what you describe is normal for the M17 in certain situation, especially when motoring. i'm guessing you have looked ... Bob has installed seacocks on some of the 17 cockpit drains. these will be located in the aft lazarette locker. the seacocks will stop the water coming in when closed; but water will not go out if the boat gets pooped or when in rains (one of those tradeoff things). others have vales on the transom that will limit, but not eliminate, water coming through the cockpit drains. use the contact information on the nor'sea www-site to contact Bob. he will have a build list that outlines what items were on the boat when she left the shop. the best way to limit water entering the cockpit is making sure you keep weight forward. crew should be sitting near the cabin/cockpit bulkhead. the person at the helm should sit just aft of the mainsheet traveler. don't load heavy items in the aft lazarette. with all the above stated you need not worry the boat will sink ... just wet feet. :: Dave Scobie :: M17 #375 SWEET PEA - www.m17-375.webs.com --- On Sat, 12/1/12, Karen Saville <karen.saville@yahoo.com> wrote:

We have a Montgomery 17, 2006, and when our boat is heeling or motoring the cockpit drains back siphon water into the cockpit.  Are these one-way valves? And is it normal to back siphon or are these valves defective?  Any help or answers would be appreciated!!! Thanks!

Karen, We have a 2004 hull, and it did the same thing when we bought it used. As I recall, there was a functional flapper valve to prevent this, but there was not enough back pressure to close it all the way. Since we love our boat and there seemed to be no simple workaround, we just put inexpensive valves in the drain hose and close them under ordinary circumstances. M17s run pretty dry, so a sponge has taken care of the occasional wave. If you are contemplating a long bluewater passage, you probably should leave the valves open and wear neoprene booties or sailing boots, which you probably would anyway if you are taking waves and the water is cold. Tom Jenkins M17 Scintilla On Dec 1, 2012, at 5:46 AM, Karen Saville wrote:

We have a Montgomery 17, 2006, and when our boat is heeling or motoring the cockpit drains back siphon water into the cockpit. Are these one-way valves? And is it normal to back siphon or are these valves defective? Any help or answers would be appreciated!!! Thanks!

Hi Karen, This is just one of the small compromises of owning a 17. I agree with most folks here that raising the cockpit floor or raising the seats would compromise too many other things. I do wish the cockpit well was half the size. But that's just me. I just try to sit forward as much as possible. On good days I close off the seacocks and then I only have to contend with the occassional burping up the centerboard line hole. I keep a large sponge and an empty Maxwell House coffee can to bail. I've minimized the amount of water that comes up from the centerboard by putting a hole in a plastic cap off a gallon ice tea bottle and sliding it down over the opening. It rides up and down easily with out hampering the raising and lowering of the centerboard. It catches most of the burps but not all. In warm weather I either wear easy draining close toe sandals or barefoot and in the winter I wear boots. Not a bad price to pay for all the other virtues of this fine boat. Joe SeaFrog M17 ----- Original Message ----- From: Karen Saville To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2012 8:46 AM Subject: M_Boats: Cockpit Drains We have a Montgomery 17, 2006, and when our boat is heeling or motoring the cockpit drains back siphon water into the cockpit. Are these one-way valves? And is it normal to back siphon or are these valves defective? Any help or answers would be appreciated!!! Thanks!