15-footer: Rerouting Anchor Locker Drain

A conversation among Whalers
mcamuso
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:40 am

15-footer: Rerouting Anchor Locker Drain

Postby mcamuso » Wed Aug 18, 2021 3:19 pm

Pictures of a heavily redone 15-footer (posted online somewhere unspecified) show the drain for the forward anchor locker draining out onto the [cockpit deck] like a 13-footer. I assume that 15-foot hull was modified by closing in the original drain tube.

Has [a closing of the through-hull drain that drains the anchor locker to the sea in the standard configuration of a 15-footer ever been done to any other 15-footer besides the one seen on-line at some unspecified web resource]?

jimh
Posts: 11670
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: Rerouting 15 Anchor Locker Drain

Postby jimh » Wed Aug 18, 2021 4:43 pm

mcamuso wrote:Has [a closing of the through-hull drain that drains the anchor locker to the sea in the standard configuration of a 15-footer ever been done to any other 15-footer besides the one seen on-line at some unspecified web resource]?


I would like to participate in your survey of 15-foot owners (who are not the owner of the boat whose picture you saw online at some unspecified resource) to ask if they closed in the anchor locker drain to the sea. To answer your survey question: I am not the owner of the boat whose pictures you saw on-line, and I did not close in the anchor locker drain to the sea in the 15-footer that I owned.

Please report the results of your survey when you end it.

I believe in your post there is an implied question: should you close the original drain in your 15-footer so that it no longer drains to the sea, and then should you install a new drain so the anchor locker drains into the cockpit?

If you want others to offer advice about making that sort of modification, you should solicit that advice. I would be glad to offer my own recommendation, but I don't want to presume that you are interesting in getting advice. So far your only question is to propose a survey.

Tom in VA
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 6:04 pm

Re: 15-footer: Rerouting Anchor Locker Drain

Postby Tom in VA » Thu Aug 19, 2021 8:23 pm

As the owner of a 1980 15’, I’ve often pondered this as well. Hopefully we’ve got some owners that have done this and can share how it worked out.

Oldslowandugly
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Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:19 pm
Location: Queens NY

Re: 15-footer: Rerouting Anchor Locker Drain

Postby Oldslowandugly » Sat Aug 21, 2021 10:35 am

I did not close the drain from the locker to the sea.

I use the anchor locker as a live well for fish. The water in the anchor locker changes as the boat moves, and that keeps the fish lively.

I did add another drain that goes into the cockpit. That is because the well filled completely with rainwater and the mahogany cover suffered. I keep the drain plug in at all times except for fish. I noted how high the sea water rose, and added a drain a couple of inches above that point. That keeps the rainwater level well below the mahogany. I drilled through the bulkhead and filled that hole with a plastic tube sealed to the hull with Marine Tex.