Cockpit Drains: Going to Bilge? (!)

[mac666]

Hello, Ericson owners.
I have just bought an E27 few weeks ago...still getting to know the boat.
I noticed that all 4 cockpit drains connect under the cockpit and drain into the bilge. The bilge does not have an automatic bilge pump. I see a major problem in this setup - if it rains hard a boat will fill with water!!!!
Is there any way to make a cockpit self bailing???
I guess, I have to measure the depth of the cockpit and see if I can pipe the drains to the transom. I hope, the transom's bottom edge is lower than the cockpit floor. (This is the way my P-23 cockpit was made to be self bailing.
I had 2 thru-hulls in a transom that connected with cockpit drains.
Has anyone done anything like this already???? Please let me know.

Next time I'm at the boat yard, I am going to measure cockpit dept vs. transom.

If it's not possible to do, I would definitely have to install an automatic bilge pump....any hints on what size to use??? 500 or 750???

 

[HughHarv]

Cockpit Drains

Seems extremely unusual to have the cockpit draining into the bilge, I'd have to pour water into the cockpit and then run below to see it drain into the bilge just to prove it! Some boats have the drain hoses going to thru-hulls behind the engine or to the galley sink. I had two thru-hulls either side of the prop shaft which I rerouted to thru-hulls above the waterline.

I also removed the bilge pump hose from the galley sink system and teed a longer hose into one of the cockpit drain hoses. When she goes back in the water, I can then close the only two thru-hulls left below the waterline, engine and galley sink, and not rely on the rubber and clamps to keep the boat afloat.

 

[Loren Beach]

I am quite sure that the factory bilge drains went to a thru hull, and certainly not back inside the boat.
Good Grief... I would wonder why the surveyor did not red-flag such a situation during the purchase.

Anyhow, there are lots of E-27 owners here to provide the needed plumbing info.
Mac, hope you do not mind, but I also moved your request to head up a new thread.

Regards,
Loren

 

[Glyn Judson]

Cockpit scupper hose mystery.

Mac, Loren and all, It was common practice for Ericson to "T" a scupper hose into the galley sink drain. Check to see if that the case with your installation. If viewed from under the cockpit, the hose(s) might appear to disappear forward into the bilge when in fact, it/they lead(s) to the sink drain. I find it almost impossible to believe that anyone would simply terminate any scupper drain directly to the bilge, a certain formula for catastrophic disaster and sinking. Check it again, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

 

[TRMN8R]

Mine doesn't...........seems like it was changed at some point?? Mine is exactly like the diagram which is found in the Download resouce side of this site. Are all the thru-hulls still there?

 

[mac666]

cockpit drains

Hi, Loren and Co.
Thanks for your quick replies.
I did not have the boat surveyed when purchased, just relied on my own personal boat owning experience, plus the price was ...let's say right.

The boat did have water inside the cabin at some point, which I could see from the water marks on the teak of both bulkheads near the floor. It immediately raised my concerns about how it got there...upon further inspection I found 4 red hoses from the cockpit drains(2 of them were T-ed together and connected under the cockpit with the other end open into the bilge. Someone must have pumped the water out rather quickly, because I didn't see any water damage other than water marks. What made the water marks very pronounced was engine oil that was also in the bilge(probably from an oil change).
I will definitely look into the plumbing diagrams and hopefully find out where those red hoses should have been connected to (or so you guys tend to think...which makes sense )...who in the right state of mind would drain rain water into the bilge.....
The boat is on the hard at this point and I can't wait until the next season to drop it in.
Meanwhile, will have a few more warm enough weekends to go thru the boat before it gets covered with snow
Will keep you posted - it's a great forum!!!!!!!!!
I have enjoyed very much being a member of such responsive sailing community!!!
Cheers, to all!
Mac

 

[agraziano23]

I just purchased an E-27 recently. My drains go to the sink seacock.
coincidentally the drains are an item i'm in the process of changing because of their age.

tony g.

 

[Mark F]

Hi Mac,

Do you have the split cockpit (wheel model)? I'm guessing you do by the four hoses you've found. The way mine is setup is starboard side scuppers are tee'ed together in the aft lazarette then run to a through hull under the quarter berth. The port scuppers tee together then run to the galley sink through hull.

 

[Glyn Judson]

Cockpit scupper hoses, where do they go?

Tony and all, Consider doing what I did because I didn't like the "T" design for the scuppers in my galley sink drain hose. I have three scupper drains in our boat and upgraded to a pair of 2" seacocks, port and starboard in the hull aft of the engine. Now the starboard and aft center hoses lead to the starboard seacock and the port hose to the other one. Ironically when increasing to 2" the port and starboard grates go awash on a radical heel. Immediate plans this winter are to replace the hoses with longer ones and cross them (starboard to port seacock, etc. My impulse to change from the factory "T" was that of space and clutter in the area and my concern that one hose clamp and barb into a seacock as opposed to three of then in the galley drain was just a better method. Good luck, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

 

[HughHarv]

If your not able to change the cockpit drain hose arrangement right away, while your on the hard you might want to disconnect your engine cooling hose and open the thru-hull valve so that if you get a significant downpour and can't get back to the boat for a while the water will have a drain at some point below the boat's vitals.