Cabin drain hole plug

J

JoeWa

New member
Good morning C-Brats, this is Jennifer borrowing Joe’s account for a quick question. We bought the 22 cruiser CheckRaise earlier this month and moved it to Everett last week. We are so happy to have our first C-Dory! We are keeping it in dry storage at Dagmar’s marina.

I have a question about the drain hole directly under the door. Is there supposed to be a plug for this hole? In theory it is good to allow water from the cabin to drain into the cockpit, but in practice (because of how it’s sitting on the blocks) rain water from the cockpit is just pooling in the cabin. The bilge pumps are under the galley and at the transom, so neither is much help in this case.

The drain hole is partially obstructed by the water tank hose on the forward side, and the cockpit floor boards would affect a plug design on the aft side. In a perfect world the “plug” could be a flapper to allow water out of the cabin but not in…but I think the floor pieces prohibit that. What kinds of solutions have others come up with? Am I just stuck with duct tape?? :?
 
My boat has a plastic plug screwed into the drain.
I see no reason to ever unplug it.
I would lift the floor boards, screw in a plug and forget it.
Ih the rare case where you might want it open, just lift the floor boards, remove the plug and drain or what ever.

Jerry C22 C Nile
 
That hole should have a plastic plug in it. Also, I would find a way to adjust your dry storage so that the boat is tilted slightly aft. You may be able to get Dagmar's to adjust the bunks or you may be able to add a carpet covered wedge or spacer towards the bow. I wouldn't leave it with water gathering towards the cabin.
 
Agree, that you need a plug. If a threaded plug is not in place, you may be able to use a rubber expanding plug, as in a boat drain plug. Some of the C Dorys have the bilge pump aft, some have it just outside of the door, and some (as my current 2006 22) have the bilge pump inside of the door. You can put a pump there if you want, along with a step and "dam" so the water does not go any further into the boat. My 1993 boat had an arrangement as you describe and we kept the plug in place except when I washed the cabin down, or drained the water tank into the floor--again the bow was raised.
 
same here, mine is plugged and I had enough rain water saturday night at one point that if it wasn't plugged it would have run into the cabin me thinks.
 
Thanks everyone! I'd love to find the original part that's supposed to go in there, otherwise I'll find something else to use. We'll also talk to the marina folks about readjusting the stand. The cabin is nice and dry otherwise, so it would be nice to keep it that way...
 
When I bought my boat I asked about that plug he said it was for washing out the cabin when it got really bad ( think stinky fish stuff ) have used it once scrubbed it down an rinsed it out worked fine . Although it was a pain taking ever thing out.
Richard
 
I just replaced mine a few weeks ago. Presuming yours is the same, they are available and not very expensive (see links below). By the way, it's the same plug fixture that was in the port lazarette drain hole on my boat.

While we're on the topic: The reason I replaced my cabin drain fixture is that, in looking at it, I couldn't tell for sure if it was left completely circular and the fiberglass and core of the hull were cut out to install it (and then only sealed with the caulk that I could see), or if the flange of the plug was cut off and that flat spot was sealed to the intact fiberglass of the hull. So, I removed it (which required destroying it in the process). I was glad to see it was just the fitting that was cut, not the glass/core.

I played around with a few other options, since by nature it's not really a good fit (so much of the flange has to be cut off that there is not much left to make a watertight seal with on the bottom edge), and thought that really, I might just glass it closed. I don't see myself hosing my boat out, what with all the non-sealed wood edges near the sole, and the fact that the cabin on mine is more "cabiny" and less "outdoorsy." And if I have a cabin flood, well, the door sill is not that much higher (so most of the water could drain out that way).

I also debated putting the fitting in with the plug removal/replacement on the inside of the cabin, since with the floorboards in place I can't get it out/in on the outside; but then the sealing flange wouldn't have been on the outside, so that didn't seem so good.

Ultimately, I decided I'd just put a new version of the same fitting back in for now, and then decide later whether to do anything further or different. The only change I made was to through-fasten it, with acorn nuts on the inside. I sealed it with 3M 4000 caulking.

