoma, Oyster, O22, in the Hudson Valley NY (since we have two "Rich's" now, I've added "SC" to my screen name).
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Josh
Just some thoughts...
How much standing water is there exactly? Did you take into account that even most 'flush mounts' still stand off from the mounting surface a bit? A 1/8" is going to leave that much water still there. Granted this would dry in the sun. Is your cockpit floor flat where you want to mount this? Mine has a slight trough in it most of the way forward...dont know about other years. You state the boat is empty. You might have to take into account that the boat was balanced, from waht I have read, for two people, and a gas tank and battery among other things towards the rear. That could toss another 250 lbs. back there to shift the weight of the boat and maybe drain the cockpit. I think drilling another hole in it to drain a slight amount of water is more trouble then it's worth. Going over waves while sailing should drain the slight bit of water that still pools there. If it happens often enough to be more then annoying, possibly adding dead weight would be an easier solution? If the boats are balanced for a specific amount of weight, then tossing the proper amount in the back would solve the problem. When you sail with a friend, does the water drain properly when you both just stand in the cockpit while the boat is at the slip? Oddly enough, my 22 hasn't had the problem everyone elses is having. I haven't had any standing water in my cockpit. I've even washed it down and nothing stood there. It's possible that on my trailer it all drains backwards, but it was out on a mooring during a powerful storm and it didn't have any water in the cockpit the next day. Now as for the rest of the boat? Diffrent story... What year does everyone with standing water have? I have a 78. What shape does your cockpit floor take? Mine is flat forward, and as it moves aft a shallow V-shaped trough forms in the floor approaching the drain. Possibly an added feature after discovery of the pooling problem?
How much standing water is there exactly? Did you take into account that even most 'flush mounts' still stand off from the mounting surface a bit? A 1/8" is going to leave that much water still there. Granted this would dry in the sun. Is your cockpit floor flat where you want to mount this? Mine has a slight trough in it most of the way forward...dont know about other years. You state the boat is empty. You might have to take into account that the boat was balanced, from waht I have read, for two people, and a gas tank and battery among other things towards the rear. That could toss another 250 lbs. back there to shift the weight of the boat and maybe drain the cockpit. I think drilling another hole in it to drain a slight amount of water is more trouble then it's worth. Going over waves while sailing should drain the slight bit of water that still pools there. If it happens often enough to be more then annoying, possibly adding dead weight would be an easier solution? If the boats are balanced for a specific amount of weight, then tossing the proper amount in the back would solve the problem. When you sail with a friend, does the water drain properly when you both just stand in the cockpit while the boat is at the slip? Oddly enough, my 22 hasn't had the problem everyone elses is having. I haven't had any standing water in my cockpit. I've even washed it down and nothing stood there. It's possible that on my trailer it all drains backwards, but it was out on a mooring during a powerful storm and it didn't have any water in the cockpit the next day. Now as for the rest of the boat? Diffrent story... What year does everyone with standing water have? I have a 78. What shape does your cockpit floor take? Mine is flat forward, and as it moves aft a shallow V-shaped trough forms in the floor approaching the drain. Possibly an added feature after discovery of the pooling problem?
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Rich
'75 Pooling Cockpit
Josh, my 22 is a 1975 model. It has a small depression/trough in the floor just beneath the companionway opening which is what gave me the idea of installing a floor drain. As for the raised head of the thru-hull fitting, I'm planning to take that into account by actually recessing the fitting down into the fiberglass--I will drill/cut the glass with a beveled edge to match the flush head of the thru-hull, shaping and sealing the cut fiberglass with epoxy so that there is basically no raised rim once it's bedded in and installed. I thought of that rim/water collecting edge problem, too, and hope that the recessing will address that issue. I do not have a trailer--my boat is basically a wet-sailed boat, kept in a wet slip year round (my area near the Gulf of Mexico allows virtually year- round sailing). So I presume putting the boat on a trailer with the tongue slightly raised would avoid the collection of water in the cockpit. However, as my boat is always floating and sits in its slip for days between usage, rainwater is a regular occurrence and that's why I'm going through with all of this trouble. Yeah, a sponge would work well if I were there but when I'm away for several days or even weeks, that water actually spawns algae and mold, causing slime and stains--not to mention an annoying wet floor when getting on the boat and going below. I'm hoping the extra hassle of putting in a cockpit floor drain will allow me to find the cockpit floor regularly dry as opposed to regularly wet. Maybe I'm a nut or some bizarre form of "hydrophobic" but, to me, it seems worth all the extra work...
