first dinghy - drain issue

[defender12]

first time owning a dinghy; using as yacht tender. know not the smartest but bought one of the china made pvc; 11' w/ 8HP.

inflated and assembled, used one night and worked great. went back a few days later after a lot of rain. some water inside the boat but not a lot which clearly the drain was working. after getting in and motoring out of the marina felt like taking on water; was lots of chop and now realized i was sitting too far aft (solo). while back at the dock when pushing down on stern side looked as though water coming in.

i didn't take the time to pull the floor up etc but just quick question on the auto drain. didn't see any instructions in the manual however do i need to do something with that? take something off? turn it?

thanks

 

[JimXeod]

Re: first dinghy - drain issue

The "auto-drain" is merely a rubber diaphram designed to be a one-way valve. It does not operate well unless moving at a good forward speed. I keep mine covered (closed) unless motoring forward at a good speed. Keep the cover on it. It does not function as an auto-drain if the boat is sitting still very well at all.