Downeaster Yachts.com - Topic: deck drains

Scott Carle on deck drains

Thu, 23 Apr 2015 19:45:18 -0400

Yeah it is a lot of work. Everything we do new is drilled filled with epoxy drilled again and countersunk for a butyl seal. Also as we fix old stuff we go back and do that. I'm sure we will still be finding stuff still needing years from now. I really like the idea of aluminum or steel boats where you don't drill holes to mount stuff. You just weld the mounts or equipment directly to the boat.

Rick on deck drains

Thu, 23 Apr 2015 19:27:38 -0400

We've gotten half of the deck drains done and we rebed them with butyl tape and fair the opening with thickened epoxy. I countersink all the holes as that seems to make the most sense with the butyl tape which I think is by far the best for bedding hardware as evidenced by the seal found when I have to yank something off after it's been put down with butyl. I'm a convert.

We're systematically rebedding all bolts that go through the deck with epoxy in oversized holes and butyl tape but we're still finding the odd leak and probably will until every last stanchion and deck hardware has been rebedded.

Scott Carle on deck drains

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 13:21:13 -0500

something that has done wonders over the last 5 years on the electrical projects I have done is coating all connective fittings with di-electric grease. stuff I did 5 years ago in the engine compartment still looks new. No corrosion .

Rick on deck drains

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 12:16:10 -0500

a hatch over the galley does have merit.

I could put the two new opening ports on the forward windows and call it good. The previous owners put a hatch over the forward portside salon which would mean I'd have two hatches on the port side and none to starboard.

Back to the drawing board.

Have to ask the cook. She's tsk tsked me that I should not be the guy planning the galley and considering what she puts out of that tiny place, I'd agree.

I suppose by that token, I should either cap off the drain over that cupboard which would be behind the panel, or put a sealed panel between the back of the electrical panel and the deck drain.

Scott Carle on deck drains

Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:39:14 -0500

Just thought of this... I had planned installing a hatch over the galley for ventilation. maybe do that in addition to the opening port on starboard. Or a small hatch in the back cabin wall to the cockpit on port side. Ventilation and a place to hand food out in bad weather without opening the companionway up.

Scott Carle on deck drains

Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:36:39 -0500

Honestly I wouldn't put a opening anything near that electrical panel. It isn't if but when you get it wet if there is a open port over it. It's guaranteed that once or twice a year you forget its open and get a wave or spray in it and even more likely that your sitting at the dock or anchor and you don't close it when you leave the boat and it rains while your gone. Also though our drains have never leaked they do condense like crazy in the winter and it will keep a small puddle under it and that area a bit damp back there. Where the panel is now under the chart table it is isolated enough that leaks wont get to it for the most part. Put your opening port on portside over the stove but don't do starboard if your moving your electrical panel up there.. Actually a lot of our electrical stuff like radios, interior depth display, battery monitors, battery charger monitor, AIS units etc are all there now and a opening port would be death on them.

Not saying it wouldn't be nice to have openings there for air flow but your going to have a lot more issues with our electrical and electronics that are exposed to moisture over the years.

Just a thought

Rick on deck drains

Tue, 03 Feb 2015 22:06:43 -0500

I was intending to do what Dougon did: fair the recess down to the top of the bronze drain so the water doesn't pool around the drain but actually goes down it. I look at stuff like that and wonder if anyone older than the high school kid that installed them looked at it before it left the factory. It's no wonder the fittings are covered in water stains below. Water had to be sitting in there until it evaporated.

I'm replacing my electrical panel and it's going right there over the nav station so I'm going to have to reset that drain and isolate it from the back of the new electrical panel. I'm also installing opening port lights over the nav station and galley per the request of the cook who I want to keep happy. Unfortunately the new opening port lights are right over the new electrical panel so a watertight cover must be in the future as well.

Scott Carle on deck drains

Sun, 01 Feb 2015 23:35:17 -0500

I actually need to do that on one of mine.. not to fix height but to fix the hole of the bolt that holds the drain to the deck. Last time I did it I just goobered more sealant in there. It doesn't leak but it isn't right either. Not sure who.. might have even been the factory put the screw hole in to close to the edge of the hole thorugh the deck and it broke through the inside edge of the hole. So not the best workmanship. I used 4200 putting that fitting back in and it isn't going anywhere though.

Got to love adhesive sealants

Dougm on deck drains

Sun, 01 Feb 2015 15:08:00 -0500

Mine were as described... raised a little in the recessed area. I pulled them when I painted the deck last spring, and before I laid down the paint I taped the top of the drains and spread thickened epoxy to make them flush. When the epoxy had hardened, I pulled the drain fittings, painted and then re-installed them. It worked great!

Scott Carle on deck drains

Thu, 29 Jan 2015 23:59:39 -0500

I don't think my drains are like that. They are a bronze drain more like a shower drain and are flush if not a hair recessed in the deck. Would be interested to hear others comment on their boats setup and maybe have pictures posted of different styles found on the boats.

I thought for sure I had some pictures of mine but when I replaced the hoses and rebedded them I only took pictures from below decks At least that I could find.

Rick on deck drains

Thu, 29 Jan 2015 21:24:09 -0500

I just replaced the bar sink drains someone had used in lieu of cockpit drains. I used flush top Marelon cockpit drains that fit flat with the surrounding deck so water actually goes into the drain. I noticed that all the deck drains are bronze fittings that sit down in a recess but have a raised center part that will effectively trap the last 1/4" of water in that deck recess. Is there a reason for the top of the drain being above the bottom of the recess? Are there little weep holes that I can see that allow water to drain below the top of the raised bronze drain?

I'm thinking it would be a lot more efficient to replace all those with drains that actually sat flush with the bottom of the recess unless these are ingeniously built and I don't know it.

I also thought it might be easier to fair the sides of the recess down to the top of the drain. Any thoughts? I can't be the only one scratching my head over this obvious design flaw. I'm only saying it's a design flaw when I think lake a bucket of water and wonder how I'm getting out that drain. Looking up from underneath I can see that the drain itself has leaked for years and the woodwork below it is rotted away.

thanks!