Filling Bottom of Anchor Locker

[Afrinus]

Originally Posted by amanoni

I used an old milk crate and cut it to a triangle . The chain and rode now sit atop that to drain, and to stay as dry as possible

What he said....

[Tillikum]

Originally Posted by spaman

All good solutions, but it still begs the question as to why the designers generally seem to place the drain holes in a way that complete drainage is impossible. Is it to ensure they are above the waterline?

Be wary of putting too much slope if adding something more permanent. I made this mistake (or rather I authorised someone else to do it) when installing a shelf behind the anchor locker to hold 2 bow thruster batteries. The slope beneath the chain feed means that the chain pile-up has to be cleared a few times depending how much is out.

Finally!


And the next question is: what else were the said "designers" unable to grasp or plan for?

[sailorboy1]

Well once I got into this "project" I found that there is a drain hole that fully can drain the locker. But if that hole gets blocked by gunk, like a rusted chain, then it kind of stops draining. So that is where the drain hole that is a couple of inches higher on the opposite side comes into play.

So just maybe the designers did in fact think about it.

[carstendenmark]

Here's a link to an article from the couple of "Maringret", who solved the problem in an elegant way :
https://maringret.wordpress.com/mari...cker_drainage/

[evm1024]

A prior boat of mine had a dorade fitted into the anchor locker. It always faced aft.

At first I thought that it was a bit silly. Water over the bow would flood the anchor locker. But it was removable and there was a cover.

Anyway, later I realized that the locker was really quite dry. The dorade was causing moist air to be pulled out thus drying the chain. Fewer odors too.

I don't have that on my current boat but it is an option.

[Nibiruwayne]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

12x12 rubber mats cut to fit

Starboard or other plastic or teak cut to fit with drain slots etc

I like starboard since chain weighs so much it wokld likely flatten the rubber marting

[tdgaffney]

Commercial Airplanes pour "Leveling Compound" into such water traps. So, adapting to boats: first, remove the water, then clean and dry out the structure that ponds your water. Prepare your leveling compound so it can flow freely (Micro-balloons w epoxy works well; Cement also works well). Before filling up the pocket, tilt the boat about 5 degrees such that the leveling compound, when solid and the tilt is removed, will have a slight slope (5 degrees) back to the limber hole. If done correctly, any water in the locker will drain away. (And no, airplanes do not use cement. I used cement on my prior 28 footer. It worked.)

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by tdgaffney

Commercial Airplanes pour "Leveling Compound" into such water traps. So, adapting to boats: first, remove the water, then clean and dry out the structure that ponds your water. Prepare your leveling compound so it can flow freely (Micro-balloons w epoxy works well; Cement also works well). Before filling up the pocket, tilt the boat about 5 degrees such that the leveling compound, when solid and the tilt is removed, will have a slight slope (5 degrees) back to the limber hole. If done correctly, any water in the locker will drain away. (And no, airplanes do not use cement. I used cement on my prior 28 footer. It worked.)

It's not there to be a water trap, it's probable that it was designed to provide a detritus trap which allows mud and rust particles to settle out in a place more readily accessible than inaccessible hoses or bilges. A false floor which can be removed to clean out the detritus trap is a better solution.

[tdgaffney]

Ray - Good point. In my case, I found various lockers and bilge traps "acquired" water, for which the leveling compound worked well. But yes, treating the anchor locker pocket as a desirable feature is a different point of view. Thanks for making that clear.

[pwelch5944]

I had a problem in my Edegewater 205 EX anchor locker pooling water which caused molding of anything in the locker. I cleaned it with simply green and bleach then after allowing it to dry I used flex seal and re-contoured the bottom of the anchor locker so that it now drains completely. I don't know why a manufacturer would intentionally design an anchor locker to pool water.

[Carl-T705]

Originally Posted by cofc

The consensus on other sailing boards seems to be using perforated rubber matting material (like what’s on the floors of restrooms at pools) to keep the chain above the drain hole. Then you don’t have to worry about if there’s water in there or not.

. How is this suppose to keep the chain from corrusion??? This is why general consensus is generally useless information. Do you want to fix it correctly or the simple half assed lazy local marina way?

[carstendenmark]

To summarize the good inputs of this thread :


We take the advices learned from post #37 and #34.
Drill one 14mm hole near the bottom of the well, as forward as possible, starboard or port side.
Drill another hole of same size in the opposite side, this one must be 5 cm higher than the first hole.

Seal the hole walls with gelcoat or like, or make a bigger hole and fit small thru-hull drains (1/2" hole).

Clean the bottom completely.
Prepare the surface for molding the slope.
Position the boat so the slope is draining to the lower hole (make the bow heavy, and lift the stern, and tilt the boat a few degrees to the lower hole side.
Pour the molding compound (use less = add some sand) and let it cure.
Make a SS316 bottom plate, like in the Maringret link in post #34.
Mount clam shell covers over the two holes (to prevent bow spray getting into the well).
A tip : The clam shells should face the tip in the direction of the water spray (which is never horisontal).

This will make the water to drain anytime.
If there is mud or sludge, it will fill up gradually under the SS bottom, but the second hole will still allow drain.

Flush the chain in the well after use with fresh water if you are in salt water, or the chain/anchor has sand, silt or mud deposits.
In case the lower hole does not drain (no water gets out), remove the chain and clean the well bottom.

Just my combined learning from this thread.
Awaiting your comments !