My HR34 has two rear cockpit drain seacocks which are below the waterline under the read transom (bathing platform). I always turn off all of my other seacocks but not the cockpit ones as I am sure that the cockpit would fill up and water would enter over the washboards etc.

Does anybody know the HR view on what should be done with these seacocks when the boat is in the water?

By Ivan Andrews on Thursday, August 08, 2002 - 08:48 am:

I think the manual says not to turn them off. Certainly everything I've been taught/read is not to. Many boats (not the HR) have drains above the waterline. I once had a cockpit full of rain water (on land) and its frightening.

Actually, I leave all my cocks on, with the exception of the heads....

By MarcusAA on Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 01:51 pm:

They should stay open at all times (except of a hose or clamp failure of course). The HR manual explicitly warns You against shutting them due to risk of rain filling the cockpit and then the interior.

/MarcusAA

By Mr. Kim Thomsen on Wednesday, August 27, 2003 - 05:08 pm:

What IF we get a malfuntion and we are at home not knowing what is going on.
And when we finally get down to check the boat we find it completely submerged and destroyed.
Okay that is the ultimate risk.
The boat would be full of water no matter we leave them on or off.
And what about the insurance ??
If I´m right it says turn all seacocks off to prevent any leak.
So there we have a problem I think.
When the boat stay´s on water trough the winterseason You also have a large risk that the seacock´s freeze´s up so You´ll have pretty much water inside the boat......
It was a fact to me last winter.
The water had rised just to under the carpet when I found out.
I thought oh no I´m taking in water, got a leak somewhere ,what now ??
I could´nt get the boat out of the water because the ice was 10centimeter thick.
I had to bail the water out with a large beer cup because my whale gusher was full of ice and a bucket did´nt fit in there so.....
A good advice in future would be to lead water from deck and cockpit out just above the waterline as with waterexit from the Whale Gusher instead of lead it out below the surface.
Why do they build HR´s this way ??
I should perhaps perform this little surgery to prevent anything like this from happening again.