• Welcome to this website/forum for people interested in the Morgan 38 Sailboat. Many of our members are 'owners' of Morgan 38s, but you don't need to be an owner to Register/Join.

Scupper Drains

B

bbeach

Bill Beach
<div>Hey everybody,
Just had a C&V survey so I can get insurance for my cruise. The
guy, a marine surveyor and design engineer, told me the scupper
configuration is really unsat for offshore work. His beef is
that there's no way to stem off an influx of water should one
of the pipes give out. I see his point clearly. He says there
needs to be 2 thru-hulls with seacocks instead of the PVC pipe
arrangement we have. Before I go off and cut it all out, close
the holes and add thru-hulls with all the assorted stuff attached
to it - what do you guys have to say? Some of you have sailed
extensively offshore - any concerns with the drain system? Do I
need to make this a priority?
Next he really wanted me to put in a inner forestay set up to
back up the forestay. I have an old Stearn Twinstay Furler with
all aluminum extrusion. His comment is that the inner would be a
back up in case the forestay gave way to age. The thing works
fine if you ask me, but what the hell do I know...
Other than that, he had his typical "got to have 2 clamps on
everthing" syndrome. I have them at every pipe connected to a
thru-hull. He also had a problem with my propane locker config. I
have a 2 can locker in the helm locker. He said it's not isolated
enough. He recommended putting the bottles(I have 2x11 lbs)in the
lazerette and venting it. Everything else was good to go with the
exception to the spaghetti factory of wire behind the panel. I do
need to straighten that out some more. I've already spent 2 hours
with zip-ties back in there.
By the way, he liked the deck-to-mast fitting I made and the
v-berth conversion.
So, as I prepare for offshore cruising, let's hear it guys, I'm
all ears.Thanks in advance.
</div>
 
Tony. Are you speaking of the large PVC that runs athwartship just under the cockpit? Pete Brown calls this the torpedo tube. If so, I would be inclinded to have a custom wood or rubber plug made that I could plug the hole with from the cock pit by using a boat hook should the torpedo tube give way. Honestly though, I believe that the failure of those tubes would most likely occur by hitting something or in some way be associated with a hull failure. You could beefup the fiberglass around them but any hull modification you do is going to be a major job.
 
What he says sounds good. However, the scupper drain tube is not that bad if you service it. Mine started leaking offshore but the pumps handled it fine. It did get resealed at the next anchorage though. I would certainly recommend doing it out of the water. I have also added aft, side deck drains tied to this system and all drain well at sea. I did enlarge the deck drains as well.

 
I sailed a Cherubini 44 which had the same arrangement. It was never critized thru several surveys, never gave any trouble, never leaked. The only problem was in fairly heavy wind and and seas, particularily following seas, was that some water would flow back into the cockpit, again never very much and not a problem.
 
I have always thought the drainage system an advantage. It is above waterline, at least at rest. It is accessible. I cannot see why one would want to put through hulls on it. I like Jay's idea. The thing should be checked over or, if concerned, it could be strengthened with glass, I guess. But the concept is good. the idea of having scupper drains two feet under the water line has never appealed to me--although that is what most boats have.
 
Re your comment on the furler. I had a Stearn Twnstay Furler on a Columbia 36 separate at the deck while under sail. Although we did not lose the mast, it was not a fun experience. I would recommend simply going to a new furler, which does not have the intrinsic design weakness of the Stearn Twinstay. We put a new Shaeffer system on our Morgan and are most pleased. Aa an alternative, the bearings in the Stearn Twinstay should be replaced every several years. These are standard bearing sets and can be purchased from a bearing distributor. The job is really quite simple and is good insurance.
 
I can see some logic in your surveyers comments but I think with maintenance and check the current "torpedo" tubes can work well. I also plan to enlarge the deck drains. When I purchased my 83' M384 hull #9 I asked the surveyer to particularly keep in mind that I plan to go offshore. In requard to the "torpedo" tube arrangement He hadn't seen it before but liked it. For the most part, I do to.
Rod
 
I can see some logic in your surveyers comments but I think with maintenance and checking the "torpedo" tubes can work well. I also plan to enlarge the deck drains. When I purchased my 83' M384 hull #9 I asked the surveyer to particularly keep in mind that I plan to go offshore. In requard to the "torpedo" tube arrangement He hadn't seen it before but liked it. For the most part, I do to.
Rod
 
I was never happy with the Hyde furler that came with the boat because it did not have a forestay. I replaced it with a #2 Harken which goes over a headstay. I used the #2 size as you need all the leverage you can get and the
#1-1/2 unit which is the size Harken would recomend has a smaller drum diameter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top