Cockpit drains

[Sails Pending]

I'm going to try to explain this system. It seems kind of Jerry rigged. There are three cockpit drains ,and they also have a drains from the cooler. I just don't think this is the right way to do this.

 

[bigd14]

Yikes! These are all below the waterline? So many problems here.

1. No seacocks/shutoff valves. If anything springs a leak the boat will be sinking.
2. PVC fittings below the waterline. These are prone to shattering. See No. 1
3. Hose is severely aged and cracking and looks like it could fail at any second. See No. 1.
4. Double hose clamps should be used below the waterline. If one fails and no backup, see No. 1.
5. Wood backing plates may or may not be ok.
6. Those little fittings entering the elbows look like they were added on and look extremely fragile (yup, see No. 1).

You could move the cooler drains to the bilge and pump it overboard with the bilge pump.

I would put this very high on the priority list for replacing with proper seacocks, backing plates and bronze or Marelon fittings and high quality new hose, with double hose clamps on all fittings. I don't think I could sleep at night (and certainly not on the boat) with this situation.

Many threads on here about replacing, and the gold standard for seacock/thru hull tutorials, here: https://marinehowto.com/category/plumbing/

 

[Christian Williams]

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Hard to comment otherwise since there are so many Ericson and Olson models.