Hmm, well somehow I managed not to take any photos of it on my boat, but here is a link to the fitting on Sea Dog's page. As you can see it's also possible to purchase just the plug (it has an O-ring).

http://www.sea-dog.com/groups/2051-garboard-drain-plug

This one with no tube might work even better for the cabin drain, if dimension "B" is long enough (not sure as I'm not on the boat; I cut the tube version to fit).

http://www.sea-dog.com/groups/2052-garboard-drain-plug

Sunbeam
 
Reading this thread reminds me of something I wanted to ask earlier. I have the 2007 model of the CD-22. My bilge pump is in the stern, between the fuel tanks in a small step down at the stern drain plug. There is no bilge in the cabin, nor any drain for water to leave the cabin if the windows were ever left open, or if water found another way in. I don't have a cockpit cover, and I don't use the storage cover routinely in the summer months. Of course backed in the driveway, the bow is lower than the stern so water pools just behind the cabin. Has anyone installed a bilge pump in the cabin anywhere? Has anyone found it necessary? Thanks. Colby
 
Hi Colby,

I keep my boat in the driveway over the winter. My driveway is level. I wind the dolly wheel down as far as it will go, then block up the trailer. You need to do this in case the dolly wheel fails. My boat always ends up bow high, so no water collection issues. Is your driveway higher at the house end, thus keeping the bow down? I have never had water get past the windows when they are shut.

Martin.
 
My driveway slopes down, so when the boat is backed into the driveway, yes, the bow is lower. I usually keep the windows shut, but there's always that one time that can happen where they are left open and then rain. (Hasn't happened...YET...) None the less, I sometimes think it would be nice to just hose the cabin floor out, but not without some kind of drain or bilge pump. As for water pooling in the front of the cockpit, that would probably only be a problem in the winter, and my boat is stored bow high then, with a cover. Then again, water pooling there at other times is just a pain of a mess. But why did earlier boats have the bilge pump forward, and then later ones didn't? Colby
 
Actually the early boats had the bilge pump aft, and then it was moved forward--either to in the cockpit behind the bulkhead (not many boats--and I am not sure what years). Then the pump in the cabin (as I have in 2006 boat). I have added a second in the aft cockpit for running and any water in the cockpit drains aft.

Why the change? A guess is that it is cheaper to put the bilge pump in aft--you don't have to make a dam in the interior and a step over this area, with a hinged cover for access to the pump. Difference in cost for production? Guess is about $50 for materials......
 
colbysmith":25d4d3ek said:
I sometimes think it would be nice to just hose the cabin floor out, but not without some kind of drain or bilge pump.
Click to expand...

I believe your boat has the permanent/flat cockpit sole, right? And if I understand correctly, the cabin sole is still the hull of the boat (i.e. not flat). If this is the case, then the cockpit sole is higher than the cabin sole, thus it would be difficult to have any easy way to hose out the cabin into the cockpit.

colbysmith":25d4d3ek said:
But why did earlier boats have the bilge pump forward, and then later ones didn't?
Click to expand...

In earlier boats the cockpit, like the cabin, was the inside of the hull. This, combined with the rocker of a dory, means that when sitting on her lines, the lowest point in the boat is just forward of the main bulkhead (between cabin and cockpit). Hence the bilge sump(s) (location varied over the years) just inside the cabin bulkhead. In later boats, the cockpit sole is flat. This is accomplished by raising the sole in the center. There is a hollow spaced underneath that is "sealed off" by the permanent sole. I have the earlier rounded (hull) cockpit sole, along with a set of factory floorboards for the cockpit. So I have a flat cockpit sole, but it's removable (many others have the floorboards too, or have made them).

Sunbeam
 
Amphion tells us his 2007 boat does not have floorboards, and the bottom of the boat has dri deck on it in the cockpit. He also states that there is no drain between the cabin and cockpit.

When was the solid built in cockpit floor actually was in production? I have to assume that in 2007 there were still the floorboards which might have been an option?

I have used the drain back to the cockpit to wash out the cabin when it was there. But in my C Dory 25 and the 2006 C Dory I washed out the floor and used a small pump and a sponge to clean the floor. When there was the drain, then tip the bow up, and pump it out of the cockpit.

Do the boats which have a glassed in solid floor have a passage for water under the floor, and a drain into the cabin? What year boats had a glassed in solid floor? Was this standard or an option?
 
thataway":3ofnt6s7 said:
When was the solid built in cockpit floor actually was in production?
Click to expand...

I have in my mind that it was during the 2006 year. In other words, a 2006 boat was the first to have the permanent sole (I think that person has mentioned it on the forum), but there were some 2006 boats that still had the "bottom" cockpit sole. IIRC.

thataway":3ofnt6s7 said:
Do the boats which have a glassed in solid floor have a passage for water under the floor, and a drain into the cabin?
Click to expand...

