Hi Bob and Cherri, On the M15 the CB Pennant hole is the only drain. It's covered with a teak board on the later models kinda like a 1" x 4" about 8" wide that's got a hole in the middle just big enough for the pennant line. Its function is to keep the water from splashing up at you. The water draining goes around the board and drains through the sides under it to the drain. So plugging the drain isn't possible in any case; you can't get to it without removing the board. I think Connie said he had to install the teak board... strange, his hull # is 400 & mine is 402. Mine came with it, factory laid fiberglass around it. If you don't have the board, Cherri, by all means get one and put it in per Connie's instructions. It'll at least keep the water from splashing UP at you. The solution (workaround?) posed by others is to take a sponge, cut it in two, and shove the pieces under each side of the teak board, keeping the water from splashing up through the two sides. If you do take on any water, you have to pull the sponges and let it drain out. This entails having to do something while you are taking on water... obviously conditions aren't real good and you probably are working hard on other things (like keeping the boat upright, reefing, dropping sails, etc). I like the rubber bar mat (workaround) idea because I can take on almost an inch of water and still keep my feet dry, without having to perform some extra chore when I least want to. Also I don't have to worry about forgetting to pull the plugs and finding my boat half swamped after a good rain. And if you're taking on a lot of water you have too much weight aft... move that beer cooler to the fore end of the cabin, as well as the least liked member of the crew. Tell them to go out to the bow pulpit, lean out, and say "I'm flying" 500 times (your cockpit will drain by then). Works good with hyperactive children. Don't worry; you'll get good at coming about and picking them out of the water. They like to swim anyway. At 8:37 AM -0700 4/25/02, Bob Campbell wrote:
Cal,
I have had similar wet cockpit problems with my M17. I was getting water in from both the center board pennant, and the transom drains. My solution is rubber stoppers in the drains, and rubber rigging tape (the kind that only sticks to itself) wrapped around the centerboard pennant in a tapered fashion, and stuffed into the pennant hole. This keeps the cockpit dry as a bone, and when conditions start getting nasty, I pull out the transom drain stoppers. I figure, if there's water coming in over the combings, it doesn't much matter if there's water splashing in though the cockpit drains. All this is to say; maybe you could devise a way to plug the drain when you don't need the drainage.
Cautionary note: If you keep your boat in the water or dry store it outside, don't forget to pull the plug(s) so that rain water can drain out! I read a story of a Potter 15 owner who came back to his "stopped up" boat after a rain storm to find his cabin flooded and boat half sunk! By the grace of God, I haven't pulled this stunt yet :)
Fair Winds,
Bob Campbell Montgomery 17 #615 "Alina" Lodi, CA
-----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-admin@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-admin@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Cal Spooner Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 3:32 AM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: M_Boats: cockpit drain backwash
Steve, There is really no solution other than to get one of those mats that bartenders use (and boat shops sell) that are about 1" thick and made of alternating squares (checkerboard pattern) of rubber, trim it and throw it on the floor of the cockpit. The design of the drain makes water come up sometimes when tacking into the wind, and other conditions, in rough water... the waves force the water up; your "hydraulic pressure" analogy is correct. There is no simple solution to this... but the mat will keep your feet dry, and allow the water to drain back out. -- Cal Spooner M15 #402 spoon@visi.com cspooner@mn.rr.com 763.574.1482