# Hatch drain. What’s this called?



## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

Thats basically a vent also know as clam shell vent,in most cases the other end of line connected to it is higher in the boat so water cant run in but will drain, it should be facing aft so it dont scoop water ....


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## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

Long as the lines clamped securely it want leak ,there should be a way to check the connection like a 4 inch pie,inspection plate simular to ones used for fuel tank inspection 👍😎 on inside of hull


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## Gervais (Nov 28, 2016)

I would think that would have a scupper of some sort to keep water from shooting into the hatch with wave action at anchor.?


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## reedriley8 (Sep 3, 2020)

It sits below the waterline. Don’t see any scupper mechanism. I think Silent Drifter is right as the end of the drain is lower than the start inside the hatch, which would allow gravity or whatever to prevent water from coming in. I’ll pull the plug and give it a test this weekend


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## Sublime (Oct 9, 2015)

Yep, if it had a tube running up to the hatch gutter, the water in the tube would be level with the surface of the water on the outside of the hull.


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## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

I dont believe thats a correct install for the fitting to be below water line it should be a few inches above when boats at rest 🤔 ,if it was me id plug that outer fitting and pour water in the hole inside hatch till line was full,if the water keeps dropping your line has a leak ,cause with it below water it will be letting water in hull that may be why he had it plug to startt with🤔 its easy to check on land 👍 id also run a heavy line like weed eater line, through the hose to be sure it was clear ....


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

How much is it below the waterline?

If it is a couple inches you could take a hose and connect it to the fitting. Run the hose up a couple inches and looping it back down to the bottom. When you take off the water passing the fitting will create a vacuum and get the water up the hose. It would also allow for some air movement when sitting in the garage.

However, it is not the best idea to have that fitting there in the first palce.


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## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

If it was mine id put a over flow tube in that hatch and spin that clam shell forward 😉😊Bam ! Instant live well with high speed pick up 😆🤣😅👍 ok sorry couldnt help myself 😊 back to your normal broadcast 😋


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## reedriley8 (Sep 3, 2020)

Silent Drifter said:


> If it was mine id put a over flow tube in that hatch and spin that clam shell forward 😉😊Bam ! Instant live well with high speed pick up 😆🤣😅👍 ok sorry couldnt help myself 😊 back to your normal broadcast 😋


that’s perfect. I’ll just use my bilge pump as the drain 😂


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## reedriley8 (Sep 3, 2020)

DuckNut said:


> How much is it below the waterline?
> 
> If it is a couple inches you could take a hose and connect it to the fitting. Run the hose up a couple inches and looping it back down to the bottom. When you take off the water passing the fitting will create a vacuum and get the water up the hose. It would also allow for some air movement when sitting in the garage.
> 
> However, it is not the best idea to have that fitting there in the first palce.


it’s three to four inches below water line. Think this is just a bad design. I just made sure the plumbing was intact, and cleaned out the drain. Then filled the hatch up with water, it drained but still left about 1/2” of water sitting at the bottom. Going to just drill into the hatch and make my own drain, plumb it to the bilge. It’s more work but it beats moldy bow lines and pfd’s.


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## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

All jokes aside, for yours and crews safety id rig up a float switch to small led light on console so you knew if you had excessive amount of water👍 i had dual pumps on my 22 keywest, the auto pump came on every few minutes and checked for water, when it did a red light came on,ob console switch for a few minutes i really liked that set up other pump was manual 👍😎


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## Frequent Flyer (Jul 23, 2019)

IMO, the drain was located in the wrong place. Hatch gutters should drain into the bilge or into a scupper drain or sump box on a larger vessel. Water collection in a skiff hatch gutter is most likely to happen during wash down (it’s not like we’re backing down on a Blue Marlin). One solution could be to install a simple check valve in line if you still want to utilize that clam shell overboard discharge.
Gutter drains discharge into the bilge on my little Mitzi.


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