Cockpit drains

[Jay Sauls]

Hey Folks, I'm slowly working my way through all the problems with my '74 e29 and they are numerous. Boat was a Hurricane Katrina salvage, was fixed, sunk, raised, sunk again, raised, dried out...anyhoo, the cockpit drains are shot. I tried to clean them out but the hoses below the deck disintegrated. I can get to the port side drain via the locker and a lot of shimmying down, but have no idea how to get to the starboard side drain. It would take a very well-trained monkey or a super-smart toddler to fit under there. I'm thinking about cutting through from the aft berth to give me access. I thought about the locker at the stern, but I'd have to stand on my hands under the deck to get down there. Any tips, advise?

 

[toddster]

Although I have a somewhat different layout (Only one cockpit drain - adding more on the to-do list) I can report encountering many such problems. A lot of hardware was installed before deck and hull were joined. Sometimes you just have to consider carefully and then cut an access hatch through the liner. Inexpensive deck plates make good "doors" for access hatches, but sometimes other inset equipment (e.g. stereo speakers, cockpit shower box, etc.) can be used to fill the hole, if access is not needed frequently.