consistently clogged deck drains

[LauraleeG]

Hi all
My deck drains are teeny weeny. They consistently get clogged and stop draining-then water sits on the deck. Worse case scenario it starts to leak down the interior bulkhead.
We are thinking of devising a 'snake' to have onboard to keep the drains free.
I thought of putting small screens over the holes but they are so small anyway--screens will slow down the drainage even more.
Anybody have any hacks?
Another /related issue: the boat is on the hard now. We leave the bilge dry--then, when we go back to the boat after a rain--the bilge has water in it again...near the stern. Is it possible that the water is coming in from the drainage holes as they slowly drain through the clog?
Advice?

[FTS]

Can you cut a scupper into the toerail?

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by FTS

Can you cut a scupper into the toerail?

Duhhhhh OF COURSE WE COULD!!!

[FTS]

K, then my suggested procedure would be keep some electrical tape handy, and the next time the deck drains plug up put a small piece on the toerail where the water puddles. Do that a couple two three times until you're confident you've found the place where water accumulates and then make a reasonably sized cut.

Or just go nuts with a large drill bit. It's your boat. ;-)

[Bill O]

Before you go drilling a bunch of holes in your toe rail possibly research how your deck hull joint is put together. Many times that joint is hidden/sealed under the toe rail and may need more work to fair it out after you make scupper holes.
If your boat is on the hard, they most likely set the boat on the stands to drain aft. This not necessarily how it would sit in the water and again would wait to drill any holes in the toe rail.

Also being up north and on the hard your boat most likely has tree debris clogging the drains. Once in the water (away from the trees) it should be minimized.

If you suspect the clogged drains are causing water to accumulate into the bilge and trickle down the interior bulkhead, then you have a leak that needs to be attended to before it gets worse.

[KadeyKrogen38]

I had the same thing happen and during a hard freeze the hoses froze up and a split Formed letting the water drain to a bunk area.

[tankersteve]

if the deck drain connects to a hose and then an above water level drain in the hull, you could look at changing all components to a larger diameter size. This wouldn't be the cheapest way, but would likely be the least impact on the structural integrity of the boat.

Tankersteve

[Madehn]

get stainless steel sink drain screens from a houseware store or Walmart - they look like an upside down cup that is made of reinforced ss screen wire-- place these over the drain holes and they will help tremendously by giving much more screen surface before anything completely clogs-- it has fixed my issue

[Clivevon]

Hi. I assume that your deck drains connect to hoses which run down inside the hull then exit via a through hull closer to the waterline? These are not cockpit drains - which are of course a safety issue if they get blocked. The whole purpose of deck drains being to avoid getting vertical dirt stains down your topsides where the water would otherwise drain off your deck via scuppers or gaps in your toerail?? So they are purely cosmetic & a couple of thoughts occur: first, you need to make certain those deck drain hoses are secure & substantial otherwise you have potential sea water leaks off your deck & into your boat in strong weather. Next, if you cut holes in your toerail you defeat the object of having deck drains - they are not there to drain your deck (scuppers do a much better job of that) but to avoid topside stains. Last - where is all that dirt coming from? presumably leaf litter from nearby trees when you are on the hard? Why not put a tarpaulin over your deck instead? otherwise, the sink or shower drain screens sound like a good idea.

[Clivevon]

"you need to make certain those deck drain hoses are secure & substantial otherwise you have potential sea water leaks " maybe top & bottom. Think heeled.

[Clivevon]

PS. You dont need to devise a snake - you can buy one. May be handy for sink drains as well. I found this on Amazon.com :
https://www.amazon.com/Plumbing-Remo...%2C214&sr=8-12

[MJH]

Originally Posted by LauraleeG

Hi all
My deck drains are teeny weeny. They consistently get clogged and stop draining-then water sits on the deck. Worse case scenario it starts to leak down the interior bulkhead.
We are thinking of devising a 'snake' to have onboard to keep the drains free.
I thought of putting small screens over the holes but they are so small anyway--screens will slow down the drainage even more.
Anybody have any hacks?
Another /related issue: the boat is on the hard now. We leave the bilge dry--then, when we go back to the boat after a rain--the bilge has water in it again...near the stern. Is it possible that the water is coming in from the drainage holes as they slowly drain through the clog?
Advice?

Eliminate the problem. Sometimes you just have to Bite-the-Bullet and do what you should do but don't want to for all the excuses you give yourself. So, put in larger scupper drains. Secondly, keep the cockpit debris picked up...same goes for the bilge. You'll be so glad you did when it is over.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[Peter1949]

I have in the past used the pump-out boat that we have in the harbor.
I pour a few buckets of sea water in the cockpit and put the hose on each scupper. Works good . I do use screens when the boat comes out in the fall and gets shrink wrapped but somehow they still get clogged!

[LauraleeG]

We first noticed this issue in heavy seas- the bulkhead was wet and the water was pooling mid to aft ship. The drain hole was clogged. We used a plunger to unclog it, drained the water, and the bulk head dried up. The same thing happened in the fall when the boat was in her slip. Big storm. Clogged drain. Wet bulkhead. I clogged the drain, dried the bulk head. Problem was “ solved”.
The drains connect to hoses and go through the hull and exit out the bottom. There must be a leak somewhere inside. She was covered up this winter - so the problem didn’t appear, but now that the tarp is off, there is all kinds of tree debri on our deck( she is being launched June 10!!!!!!). If we keep the drains clear , no wet bulkhead.
I like the idea of the screens turned upside down. How did you fasten them to the deck?

[LauraleeG]

Originally Posted by Madehn

get stainless steel sink drain screens from a houseware store or Walmart - they look like an upside down cup that is made of reinforced ss screen wire-- place these over the drain holes and they will help tremendously by giving much more screen surface before anything completely clogs-- it has fixed my issue

How do you fasten them in place?