Starboard cockpit drain, water coming up

[capt_nemo]

Solved the problem with an INEXPENSIVE Cockpit Grate for my Sun Cat.

Made from leftover 3/8" Marine Ply (from boatbuilding) and some stock cross pieces from Home Depot my grate served me quite well and looked nice.

Made a pattern from cardboard to determine best width of longitudinal strakes. Cut strakes from plywood and attached 6 cross pieces under to raise strakes up and maintain their positions. Applied several coats of Interlux Brightsides Polyurethane.

Added quite a few round white rubber door stops to the bottom of cross pieces to keep grate from lying in contact with water, and allowing water to reach cockpit drains.

Process illustrated below.

capt_nemo

[FireDrill]

I also used the dri-dek and like it very much since it is thinner and easier to build.  I added some thin oak molding (with a few coats of Cetol on it) to the port and starboard edges in 2 sections on each side- see photos.  It makes it look a little more "salty" and hides the jagged edges. The small dirt, twigs, crumbs etc easily fall through the grate keeping the boat very clean.   



It also  has the advantage that it is a little stiffer and less apt to shift underfoot than dri-dek alone and is still flexible so you can lift it up one section or one side  at a time to get some of that ugly stuff that accumulates under it and especially by the drains.



The molding is held in place by a handful of SS screws with washers as shown, often cutting off one of the stubby little feet to make a wider flat surface for the screw.

 

I have used this for two seasons and it has held up well but the wood has gotten extra Cetol each year. Since the molding is above the dri-dek which has hundreds of little feet I have not had to add any extra feet as Capt._Nemo points out are needed with wood sitting in even a little water.   I love the look of Capt._Nemo's wood grate but did not have the skill or tools to make it look as nicely made as his.  The wood grate is very solid under foot but the dri-dek is acceptably stiff for most situations. Foot bracing at high heel angles is best done against the opposing bench.   

[Tom L.]

Don, thanks for that good solution to using dry deck. I used it on a previous small boat but didn't like the way it curled sometimes. The wood trim seems like a reasonably good idea to reduce the tendency for the dry deck to curl. I wonder if starboard strips could be used. Not as attractive as wood but easier to maintain.
Tom L.

[capt_nemo]

Tom L.,

Be careful with Starboard (plastic) since it can be slippery under foot when wet unless you do something to counteract the slick surface.

capt_nemo

[Tom L.]

Cap, you're positively right about the slippery aspect of starboard. I don't really know anything that will ad-hear to it to reduce slipperiness. For this application with maybe 1 to 1.5" wide strips for the edges of the dri-deck I don't think it would be an issue. A whole cockpit sole of starboard would be a nightmare.

Tom L.