Gunwale Storage Area on CD25 Doesn'ty Drain!!!!

[Pat Anderson]

OK, the gunwale storage areas in the cockpit on Daydream have little holes toward the aft end, presumably for draining, but when we washed the boat this last time (Sunday) these areas filled up with wash/rinse water, and they STILL have not drained. These holes are not obstructed, tested that, so not sure what good enlarging them would do. I could suck it out with a wet/dry vac, but I should not have to do that...Anybody else encounter this? Solution?

[El and Bill]

Whew! ... an unobstructed HOLE doesn't drain? What's this world coming to?? Could check with Sir Isaac Newton, but since he's not around to ask, we have a solution. Don't wash the boat!

[Mr. Fisherman]

[B~C]

those are probably vent holes, you need to drill those out and replace them with drain holes

[rogerbum]

I agree with BC you just need to swap out the holes - the problem is finding a good source for replacement holes - I recommend Dunkin Donuts....

But seriously, without knowing what size the holes are (other than "small"), my guess would be that either:
1) They are small enough that surface tension across them prevents the water from draining out - solution: enlarge them or
2) The holes are not directly below where the water is collecting - solution: add some new holes.

Just make sure you avoid any wiring that may be routed there. As I'm sure you are aware, on the CD 22 (at least on mine, a 2003), the storage compartments have a rather large triangular opening at both ends - they drain fine.

Roger on the SeaDNA

[Pat Anderson]

Yeah, these holes are small enough that surface tension could be an explanation. Nothing left to do except try to enlarge the holes, making sure I don't drill through the wiring harness in the process...

[Sea Angel]

Hi Pat;

Am I correct in that you are talking about cockpit drainage and not the bilge?

I have a 2005 CD25 and do not have any cockpit drainage problems. Could the scupper flappers on the drains be stuck? How about your weight distribution?

I see you have single power. I may have more weight in the stern than you, since you have the single, and thus I'm less likely to have the drainage problem. You did not indicate how much fuel/weight of batteries, etc., you were carrying when this occurred. How heavily is the forward cabin 'stocked'?

As to the bilge, all the water does seem to end up at the main bilge pump.

Just some food for thought...

Sea Angel

[Alyssa Jean]

Art, he was refering to the under the gunnel storage areas just under the top of the gunnel. Pat has the same boat as I do. Also, not sure when the factory started NOT putting in cockpit scuppers with one way flaps, but ours are straight through. I was told that if became a problem they would replace them, but these drain faster.

[doc]

Our 04 CD 25 does not have the under gunnel storage, so drainage of same is not a problem. We do however, since we are on the subject, have the flapped scuppers. These are prone to slow drainage, especially if something gets stuck in and or occludes the flaps. I haven't looked at them all that closely but I am wondering if they shouldn't be replaced, modified, enlarged or upgraded. They have not been a problem, since I tend to check them when I wash out the cockpit but they could drain much faster without the flappies. I have noed on other boats with self draining cockpits that the scuppers are 3 or 4 times larger horizontal ovals. In addition, at berth, the cockpit tends not to drain, with water stacking up to a certain degree up against the bulkhead due to the forward stance, even with a full fuel tank. Is that the experience of other 25 owners? I have the forward water tank full now and I could drain it to see if it makes a difference but it seems to my defective memory that it does not. And, while we're at it. When it rains or I wash out the cockpit, a fair amount of water ends up in the bilge, obviously getting past the bilge door or deck seals. Should I bother resealing them this winter or leave well enough alone since it is not a whole lot of water?

[Pete in NY]

I too have water that does not drain off the cockpit deck after washdown that collects mostly on the port side and in front of the enclosed channel for the port fuel fill. The boat lists slightly to port when at rest and in fact when I hauled out this last spring for engine lower unit oil change, we touched up the bottom anti fouling and raised the water line a couple of inches with anti fouling. Sea grass had started to grow on the gel coat where the water line was too low since our launching in end July 2004. (I keep the boat in the water all year, no trailer). The starboard side did not have the same condition, but we painted it anyway to maintain symetry. Any thoughts about putting in scuppers on the sides like bulwark scuppers on larger boats?

About hatches: My aft cockpit Tempress hatches leaked from day 1 and could not be sealed even with new gasketing. Water would find its way through the edge around the lid. Factory did seal the frame properly during construction between the hatch frame and deck. Bilge was always with gallons of water after rain. Tempress hatch was poorly engineered for this application and the injection molded lid was slightly warpped due to shrinkage in manufacture. This situation was cured by warranty replacement of different design and make new Bomar (Pompanette) hatches with positive twist latches, double gasketing and over the lid edge over the frame design.

LINK

C-Dory paid for the hatches under warranty and I installed them. I had to make the rough opening about an inch wider using circular and jig saws, seal balsa edge with liquid epoxy, and set new hatch frames in silicone. No more leaks, dry bilge despite a few 2-3 inch per hour rain storms in the spring. The double gasket design works so far.

As repeated often on this site : C-Dory warranty service is fast and generous for the typical minor issues new boats may have.

Regards
Pete in NY

Link fixed by Da Nag

[Sea Angel]

Yes, Pete the warranty service is the best.

I just received some stainless steel 'L' brackets to replace the one below deck in Sea Angel. I noticed some of them rusting pretty badly and mentioned it to parts to see where I could buy some. They were having some made for the newer models and FedEx'd some to me at no charge. I won't have to drill new hole... just replace.

With this kind of service... why did I ever buy that 18' SeaRay in 1988???? I won't go backwards again.

SERVICE SELLS!!!!!!!!!!

Sea Angel

[KenMcC]

Hmmmmmmm.

If you can see the holes, they are big enough to drain.

If there is some kind of grunge growing there, it could be obstructing the holes. To wit:

The "size" of a molecule is not unique, that is, the bond lengths and bond
angles of the same bond type vary somewhat for different molecules. For H2O,
the H-O-H bond angle is about 104.5 degrees and the H--O bond distance is
about 1.0 Angstroms (100 picometers = 100pm). METHYL ALCOHOL is smaller than
ethyl alcohol. For METHYL ALCOHOL the structural parameters are: R(C--H) =
109 pm; R(C--O) = 1.43 pm; R(O--H) = 0.94. The bond angles are (H--C--H) =
108.6; (C--O--H) = 108.5. These are very nearly the same values for ethyl
alcohol with the additional angle (C--C--C) = 109.5 and the bond length is
about R(C--C) = 154 pm. You could do the geometry and calculate the overall
size of the molecule by the vector addition of the (C--H),
(C--C), (C--O), and (O--H) bonds to estimate the overall size. Even without
doing so it is clear that the "size" of the ethanol molecule is
significantly larger than the "size" of a water molecule.

Chances are the holes are plugged. A toothpick may solve the problem. Of course, if the water is ponding in the forward section of the storage compartment, and the drain holes are in the aft section, then some other physics enter into the analysis.

Ken

[dogon dory]

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

[Pat Anderson]

Drilled bigger holes, a LOT bigger. Problem solved, no math needed!

[rogerbum]

Pat: Good to hear. Sounds like surface tension was the issue.