Q1: on a SUPER SPORT LIMITED 17 that I may purchased, is there normally an open connection (hole) to the double bottom so water can enter there?
Q2: is [open connection (hole) to the double bottom so water can enter there on a SUPER SPORt LIMITED] a concern for the foam in the Unibond hull?
BACKSTORY
Buying this Boston Whaler is long waited dream. My first small sailboat was 45 years ago lying in the harbour of the Dutch dealer.
--Greetz Ruud
SUPER SPORT LIMITED 17 Hull Drain
Re: SUPER SPORT LIMITED 17 Hull Drain
The short answer is yes--if you are talking about a through-hull drain from a cockpit sump to the sea. The concept is water from the cockpit will enter the drain and flow downward to the sea. Of course, the drain does not care which way the water will flow, so the drain will also allow seawater to enter the drain from below and flow upward to the cockpit until it reaches the waterline level of the hull.Ruud whaler wrote:Q1: on a SUPER SPORT LIMITED 17 that I may purchased, is there normally an open connection (hole) to the double bottom so water can enter there?
LONG ANSWER
Most Boston Whaler boats will have a sump area in the cockpit. Water in the cockpit will drain into this sump area by gravity. The sump area will have a through-hull drain to the sea. The drain can be either left open or plugged.
If the drain is plugged, usually there will be a small pump in the deepest part of the sump that will lift water out of the sump and overboard. If there is water in a sump area that has a through-hull drain to the sea, the plug can be removed while the boat is underway. The water is the drain will be evacuated to the sea, creating a dry sump, and the plug can be put back in place. On many hulls the hull bottom opening for a drain like this will have a metal shield that protects the forward edge of the drain and also helps to create a Venturi effect to pull water out of the sump via the drain when there is forward propulsion of the boat, particularly at higher speeds.
If the drain is left open, sea water can enter the drain, but the level of water will normally NOT rise to the point of overflowing the sump area and spreading into the cockpit. The level that the sea water will rise is the same as the boat waterline. If the boat is floating at its intended lines, typically the water that comes into the boat from the sea will be contained in sump, or, if the water overflows the sump, it will be contained in a small area of the cockpit deck and not rise more than an inch or two. The level of water that will come aboard is affected by the draft of the hull. The draft of the hull is affected by the present weight of the hull and everything in or on the hull, like the engine weight, the weight of fuel, gear, and people aboard.
For more information about hull drains, read the owner's manual for the 17-foot hull. If you do not have a printed copy of the owner's manual, I have reproduced the owner's manual as an HTML on-line document at
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/manual9-17/
The section of the owner's manual that discusses the hull drains is found at
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... drainTubes
On all Boston Whaler boats the sump areas are sealed areas and will not permit water to enter into the Unibond hull foam interior, unless the hull drain brass tube has been corroded away and not replaced. The through-hull drains are typically made from brass tubes and prevent water from gaining access to the foam interior of the Unibond hull.
If the brass through-hull drains on your boat need replacement, the advice given in the answer to the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION or FAQ article will be useful. See
Q12: How Are brass drain tubes replaced?
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q12