Josh, my 22 is a 1975 model. It has a small depression/trough in the floor just beneath the companionway opening which is what gave me the idea of installing a floor drain. As for the raised head of the thru-hull fitting, I'm planning to take that into account by actually recessing the fitting down into the fiberglass--I will drill/cut the glass with a beveled edge to match the flush head of the thru-hull, shaping and sealing the cut fiberglass with epoxy so that there is basically no raised rim once it's bedded in and installed. I thought of that rim/water collecting edge problem, too, and hope that the recessing will address that issue. I do not have a trailer--my boat is basically a wet-sailed boat, kept in a wet slip year round (my area near the Gulf of Mexico allows virtually year- round sailing). So I presume putting the boat on a trailer with the tongue slightly raised would avoid the collection of water in the cockpit. However, as my boat is always floating and sits in its slip for days between usage, rainwater is a regular occurrence and that's why I'm going through with all of this trouble. Yeah, a sponge would work well if I were there but when I'm away for several days or even weeks, that water actually spawns algae and mold, causing slime and stains--not to mention an annoying wet floor when getting on the boat and going below. I'm hoping the extra hassle of putting in a cockpit floor drain will allow me to find the cockpit floor regularly dry as opposed to regularly wet. Maybe I'm a nut or some bizarre form of "hydrophobic" but, to me, it seems worth all the extra work...
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Warren
Rich SC of Putnam Valley
Rich SC: Where do you sail your "22"? I now live in Maine, but was a member of The Chelsea Yacht Club from 1972 to 1980. Warren warrengraumann@yahoo.com
Rich SC: Where do you sail your "22"? I now live in Maine, but was a member of The Chelsea Yacht Club from 1972 to 1980. Warren warrengraumann@yahoo.com
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Josh
Seems like a pain but...
As you've thought everything through, let us know how it works out for you. I thought of a second option that might be something you'd concider. Have you thought of having a snap cover made for the cockpit? Like on a powerboat, one that covers the entire cockpit, is made of heavy waterproof material (usually blue from what I've seen), and is secured to the boat via button snaps? I see them on the freeway around here all the time, people use them when hauling their boats. They usually are rather taught, and almost look elastic. This would shed the rain water, bugs, and everything else. If I had the problem you describe, I'd probably go with a cover of some type before I went to the headache of boring and making a drain flushmount. I would think the fiberglass behind the drain would be excessively thin. What happens when your friend comes out of the cabin and puts his full weight on his heel down on that cockpit drain not realizing it was there? It wouldn't be you, because after all the hassle you'd check every time you stepped into the boat right? Heh. Well good luck with it, and like I said, let us know how it works out! Josh
As you've thought everything through, let us know how it works out for you. I thought of a second option that might be something you'd concider. Have you thought of having a snap cover made for the cockpit? Like on a powerboat, one that covers the entire cockpit, is made of heavy waterproof material (usually blue from what I've seen), and is secured to the boat via button snaps? I see them on the freeway around here all the time, people use them when hauling their boats. They usually are rather taught, and almost look elastic. This would shed the rain water, bugs, and everything else. If I had the problem you describe, I'd probably go with a cover of some type before I went to the headache of boring and making a drain flushmount. I would think the fiberglass behind the drain would be excessively thin. What happens when your friend comes out of the cabin and puts his full weight on his heel down on that cockpit drain not realizing it was there? It wouldn't be you, because after all the hassle you'd check every time you stepped into the boat right? Heh. Well good luck with it, and like I said, let us know how it works out! Josh
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