New cockpit drain

[PSwan]

Having 3 good trip on her now, I was getting very tired of bailing out and wet vacuuming the cockpit after I hosed her down. I didn't like the cockpit drain plans on the Weekender web site as they call for drilling a large hole through the keel to install the drain tube. I think this would weaken the keel at this point so I decided to install a floor drain thru the 1/2" plywood.

I used a 1/2" female PVC threaded pipe fitting epoxyed into the floor and will use a 1/2" male threaded pipe plug with an 'O'-ring at the top for the plug. No chance of the plug slipping out and its out of the way under the aft seat.

[Barry Pyeatt]

Looks like a good solution to me. Doing essentially the same thing with mine as well.

[capt jake]

I also did about the same thing a year or two ago on mine. Mine is under the seat as well, but the way mine sits on the trailer, I put it forward.

[JeffM]

Will epoxy stick reliably to pvc? Too late for this, I suppose, but Duckworks has some pretty nifty looking drain plugs for small money, and a good article on installing them. I bought some thinking to use them to drain lockers and maybe the cockpit, but I have yet to get up the nerve to drill large holes--or maybe my frustration tolerance just hasn't been reached yet.

[Craig]

Jeff it will hold to the plastic OK. Just don't over torque it. I used brass plugs up next to the cabin bulkhead one in each corner.

[Frank Hagan]

I used a dinghy drain from West Marine that was about $5, IIRC. It had the advantage of being a bulkhead type fitting, with a gasketed seal between the flange and the body, and included an oring seal for the plub. So I just used some 3M 5200 to seal around it.

[Andrew_Butchart]

I put the drain hole in the keel when I built it and then drilled up into the cockpit. I used galvanized pipe for the drain and found that the cork from a bottle of Scotch (empty bottle first) fit just nice. I have some nylon plugs as well.

Mind you, I haven't launced yet, or allowed the cockpit to fill with water.

[PAR]

Epoxy doesn't stick very well to PVC, though a very rough tooth (36 grit) can help this a little. I use brass transom drains for this sort of thing. They have a rolled flange, which I set flush on the inside. I drill over size, fill with thickened goo, then drill just slightly over size for the tube. I radius the top edge to match the rolled tube's flange and thickened goo it in place. Of course the tube is pre cut to size. Made this way, every drop of water can leave the boat, with no small pool of water around the raised flange typical of the plastic or metal screw on types. Several types of plugs can be used, which I also modify to fit flush with the outside, after being inserted from the inside.