Is there any real reason to keep seacocks open when not in b

[Joe L.]

I'm a new owner of a CD25 that just went in the water. I'm wondering if there is any reason to leave the seacocks open in the cockpit when I'm not in the boat. Seems like the only time it would be a real issue is if they are closed and an 8 or 9 inch rain storm came along and filled your cockpit. But since rain storms of that magnitude only come along every few years, you'd surely know about them ahead of time and you could go open the seacocks. Otherwise, after regular rains you'd just have to open them when you go out for a sail and the water would drain. And worst case scenario, the 9 inch rain comes and your seacocks are closed, the water would just run out the back of the cockpit into the motor transom area (opening about 8 inches from the cockpit floor. At most it would be 30 gallons or so, about 180lbs - so weight would not be an issue.

Or should I just leave them open and not worry about it? I'm sure I'm probably missing something obvious here and there is a good reason to leave them open - if so, fill me in.

New Owner Worry-Wart.
Joe L.
bob CD25
Bristol, RI



jl0246@alpha.rwu.edu

[Don Carr]

Best to leave the open. I agree it would take a lot of rain but suppose you had a number of days of rain and you couldn't get to the boat? Yes, it would drain out the motor well but then you would have water soaking the cockpit floor for an extended period of time..soon you will be working and spend much time and $ replacing the cockpit.

IMHO



carrds@us.ibm.com

[Warren Kaplan]

Best to leave the open. I agree it would take a lot of rain but suppose you had a number of days of rain and you couldn't get to the boat? Yes, it would drain out the motor well but then you would have water soaking the cockpit floor for an extended period of time..soon you will be working and spend much time and $ replacing the cockpit.

IMHO

I agree with Don. Leave them open BUT MAKE SURE you open and close them OFTEN. The cockpit seacocks are the ones that people usually open and forget about. OFTEN they get frozen in the open position after years or even just months of leaving them in one position. So its a good idea to make a habit of just reaching down periodically and just working those cockpit seacock handles. Just open and close them 3 or 4 times so they don't freeze. The archives of this board are just full of woe about dealing with frozen cockpit seacocks. Alas, I am one of 'um!

Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, New York



Setsail728@aol.com

[Stephen Heineek]

You said the water would just run out the engine compartment? I’m not sure why, but that is not what happened on my CD25. I had been removing old caulk from around the cockpit commings (sp) and some of the caulk worked its way into the scuppers and clogged them. We had two nights of thunderstorms and when I went to check on my boat there was water up to the top of the cabin cushions! I assumed the water cascaded over the bottom of the companionway and into the cabin. She is an older model 25 (#67, 1973) so I wonder if the opening into the engine compartment is higher than on later models????

Another thing to consider is it did not take 9” of rain to fill the cockpit when you don’t re-caulk the commings. Since I didn’t like the looks of the caulk against my newly finished commings, and since I sail in warm waters and don’t care if a little water comes into the cockpit while sailing, I decided I wasn’t going to re-caulk them. Because of this brilliant decision, every square inch of surface area on the deck now drains directly into the cockpit. The scuppers had better drain well or it does not take long to fill the cockpit.

Stephen Heineke
CD25 #67 s/v La Suavita
Austin, Texas

I'm a new owner of a CD25 that just went in the water. I'm wondering if there is any reason to leave the seacocks open in the cockpit when I'm not in the boat. Seems like the only time it would be a real issue is if they are closed and an 8 or 9 inch rain storm came along and filled your cockpit. But since rain storms of that magnitude only come along every few years, you'd surely know about them ahead of time and you could go open the seacocks. Otherwise, after regular rains you'd just have to open them when you go out for a sail and the water would drain. And worst case scenario, the 9 inch rain comes and your seacocks are closed, the water would just run out the back of the cockpit into the motor transom area (opening about 8 inches from the cockpit floor. At most it would be 30 gallons or so, about 180lbs - so weight would not be an issue.

Or should I just leave them open and not worry about it? I'm sure I'm probably missing something obvious here and there is a good reason to leave them open - if so, fill me in.

New Owner Worry-Wart.
Joe L.
bob CD25
Bristol, RI

austex@attglobal.net

[Don Carr]

I guess a bridge deck is a good thing on the later CD25 models.



carrds@us.ibm.co

[Stephen Heineke]

I'm not sure what a bridge deck is. Apparently I don't have one.

I guess a bridge deck is a good thing on the later CD25 models.

austex@attglobal.net

[Neil Gordon]

>>Seems like the only time it would be a real issue is if they are closed and an 8 or 9 inch rain storm came along and filled your cockpit.<<

2/3 of the cockpit is seats and 1/3 is sole. 100% of that drains to the sole... so it only takes three inches of rain to put 9 inches in the cockpit. How deep does it have to be before it starts draining into the cabin?

In any case, I don't think that there's any benefit from having standing water in the cockpit. Sounds like an opportunity for bird bath, mosquito breeding, etc., etc.

You can split the difference and close one drain.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com

[Dean Abramson]

Joe,

Here is something to think about. I'm not really familiar with the 25, but in my 25D, the drain from the galley sink Ts into the port side cockpit drain hose. And the sink's lip is lower than even the sole of the cockpit. The first week I owned my boat, I left the cockpit-drain seacocks closed during a rainy night, and found out that all it took was enough rain water to fill up the hose, then the sink, and then it was Niagara Falls into the rest of the cabin. (And I had stowed some electrical parts temporarily in the sink...)

I agree with the folks who say make sure to work all of the seacocks back and forth regularly. I leave my other three seacocks closed while not aboard. Before I go out, while checking the oil and opening those three, I work the cockpit drain ones back and forth.

Enjoy your boat, mon.

Dean Abramson
"Mariah"
CD25D



dabramson@mainephoto.com

[JimL]

I added aft cockpit scuppers to mine (1973 #21). With the seacocks closed I can only get about an inch or two of water in the cockpit before it's draining out the rear scuppers (which are 1 1/2" and designed to drain the cockpit in a big hurry). The down side of mine are when I have 4 people in the cockpit. The boat will occasionally roll water in through my homemade flaps, while heeled in following seas, then drain through the standard scuppers. I'm going to spring for a pair of 1 1/2" one ways from West Marine to cure that problem.

Sure wish I had a bridge deck.....time to invent my own, I guess, but that will come after the boom gallows.

Jim Leininger, Odyssey III, Dana (blowing a gale for 5 days) Point, CA



leinfam@earthlink.net