[JohnS]

I fight this problem all the time, leaves, berries, etc. You could put those drains in if you wanted to and ya, the water would drain but those nasty leaves will still be there. The berries from the various trees will stay too, with the exception of a few that will wash into the bilge, as will some of those leaves. Just remember, that debris in the bilge will start to rot on the bilge if you don't wash it out! A little Clorox Cleanup will take care of those stain. I do not recommend it be used all the time but it will take care of those stains and will not harm the paint, as long as you don't "spray and leave". I found a cleaner that works great for that as well but, I can not remember the name of it off the top of my head. I will have to look and see if I still have the bottle around the house. Now that I park the boat in my warehouse, it is not so much of a problem. My neighbor just put up one of those 10'X 20' canopies to keep his boat under. Rigged it with lights that sring down the center. His boat used to be filled with leaves, now, it stays clean and dry most of the time, with the exception of the blowing rains at times. That might work for ya and those canopies have come way down in price. Just have to remember to stake it down so it doesn't blow when we get a big blow down here. Another guy I know uses one of those as well. He put some pressure teated 6x6's in the ground and bored the holes in the middle, stuck the canopy poles into them, which brought the canopy up high enough to clear his T-Top, then ran bolts through the 6X6's and through the poles. The 6X6's are down in the ground about two feet with cement keeping them in place, just like a fence. The only problem he has now is when he brings the boat in after a long day out, and quiet a few beers, he never seems to be able to get the boat back under it without smacking those poles! Some people...

John