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Posted

Two related questions:

 

1 - Would it be a good idea to put an inspection port to allow access to the sealed compartment under the anchor well? 

 

Looking at the drawings, I think that the only totally sealed compartment without any access or ventilation is the area under the anchor well.  Should an inspection port or vent be installed? And if so, where?  A really small hole could go on BH1 between the anchor well cleat and the forward locker cleat.  Or, a big one could go on the anchor well?

 

2 - Would it be a good idea (or not) to notch water drain paths in the bulkheads, bunk supports, and other vertical members throughout the boat so that water that gets into the boat could get to the lowest place and be drained or pumped out?

 

I was thinking about recovery from a really wet capsize, or what to do if I leave the hatches open and rain (or a freak wave) pours into the cabin, and noticed that there is no drain path for water that gets into internal nooks such as (i) the forward locker, (ii) the two compartments aft of the forward locker, (iii) the lockers under the port/starboard bunks, (iv) the battery compartment, (v) the rear lockers, etc.  I was wondering if it might be a good idea to notch drain holes in all of the vertical members throughout, so that water that gets into the boat it could collect at some low bilge-type spot and be conveniently pumped or sponged out (possibly, near the bottom of the aft seat locker(s)?) 

 

I ask the question with some humility - obviously folks have considered this before and I can think of a bunch of reasons why it might not be done - maybe it won't work because the "low" spot I'm imagining isn't actually lower, or the boat is dry enough that it is not an actual problem in practice, or perhaps it would compromise some other aspect of the design (i.e. the aft lockers can get swamped but the forward bunk compartments could still be dry?)  But, I'm pretty new to this and so I'm not sure how to evaluate those.

 

I was also thinking that if I installed a ballast pump like @Jknight611 did (here), I might be able to rig it with a valve to also pump water out of the bilge.  But, for maximum usefulness, all the different parts of the boat would want to drain to wherever that bilge pump's intake was.


Posted

Qestion #1:  Yes, you should install an inspection port to allow access to the sealed compartment under the anchor well.  I used an 8" Armstrong hatch  Link .  A lower cost option would be screw in type ports; that is what the other 20.3 builders used.  I used the same Armstrong hatch for all my hatches, that way if one breaks, or the gasket get damaged, I can use the one under the anchor well as a replacement. 

 

The other sealed area that should get a inspection hatch is the area aft of the ballast tank.

 

Question #2:  I don't think any of the CS20.3 builders notched any paths for water.  The boat has been dry for me.  IMHO they are not necessary.

Posted

On the Belhaven it calls for filling that space with expanding foam after coating in epoxy and before putting the lid on. Not only is there nothing to vent then, but it also adds some impact resistance to the area.

 

Scott

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