I don't believe so. I think the permanent sole is either glassed or caulked to the cabin bulkhead (my memory is caulked). Now sure how the first ones were, but the mold that Triton had was a whole sole (cored) with thinner fiberglass side panels that came partway up the port and starboard "walls" of the cockpit, and was glued on with methacrylate. Also it included a smooth fiberglass section aft that held the fuel tanks and had a sump well. Sort of a liner, if you will, on the section under the splashwell. I was offered to buy one and glue it into my boat, but I prefer the way mine is with the floorboards. I believe this is why the Moeller tanks went from 25 to 23 gallons. There is a note on the drawings that says they were made an inch lower, and I'm guessing that was so they would clear the new "cleats" that were part of the slightly raised "liner" for the fuel tank well that is part of the flat sole apparatus.

I believe this was standard once they started it in 2006 (or maybe 2007 if I'm wrong about the mid-year change).

Sunbeam

PS: I think Ferret30's album has some photos that show the fuel tank area/sump area.
 
My boat is a mid 2006 and does not have the built in floor. Some investigation and it appears as if the built in floor was mid 2007. There are reports of water under the floor--some folks had a small hole aft, some even reported a small hole in the cabin. However, apparently there were not supposed to be any holes.

Apparently the two part floor appeared in 2003, and was an option for $450. The solid floor apparently appeared in mid 2007.
 
I just spent all day on my boat, and can't say at this moment what kind of floor I have. I know I have to step over a "splash shield" or bulkhead under the door, between the cockpit and the cabin. When you follow the cockpit back to the aft of the boat, it drops down an inch or so into the aft end under the fuel tanks, and then another inch or so just around the transom drain plug.I would assume a bilge pump needs to be placed there, as that would be the lowest point in the boat when underway. That cockpit floor appears to be caulked at the sides. All this flooring is flat, so apparently raised from the hull. Inside the cabin, I'm thinking the floor is the hull, and is slightly curved. Enter the Vbirth you step up a bit onto a flat floor (which when I cut the storage compartments in on the side under the bunks, you can see is all part of the bunk molding, and there is some space between that and the hull. To my knowledge there is no where for water to drain out or be pumped out from anywhere in front of the cabin door. IOW, if I did put a hole in the bow hull, the water is going to fill the forward half of the boat until it's about 6 inches deep and can run over that bulkhead under the cabin door. The cabins back bulkhead is sealed very well, as I have had an inch or so of water behind the aft cabin bulkhead, from rain or washing the boat with the bow lower than the stern, and the cabin stays dry. Colby
 
It sounds like (and I would have thought) you have the permanent flat cockpit sole. If you had the "hull" one, it would be obvious as it is simply the inside of the bottom of the boat, and shaped as such. The (optional) floorboards for these models are a pair of fiberglass/molded panels that slip into place and make the cockpit sole flat, but they are not attached in any way, and water is free to run under them.

As an aside, I think I had also noticed (when your boat was for sale, as I was shopping for a 22 at that time) that your boat has the rare, original molded interior. I don't know how many of these were made, but my guess is few.

(The dinette is styled more like that in the 25, wherein the forward facing portside seat footwell is "permanent" and the table - in the 22 - is thus smaller. You can see the remnants of this footwell even in the "modern" molded interior where they changed the molds to make the dinette more like the "stick built" 22, but [it looks like] simply re-worked the molds around that foot area.)

Sunbeam
 
I wish now I would have looked closer at more of the other 22's that were at the Dubuque gathering last year. Under that port aft seat is where the water tank sits, and it appears to be hull as it is curved. Then ahead of that is the molding that continues to the forward bulkhead, with some compartment space and covering doors below the table and in front of the port convertible seat. (The seat back can be reversed to sit either facing the table, or facing forward. OF course this makes for a smaller dinette also, I think.) On the starboard side, there are cupboards under the small stove and sink, and I'm assuming that is hull in there also as it continues to curve inside of the sidewalls from the center floor area.. Then in front of the helm seat is some more molding with a small compartment into the floor/hull area. Any of these areas could possible get wet from items put away wet, or windows left open, etc. But do not appear to be drained anywhere. I'm pretty sure the aft cabin bulkhead does go all the way to the hull floor, and then the cockpit sole is butted up against it.
 
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