Cockpit drainage blocked

[Popeye2]

Cockpit drainage blocked by sand from too many trips to the beach. Will not be flushed out by water from a hose. Thru hulls. Can anything be done by swimming underneath?

[lonesoldier0408]

Originally Posted by Popeye2

Cockpit drainage blocked by sand from too many trips to the beach. Will not be flushed out by water from a hose. Thru hulls. Can anything be done by swimming underneath?

Vinegar from the top?

[Off Trail]

We had a similar blockage with mud/sand in our anchor locker drain. Small homemade snake (like a bent wire coat hangar) from outside did the trick.

[Popeye2]

Originally Posted by Off Trail

We had a similar blockage with mud/sand in our anchor locker drain. Small homemade snake (like a bent wire coat hangar) from outside did the trick.

Is it really safe? Is there nothing in the thru Hull that could be damaged? When I put a hose down there it goes in all the way to the thru Hull fitting. This does not unblock it.

[Cheechako]

wow, that's surprising the water pressure wont unblock it from right above it. Are you sure it isn't something that fell down there from the cockpit side? or even leaves etc? Sounds like it's a pretty straight shot, so maybe a 3/8 wood dowel?

[sailormed]

Dive down with a running garden hose and insert from below. It will dissolve the sand blockage and sand and water will flow down. If you do this from above water will flow up but the sand will not.

[Popeye2]

Originally Posted by sailormed

Dive down with a running garden hose and insert from below. It will dissolve the sand blockage and sand and water will flow down. If you do this from above water will flow up but the sand will not.

Thanks. Will try that. I cannot damage the sea cock right?

[sailormed]

No, not with a rubber/plastic garden hose.

[Lake-Effect]

I keep a 18" piece of AWG#12 solid insulated copper wire in the lazz for unblocking drains. The tip is bent on itself so it won't poke holes, and there's a finger loop on the other end. This wire has worked so far on any blockage I get.

Also, we upsized all our cockpit drains to 1" minimum. The floor drain is 1-1/4" if I recall correctly.

[OloteleMtn]

The corrugated hose that carries water from the cockpit drains on my boat are full of sediment, growth, spiders, etc, and leaking at the transom fitting; i am replacing it all with 1 1/2 and 1 1/4 PVC pipe to keep debris from building up....time consuming and involves boat yoga, but it will make the boat more sea worthy. (1980 Lancer 36)

[Jim Cate]

How in the world do you get enough sand in the cockpit to block a drain? Any useful drain will be at t he very least an inch in diameter, better would be 1 1/2 inches, and either of those should clear sand with ease.

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but that sounds weird to me!

Jim

PS Might help if you told us what sort of boat you have!

[mvweebles]

I had a 1-inch head discharge line clog (yes, 1-inch not 1-1/2 - had repurposed a thru hull... Another story). I hose clamped a garden hose to the inside hose and turned on water pressure. It took about 20-seconds but it finally released with a loud bang.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Off Trail

We had a similar blockage with mud/sand in our anchor locker drain. Small homemade snake (like a bent wire coat hangar) from outside did the trick.

This. I keep a straighten coat hanger for jobs like this.

Concerning OP, your cockpit drains have seacocks? Never seen that before.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by OloteleMtn

The corrugated hose that carries water from the cockpit drains on my boat are full of sediment, growth, spiders, etc, and leaking at the transom fitting; i am replacing it all with 1 1/2 and 1 1/4 PVC pipe to keep debris from building up....time consuming and involves boat yoga, but it will make the boat more sea worthy. (1980 Lancer 36)

Be careful, it will likely be less seaworthy. Boats flex.. a lot. Rigid pipe may come undone. You need flex hose at either end if running rigid.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

This. I keep a straighten coat hanger for jobs like this.



Concerning OP, your cockpit drains have seacocks? Never seen that before.

Mine do as they exit under the water line