Exposed R-21E's cockpit during heavy rain conditions

[baz]

Subject: Exposed R-21E's cockpit during heavy rain conditions

Scenario: R-21EC with open cockpit (no canvas top or enclosure) kept in a Marina's open uncovered slip.

In this scenario with heavy rain (many inches over a period of time) a lot of water could accumulate in the cockpit if the single bilge pump fails.

Solution:

1) Cover cockpit with top + enclosure or some other form of cockpit protection from rain.
or
2) Check cockpit condition frequently
or
3) Other ... ???? What have others done in this regards ?

 

[LAKERtoo]

.. I have an older R21 with the boom, but it would be easy to make something similar ... I got one of the silicon impregnated tarps an appropriate size and stretched it over the boom from the cabin door to just past the aft storage locker, draped over the boom. ( you could use a piece of painted 1-2" dowel or aluminum thick wall tube tied down to the top of the cabin using the safety rails) I used bungees on all 4 corners and make sure all the edges of the tarp are draped over the safety rails with some tension on them .. takes about 90% of the deluge away from the bilge .. just pop the dock side bungee off to access the cock-pit .. its a temporary solution .. I've seen winter covers that snap to the top of the cabin overhang and fit snugly over the rails to snaps .. a tapered fit just for rain .. Rob

 

[baz]

I think the answer for me is to leave the boat with its top and full enclosure fitted and zipped up. The canvas is Sunbrella and is supposed to be all year round weather resistant. Hanging tarp will look very messy and difficult to secure to keep wind and rain out of the cockpit.

 

[baz]

Per my calculations assuming my exposed R-21EC cockpit area is 10' x 6' then 1-inch of rainfall would equal some 37 gallons of rain water. That's a lot of water. 😱

 

[sheral]

We have a sloper cover that we keep on it when we are away from the boat. Keeps eyes, rain, birds and otters out too! Has worked great.

 

[jroyle]

Move to Southern Ca. 🙂 Sorry couldn't resist..We cut our water usage by 38% and now the water department doesn't have enough revenue so our bills are going up 40%..can't win

 

[baz]

Move to Southern Ca. 🙂 Sorry couldn't resist..We cut our water usage by 38% and now the water department doesn't have enough revenue so our bills are going up 40%..can't win

I've been fighting that scenario all my life. Turn off the lights whenever, but then they raise rates... I agree conservation in many areas does not save us on expenses/bills. :cry:

 

[Sea Jo]

This season ,have ran into this situation. First half of season full enclosure no rain problems.Second half just bimini top 3xs water filling bige area 20 30 gals. The stern bilge is higher than deeper bilge area, thought deck water would be pumped out. So now realize need full enclosure even when you don't want it in hot months. Im thinking it is rain water but still trying to figure if its possibly coming through trim tabs or some other way old bait well ect. But anymore will keep full enclosure zipped up and probably get another pump installed 4 inch deeper,but need to first be sure its rain water not seepage. Also had one stern bilge pump burn out replaced it.

 

[ohioan55]

I've seen this issue first hand in another R21ec and added a second pump to my boat powered from the 3rd (AC) battery bank. The boat I saw was on a pier that lost power (no one knew) and they had several days of heavy rain (Chesapeake Bay). The primary pump ran the house battery down with no shore power to keep the battery up. So the water was over the tops of my shoes in the pilot house. An unwanted situation, but I hope to avoid a similar event with a second pump and power supply (I have no shore power where we keep our boat for now). There are pics in my photo album.