Is self bailing important

[rick&sue]

I drilled out the holes and opened up the center of each screen. It is important to inspect them on a regular basis for leaves, pine needles etc. depending on where you are docked or storing your boat. There are pictures of the modifications in my album. I also added a sealing tape to the underside of each hatch cover to try and prevent water from getting into the bilge from under the hatches (and noise control). I really wish the hatch covers had locks so they could be "water tight".

 

[CAPTCRUNCH]

I think the pros and cons of screens on scuppers depend mostly on whether they drain into the bilge (R-21?) or overboard (everything else?).

 

[chas5131]

My opinion of these tugs just dropped.
All that equipment and design and some are not self-bailing?
Currently have a boat designed in 1960 that I love to sail that can hold a lot of water because it is not self-bailing.
Will not consider boats that are not self-bailing.

 

[LAKERtoo]

.. as an aside on bilge pumps, I'm just installing a new Rule pump that came out this year that's made specifically for narrow bilges like the R21 Classic and EC .. its built horizontally as opposed to a vertical and is about 2-3/8" wide .. pumps 900 GPH and has 3 easy to use settings... High kicks in if there is 2" of water in the bilge, Low at about 1.5" or a timer setting that kicks in momentarily to check on moisture .. once the hose is installed, it can be swivelled left or right to get more clearance to work around, and a twist loosens the business end to take it right out .. about $100 with taxes in B.C. .. Rob link .. http://ca.binnacle.com/p10464/RULE-LP90 ... _info.html

.. more info .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzTVJG0nrM8

 

[stwendl]

Check out the pictures from my tug Wanderer, I had the cockpit fully enclosed. Stays dry all the time.

Don't expect the cockpit enclose to be a safety feature against a large wave. That material would be shredded and bent out of shape in no time and may even prevent you from getting out thru the door

The most important decision a skipper has to make is when to go out and when to return.

 

[stwendl]

The high water alarm is a great idea. I've been working on putting a security alarm in my R21EC and it can be configured to work as a high water alarm too, or notify you if the bilge pump is being activated frequently. It depends on what sensors you want to use. The alarm notifications are sent via text message to a smart phone. There is also a smart phone app for communication with the system on the boat. The system 12V and is made by Siren Marine.
Bob

Might want to look at a product called boatcommand.com

 

[Scuffy]

Holy mackerel, if a wave hits your cockpit canvas and rips it to shreds bands the frame etc. you have bigger problems than I can imagine. At that point self bailing and bilge pumps are going to be a real joke. Who boats in that kind of weather besides the Navy? :mrgreen:

 

[Old Puddle Pirate]

The Coast Guard! :!: 😀

 

[Levitation]

Reality is, that our tugs are coastal cruisers, not blue water boats
No blue water boat will have a cockpit that holds as much water as the boat weighs
Reality is that 3 tons of water suddenly deposited into your stern cockpit on a 21/25/27 in a breaking sea is going to put the boat on the bottom, most likely. And most likely our fancy glass door will not survive the impact of 3 tons of water at 15 feet per second
The guy who just took his three kids out into a rough ocean in Florida discovered that the hazards of the sea are real. Boats can fail and sink. Actually, the captain is almost always the the one who fails. A simple storm drogue off the stern would have kept the boat aligned with the waves greatly increasing the chances that it would have survived.
Even more likely, a captain with any judgment would not have taken a pleasure boat into the sea state predicted for that day

 

[tlkenyon]

I got kinda intentionally stuck out in a thunderstorm last week...60 mph winds and nearly 2 inches of rain in 30 min with some quarter-sized hail. I wanted to see what would happen and how the boat (R21 Classic) would perform in these conditions. Keep in mind that this is on a 3,000 acre lake with a max 2-mile fetch and lots of places to quickly hide out.

On the extreme downwind side of the lake, after about 20 min or so of 40-60 mph winds across a nearly 2-mile fetch, the waves were large and square and visibility was nil - 50 feet or so in the rain and hail. I took a foot or so of solid water over the bow many times. Reversing into these waves just to see what would happen, I never took solid water over the stern, but as you can imagine, there was a lot of hammering and very heavy spray. Beam-to the waves, Nellie May really rocked and rolled, but never too any solid water over the rail...lost of heavy spray, but nothing solid, even with breaking waves. The bilge pump ran pretty much continuously.

I had the door open pretty much all the time (except for the reversing), and kept an eye on the cockpit. There was never any water that accumulated more than an inch or so, and that was mostly from the very heavy spray while reversing into the waves. While going forward, the drains completely handled the spray, even whilst taking solid water over the bow.

Admittedly, this was on an inland lake, and does not come close to oceanic conditions. That being said, very close, steep waves of 3 feet or more present a pretty good test. Heading into the waves at a slight angle was the most comfortable and driest, as that tended to lengthen the effective distance between crests.

I had my GoPro set up and running. When I got home after the storm, I found that in the excitement, I left the lens cap on <frown>.

These R21's are pretty capable little boats, and I do not think the lack of self-bailing is a real problem. The cockpit is so large and even with pretty large scuppers, a boarding sea would probably be the end of it, and the conditions necessary for that to happen would probably be pretty severe.