Drain in the stern

[Cavi]

I do not plan on racing my sunfish, and even if I did, it would be with my local club and they would not care. Is there any reason not to put a drain plug in the back of the boat? I know there is one on the top and all I have to do is roll the boat, but my boat lives on a trailer and during the summer it stays there with the mast up so rolling it is not practical, so I am thinking of a drain. Any real drawbacks?

 

[sailcraftri]

None...just low and near centerline.

 

[danpal]

To be truthfull, I have a drain plug in the stern of my sunfish but it was there when I purchased the hull and I haven't bothered to remove it. There are quite a number of threads on this site that state that adding a drain plug in the stern is not a good idea because of how the flotation foam is setup within the hull. There isn't a direct route for the water to drain. It's much better to drain the hull from the side drain plug.

 

[Wavedancer]

Yes, do review those posts. But more importantly, try to address/fix the leak(s).

 

[signal charlie]

But if you do....remember to close it before you sail...

Our 1965 boat got the plug first then later we decided to do the rudder conversion and installed an inspection port. So depending on the year of your boat, all you might need is the inspection port. Now we check the boat for water thought the ports. Before we built a cover for the boats rain water would sneak in through who knows where.

If you're getting a lot of water inside while sailing, try the bubble test from the forum knowledge pages and fix the leak.

Kent