Safety with flooding cockpit

[Jim from New York]

Hi I have a safety question
I know there’s a lot of boating experience here on this site.
I know C Dory boats have nice high freeboard.
But has anybody heard of a big wave flooding a C Dory cockpit and if so how does the the pump handle the removal of water in that dangerous situation ?
With no scuppers you have to count on the bilge pump it must be a slow recovery.
Appreciate any input on the subject

Sure would like to know before something like that should happen.

Keeping it upright
Jim

[thataway]

I have only heard of one incidence of that, which was in Alaska. The boat was either backing or held in position, into big seas--may have involved a tidal rip?

I have been in seas over 10' with gale force wind against current in Johnstone Straits and took not water over the transom---but I was running down wind. T

There was one boat which was caught in surf and rolled etc during a storm off the Oregon coast, Again not a common situation.

In your New York waters I would be hard pressed to imagine a situation where water would come over the transom if the boat was handled properly. Now if you were to anchor by the stern, or back down hard into breaking waves, (both of which would be very foolish), you might get water over the splash well.

Since the boats have a very flat dead rise, and beam which comes all of the way aft, the stern rises very quickly as a wave train comes from aft.

[tsturm]

[TyBoo]

I do not recall any reports of completely flooding the cockpit with a wave over the back but there have been a few discussions on the "what if" of it, mostly around the argument of whether a full height transom would be safer.

My take on it is that with the transom cut out as it is there would be less danger of sinking the stern since nearly half of the water could immediately go out the same way it came in and the hull would be buoyant enough to support the remaining water until it could be pumped out. If the transom was full height that wouldn't seem likely.

As buoyant as the C-Dory hull is anyway it is unlikely that a wave could make it all the way into the cockpit since the boat floats like a cork and always seems to rise as quickly as the water around it.

Of course, I am not relying on any science here - just my observations. The swells on the Columbia River bar can come up pretty fast from any direction, especially from behind, and my big old heavy CD 25 always rises to the occasion and any water that gets past the transom does not make it beyond the splashwell.

[Jim from New York]

Wow great info I’ve never had a it happen thank heavens , my instinct would be to throttle up and help the boat stay on semi plane. Can’t if anchored that’s a bigger problem I guess.
The northwest must be a Challenge sometimes ,Here in the northeast it can get bad I plan longer trips with the good weather window.
I’m new as of last year this time.
Had lots of boats but this one is a fine one suits me perfectly. It’s not to much that I can’t single hand but not to little of a boat great for exploring.
Good Day to all

[tsturm]

[hardee]

I have had water in the cockpit, one time from over the bow, and cabin top. I was new, running too fast where I should not have been and we looked like the Capn just rang the Dive Bell on a sub. Green water to the doghouse, white water to the windshields, and lots of that over the top and down the back of a friend standing in the cockpit. Equaled about 3" in the cockpit. I kept the hammer down, there was only that one big drop as I was crossing the Rip.

On a rough crossing on Juan de Fuca, 3 - 5 foot waves and winds coming on from the port bow quarter, windshield wipers on and off frequently, and lots of splash from that quarter. On a glance over the shoulder I saw water on the cockpit sole -- maybe 6 to 8 inches. The boat had a "funny" slightly sluggish feeling. I was making about 6-9 knots doing the jog and slog. A quick assessment showed I had inadvertently turned the bilge pump switch from "Auto" to "Off" on one of the wiper switch maneuvers.

(I have 2 bilge pumps, a 2000gph in the stern well under the splash well, and an 1500/1600 in the pocket bilge under the cabin door step.)

Due to the winds and sea state I had to keep on keeping on, one wave at a time, 50 or 100 feet at a time, with heavy splashing coming over the port gunnel into the cockpit and hosing the whole port side of the boat with nearly every wave. No choices there, so hit the bilge pump switch to manual, that runs both pumps, and watch over my shoulder, every wave. It might have taken a minute and a half or 2 minutes, it seemed longer, and might have been less, but it was not long and I was back up and sporting along headed to the south shore.

Lesson learned, Check the pump switch more often, especially when using the wipers. (That switch runs both pumps and is always in the "Auto" mode when doing any running in anything but flat water.)

Harvey
SleepyC

[ssobol]

I had 6-8 inches of water in the cockpit of my 22 cruiser once because I forgot the drain plug when I launched it once and didn't notice for awhile (had to park the trailer and stuff). I also found that my bilge pump wasn't working well because debris covering the inlet screen. Installed the drain plug from the swim step, then got the boat planing. After that, the combination of the bilge pump doing it's best and manual bailing got the cockpit clear after about 15-20 minutes.

So basically, if a wave dumps that much water in the cockpit, it is not that big of a deal. More of a PITA than a threat to the boat.

[Jim from New York]

Thanks everybody for your information lots of lessons to be learned. I only have one bilge pump seems reliable factory installed, I may look to install a
Back up

[hardee]

[T.R. Bauer]

I have a good deal of boating experience and have never had any real amount of water make it all the way into the back of the boat over the transom. And like many of you, I've had the unpleasant experience of being out on really bad days. However, there is no question in my mind that a wave could come over the back and swamp you in an extreme situation where lots of things are going wrong and have went wrong - like someone backing over the anchor line and inadvertently being anchored by the prop while a rising tide rips and there is 3-4 feet of steep chop coming from astern. But, that situation would spell doom for most any boat and has nothing to do with boat design. It's something I hope never happens.

I like a good bilge pump just as much as the next guy, but a couple of 5 gallons buckets and some motivation (like that sinking feeling) will empty the back out way faster. Not saying the pump doesn't help, but 5 gallon buckets are very fast and most folks have them on the boat.

[Marco Flamingo]

[thataway]

Yes, water over the bow can get into the cockpit, we also have had that happen. We have always put in a second pump in our 22's. Not only does the corrugated type of bilge pump hose decrease the flow, but it also deteriorates and can break.

In the 22, a bilge pump all of the way aft, and either the forward part of the cockpit or inside the cabin under the steps. (with a hole in the aft cabin bulkhead, walled off from the interior).

Our current 25 has two bilge pumps in the "sump area--just aft of the fuel pump. The first is the standard, the second is twice the volume, and has a "high water alarm" on the float circuit. There is also a 3rd bilge pump under the cabin steps..

[hardee]

TR Bour Said:

[Jim from New York]

Great information hope I never experience a cockpit full of water. Will always have a trusted bucket on board Thanks to all