Relocating Cockpit Drain above the waterline.

luigisante · Post by **luigisante** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:52 pm

I think I already know the answer to this but, maybe someone can save me a lot of time. Is the cockpit floor below the waterline? I have sealed the two throughhulls that the boat had originally: one of the head and one for the cockpit. The cockpit drain exited the hull well below the waterline. Has anybody kept the original floor drain and had any succes bringing the outfall above the waterline? Is so, pictures please.

Thanks

Lou

Pat Ross · Post by **Pat Ross** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 6:25 pm

Lou,

I don't know the answer about the cockpit being below the waterline but it would seem to me it would not be, or how else would it drain, unless there was a pump? I have two drains on my boat that I know of, both on the starboard side. The one about midship is the sink drain and is well above waterline and the second is adjacent to the cockpit and I think also above the waterline. I will check tomorrow and get a photo for you. Too my knowledge my boat does not have a drain for the head either for a sink or anything else.

Pat

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 7:32 pm

The T28's cockpit is well above the waterline. You can see this by looking in the cabin, under the cockpit, and seeing how high the cockpit floor is above the cabin sole. I don't know what the case for the older 8M or 26' model is.

luigisante wrote:I think I already know the answer to this but, maybe someone can save me a lot of time. Is the cockpit floor below the waterline? I have sealed the two throughhulls that the boat had originally: one of the head and one for the cockpit. The cockpit drain exited the hull well below the waterline. Has anybody kept the original floor drain and had any succes bringing the outfall above the waterline? Is so, pictures please.

Thanks

Lou

luigisante · Post by **luigisante** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:11 am

It makes sense that the drain has to be above the waterline, otherwise, the waer level would settle in the cockpit when the boat was at rest. Duh. I should have thought about that. Now that my engine molding project is entering its final stages, I am thinking about the next things I need to tackle. I'm thinking about putting a 90 degree fitting at the base of the drain that runs to a thru-hull fitting that will exit the hull above the waterline. That way, I will not have any holes in the hull below the waterline, except in the engine compartment, which I have already isolated and made watertight to the rest of the boat. One less thing to fail offshore.

Pat Ross · Post by **Pat Ross** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:02 pm

Lou,

Here is a photo of my cockpit drain, above the painted waterline. The boat is still on its trailer. Unfortunately you cannot see the sink drain. It is forward, in the same relative position on the hull about mid boat.

Pat

luigisante · Post by **luigisante** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:29 pm

Thanks Pat, the picture really helps. Can you see the way the drain is routed under the cockpit floor from inside your cabin? Is there a 90 degree fitting there or is the drain attached to the outfall by plastic tubing?

Lou

Pat Ross · Post by **Pat Ross** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:45 pm

Lou,

I examined the cockpit floor carefully from the bilge. The cockpit floor stops at the height of the exterior drains, well above the hull bottom. The white looking area in the middle of the first photo is the starboard drain beginning to exit the hull. It is the join itself.

See the photo I have attached of the Salon floor, which is much lover than the cockpit. I discovered the port cockpit drain had it's own ext on the port side. So both the starboard and port cockpit drains operate independently of each other. They both exit directly out, no bends of anykind. This is facilitated by the fact that the cockpit sides are glassed to the hull walls, simply a PVC pipe exits out each side. I don 't know if they have valves to prevent flow back in in heavy seas but possibly they could. Sorry if the photos are too dark.

Pat

luigisante · Post by **luigisante** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 4:38 am

The photos are great. Thanks for crawling around under the cockpit for me. I'm going in today, inbetween applications of 407 compound to the waverunner insert to take some measurements. It looks like Tony really changed his approach to draining the cockpit between the Mark I and the 8 meter. But your photos gave me a couple of good ideas. Once I figure it out and get it done, ill post it.

Thanks again. Hope you didn't get too much fiberglass on your clothes.

Lou

Pat Ross · Post by **Pat Ross** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 5:06 am

Lou,

My bilge is pretty clean. It looks bad but I intend to paint it with a grey gelcoat. It is just unfinished. I believe these are remarkable boats for the money. Anyone looking for a fast and stable go anywhere multihull could not find a boat to compare it too. If you need any more photos or descriptions let me know. Looking forward to seeing you in the water.

Pat

luigisante · Post by **luigisante** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 10:29 am

I used a 2 part epoxy primer from Woolsey that is awesome in the bilge. I hate using anything styrene based anymore, so I stay away from gel coat.

I agree that the telstar is probably the best used boat value on the market if you are looking for a cruising trimaran in the 25' - 28' range. I can't wait to tackle cabin and make it liveable in there again.

International Telstar Owners Association