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ctjstr

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
399
Location
United States
Vessel Name
"Convergence"
Vessel Make
Camano Troll
I sure seem to have a lot of questions for a guy who hasn't even picked up his boat yet.

Does anyone have the "perfect" method for cleaning out the small drains that drain the recess for the lazarette hatch cover? They're pretty small, and are clogged on the Meander. When they plug, the water simply runs over the inner edge and into the compartment. When I was up there last week, there was probably 20 gallons inside. I just forgot to look and see how they were fastened/assembled.

I'll have my tool box with me when I go to pick up the boat next week, but want to make certain I include whatever I'll need to get it cleaned out. I'm sure its something simple, but I don't want to be fumbling around when I'm trying to get the boat out on the water and headed home.

Thanks

toni
 
Every boat has such drains clogged at one time or another. I use either a drill bit or a piece of solid wire.

On my sailboat, a Bristol Channel Cutter with tall, solid bulwarks, the limber holes to drain water off the deck were tiny and clogged frequently. I drilled them out to about the diameter of my finger and epoxied brass tubing in the holes.
 
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Maybe a combination of a fairly stiff wire ( 10 gauge electrical wire} and a shop vacuum. Work the debris loose with the wire than vacuum it out. They make attachments that will reduce a shop vac hose down to about a 1/4 diameter. I bought a small kit that had several sizes in it. Or perhaps loosen up the debris than take compressed air and blow it out.

Another option would be to remove the hose from the drain and replace it.
 
ctjstr said:
I sure seem to have a lot of questions for a guy who hasn't even picked up his boat yet.

Does anyone have the "perfect" method for cleaning out the small drains that drain the recess for the lazarette hatch cover? They're pretty small, and are clogged on the Meander. When they plug, the water simply runs over the inner edge and into the compartment. When I was up there last week, there was probably 20 gallons inside. I just forgot to look and see how they were fastened/assembled.

I'll have my tool box with me when I go to pick up the boat next week, but want to make certain I include whatever I'll need to get it cleaned out. I'm sure its something simple, but I don't want to be fumbling around when I'm trying to get the boat out on the water and headed home.

Thanks

toni
Click to expand...

When you come up with the foolproof method, let me know. I have been struggling to keep mine clean since I bought this boat in 1994. It seems the birds and the rain come together. bird crap clogs the drains, rainwater enters the bilge. I run the pumps, note the extra run time, clean the drains, again.
 
wire fish. I have a 20 foot one and can clean out hoses from the lazarette or from the thru hulls. Follow it up with a good blast with a hose.
 
If the diameter is small and longer than a zip tie, heavy weedwacker line refill would work. I have also used 1/4" X 5 ft PEX tubing ($2 at HD) for robust clogs.
 
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That was an ongoing problem on our Camano. Zip ties work, but the best thing is preventive maintenance. Keep the channel clean and you will not have the problem.
 
ok, thanks for all the good suggestions. I like that Home depot thing. I might grab one before I head up to the boat. I've got zip ties and assorted other stuff that might work. I've got a bunch of weed whacker line and may grab some of that as well.
Obviously this is a common problem.
 
I think the Home Depot thing is probably the Turbo Snake. Available for under three bucks on Ebay, been cleaning mine for years with this. My drain tubes are only 3/8”. On larger lines, I sometimes put it in a drill chuck and squirt some diluted detergent down the tube at the same time. I’ve also seen it in Walgreens, CVS and Walmart, but priced up to 10 bucks.

https://www.ebay.com/i/290990798060...3D711-117182-37290-0%26rvr_id%3D1401229826764
 

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Why not avert the whole problem by covering the hatch. I used a piece of that diamond patterned decking, cut generously and painted it the color of my deck. Natural color is white. My drains went right into the bilge.

Ian
 
I'll see what happens this weekend when I go to pick up the boat.
 
Do not drill them. Someone drilled a copper tube inner window drain on my boat, it went through the tube, and the water drained into the wood it passed through.
My lazarette perimeter drains go via bronze right angle tubes into plastic tubing which drains overboard. One side I thought the fall was inadequate and "shimmed" the hose brackets to increase it. Make sure if there are tubes or metal right angle drains set into the drains they are in the right position, ie have not dropped.
Once you get them clean, put a hose to them every month or so, to see that satisfying drainage in action.
 
amazes me how often you see bad drainage on boats, either too small, a bad angle, or the use of that ribbed bendable hose, which seems to be a magnet for cloggy stuff
 
ctjstr, your "gutters" are probably f/glass, mine are wood. There should be "cruel and unusual" punishment for whoever thought making perimeter drain gutters of of wood, and drilling drain holes in them, was a good idea. At least IG put full height bronze tubes in them.
 
I got a short piece of clear vinyl tubing that would fit into the drain opening. I bought an adapter for that tubing to a garden hose. The tubing is attached to the adapter which then attaches to trigger sprayer that's attached to the hose. I turn on the hose, stick the tubing down the drain, pull the trigger and blast any debris down and out the drain.

There's a small chance that this will clog the drain further but in several years this hasn't happened.

This same setup happens to fit my holding tank vent so if I suspect that's clogged I can clear it as well.

It's best, of course, to clean the channel leading to the drains often enough that they don't clog in the first place.
 
ctjstr next you'll be asking about the flybridge drainage :)

Stick your spray nozzle and blast it from below to loosen debris, then try to clean it from above. It's near impossible to clean the drain from above.
 
jhance said:
ctjstr next you'll be asking about the flybridge drainage :)

Stick your spray nozzle and blast it from below to loosen debris, then try to clean it from above. It's near impossible to clean the drain from above.
Click to expand...

got it..thanks. good idea about pushing flow backwards. so far, the upper drains are draining, at least from what I saw the few times I've been aboard.

I have the good fortune of being able to keep her in a boat house, which makes that kind of issue way easier to deal with. At this point, my main concern is the drains into the lower storage area, since there is already quite a bit of water in it and it will no doubt continue until I get it pumped out and the drains cleaned, or until its under cover.
 
With a length of cable tv wire you can clear almost any line. I used it to ream out almost 25 feet of air conditioning raw water line.
 
hmason said:
With a length of cable tv wire you can clear almost any line. I used it to ream out almost 25 feet of air conditioning raw water line.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that seems like it has good strength too. You need something that will hold its shape but bend.
 
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