Hi gang, Every boat has a distinctive personality (one reason I love them), and I am discovering my 17 bit by bit. I got in a big blow yesterday, and enough water backed into the cockpit to give me cold feet had the water not been warm. The drain hoses have devices that might be one-way valves half way through the aft locker, and I am wondering if other owners have found that these keep all the water out. If so, I will have to take the things apart and find the problem. A final, if not as elegant (or safe) a solution, would be to use expanding rubber plugs in the cockpit openings, but I cannot find one of the proper size in my catalogs. Has anyone found a source? A big old soft rubber cork would probably work, but I am afraid a surge might pop one out. Another thing I noticed was a bit of water around the fuel tank in the aft locker. I assume a following wave took a whack high on the transom and shoved water past the fuel hose; has anyone experienced this and come up with an elegant solution? I know this subject was brought up awhile back, but I don't have the emails and I was not focused on the subject at the time. Thanks in advance for your comments. Tom Jenkins 2004 M17 Scintilla