I’m finishing a first-time Annapolis wherry build and working up the courage to drill holes in it for the rowing unit and drain plugs. In the manual and on a CLC-built boat seen at the Mystic show, the plugs are placed low on the fore and aft bulkheads.
But a wherry donated to our rowing club has them mounted as high as possible. This seems a better placement: that boat, stored outside on a dolly, collected some rainwater in storms even with a fitted cover, and a low-mounted plug that was loosened for storage would have let it into the fore tank. My boat will probably also be stored outside and upright under a fitted cover. Any reason not to go high?
The first priority on drain plug positioning needs to be the location where it will give you the opportunity to conveniently drain an area…not to avoid getting water into an area assuming the drain plug is not placed properly.
If water did get into a wherry compartment with a drain plug located high on the bulkhead, i can’t see how you could position the boat to get the water to drain out.
That said, my recomendation for the compartments under the wherry seats is a small beckson hatch…not a drain plug. Drain plugs are more appropriate for draining transoms when water gets in the boat and you want to get it out of the boat. Inspection hatches are better for areas that you expect to remain dry and need to occasionally inspect.
The beckson hatch has the added advantage as being big enough to create a storage area that you can use.
Anyway, thats my 2 cents. Just ask the question how is this supposed to work or wilĺ it work if there is water you want to drain…
The other thing i would do if i kept a wherry outside would be to store it upside down
H
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Suction pump with an intake line thin enough to thread through the drain hole is my go-to contingency plan for my high-on-the-bulkhead drain holes. A manual bilge pump with an adapter for 1/2" flexible poly tubing works well and gives a good upper body workout 
Laszlo
Thanks for the helpful input. I think the wherry tanks do fall under the heading of spaces not expected to get wet – the building manual says the plugs are for ventilation/pressure relief. But the low bulkhead heights (just 3.5” above the fillet aft, 5.5” forward) don’t seem to allow for a hatch.
I’m anticipating storing it upright & covered during rowing season because I hope it will be used often, by multiple people. I thought the donated wherry was ideal for older novice rowers to learn sculling, and built this as a companion to it. They have sliding-seat rowing rigs that make them difficult to flip (on land, that is..), especially after a 10k row. For longer-term storage – yes, absolutely, upside down with the rowing rig removed.
Thanks, good idea. I was thinking I’d have to invert and tilt the boat – also a workout…