self bailing on decked dories?

I would like to see some photos of self bailing decked dories. 

The Grand Canyon boats that I have seen photos of, don't seem to 'show' a through hull drain hole.  I know sometimes the drainhole [help me with correct terminology] is in the bottom of the hull, in the middle.  I just don't like that idea of a 2" hole in the bottom of my boat.

My thought was to connect my rowers compartment to the bow and stern footwells with plastic pipe. The water in the footwell could drain, fore or aft, eliminating a below the water-line  hull hole.

I would raise the floor of the bow and stern wells 6" and then cut holes where the bulkhead meets the hull to let the incoming water drain out... ????  

This would be visible- two holes on each side of the hull about 3" above the normal waterline

I am very hesitant to do this if others have not do this before me.  I have also considered cutting circular holes that I could insert [and remove] scupper plugs.

All thoughts welcome and photos would be great.

Den in NH

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Permalink Reply by lhedrick on August 26, 2010 at 7:53pm
Kelly,

I was talking about a raft on that trip. I just got a plain 500 gallon per hour pump. I just stuffed it under the gear pile in the back, mounted a switch up by the oars and ran the hose up over tube and under the chicken line. I ran the pump on every rapid and the battery lasted 19 days. When I took a big wave and filled the boat it took a few minutes to clear it but I just kept on rowing and didn't need to bail. I think the battery was something like 150 amp hours. I would need to check to be sure.

I don't remember the brand of pump as I gave it to the boat owner. Any marine retailer on the web will have many to choose from. Wholesalemarine.com is one. Very low cost,

I always take my battery box and an inverter for charging stuff and to run a drill in case we need to fix something.

As for pumps and dories, a friend mounted a pump in the front compartment. He made a bracket and it is screwed in place to the bulk head wall. It sits in the corner of the front passenger area. It pumps water up to a through hull fitting 6 inches below the gunwales. He mounted 2 small 10 amp hour batteries under his deck to power the pump. As it only pumps out a small areas the smaller batteries are enough for a 3 week Grand trip. For a dory with small foot well 500 GPH is plenty.

My dory is completely self bailing and now that I have it fine tuned I think it is a better way to go. On an older boat which was not designed to self bail I think the pumps are a good solution.

I also have had thoughts of mounting speakers up front and stuffing an amplifier under the front hatch. I have visions of running Lava blasting AC/DC.

===

This has been a good year. 21 Days down the Grand back in April, Lodore in May, Desolation on high water week. Middle Fork in July and I just got back from the Main Salmon yesterday. I think that's it for this year other they some floats down the Green to Little Hole for some fishing in Sept.

Funny thing. I rowed all season and hardly bumped a rock then, last week I got pounded on the Main. I bashed 2 rocks, slammed my finger into the gunwale and had an oar come out of the lock. I have a blue fingernail which won't be there much longer. I fly through Horn Creek on the right side without a scratch and then smash my boat onto a rock in an easy class III. Live and learn.

My neighbor may buy my white water boat which means I might get to start a new boat. I loaned him the boat last week while I had my other boat up on the main. I knew he was an experienced boater from way back but was told by my friends up on the Salmon that he is the Grandson of Buzz Hatch from Vernal. I never new his name was Hatch.

Hope you got your new boat on the water a much as I did the season.


L
Permalink Reply by Robb Grubb on August 11, 2010 at 3:30pm
Den,

You have the same concerns and questions that I have while building my first dory as well. The young Lads replying here already have done the things you are wondering about and have vast experience. I plan on cutting two holes (2" diameter, one on each side of each passenger footwell) to drain water and like you said, come up with some contraption or plug to plug them when not needed. I too am skeptical regarding the oarsman footwell having a hole to the bottom, but like others say, it has been working for years. I am planning on cutting a hole (2" diameter) in the side of the footwell and running a tube out the side (right side to ensure drainage while driving down the road in the Northwest rain) of the boat to hopefully accommodate the need.

Photos on the blog at: http://www.woodenboatpeople.com/profile/RobbGrubb

Good luck, Robb
Permalink Reply by Brad Dimock on August 11, 2010 at 3:49pm
Dang, I never thought about designing it to drain while driving in the rain. Luckily, I usually load my boat backward, so my left side drain actually will drain while driving.
Permalink Reply by Robb Grubb on August 11, 2010 at 4:21pm
Brad, I will be hooped if I ever go to England and run a river with that boat. I guess I could copy-cat you and temporarily tow it backwards at that point. Cheers, Robb
Permalink Reply by Den on August 15, 2010 at 6:19pm
Larry, Brad, Robb,Kelly, Jeff and Jeremy,

Thanks a ton to all of you! The photos are especially helpful.

I hope to bump into all of you on western rivers in the next few years.

Den in NH
Permalink Reply by Kelly Neu on August 18, 2010 at 5:06pm
Ditto!
Permalink Reply by Brad Dimock on August 16, 2010 at 5:55am
When we ran the sweep scow replica through Grand Canyon in '96, we used a cheap bilge pump and a deep cell main battery. That little thing pumped all trip long and at the end of the trip, the battery was still reading full charge. Impressive battery.
Permalink Reply by Den on August 17, 2010 at 7:14pm
I was wondering, why do I need to run a bailing hose through the bow seats?

Couldn't I just make the hole at the same height in the hull in the bow footwell?

For that matter, couldn't I cut two [or three] at different heights and just open the one at the hole that best matched the current weight of the boat?

I was thinking I would just swing a "door" type of 'scupper' to close them? I could open a hole at the level I needed... ??

Den in NH
Permalink Reply by Brad Dimock on August 17, 2010 at 7:22pm
I think all those pipes in the pictures are from the boatman's footwell out the side.
As far a passenger footwell drains, keep them high. The only time they come into play is when you have a full load of water and you're riding very low. You don't want them flowing the wrong way! Not sure if a giant one-way valve would be practical or not.

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