The boats were built with 5 thru-hulls. Two for the toilet (raw water in, waste/water out). They will be the foremost two--one port, one starboard. Since these types of heads are no longer legal, I cut them out and followed the procedure for beveling out the perimeter of the holes and filling with fiberglass and epoxy. Don Casey will tell you how in Good Old Boat or most yards would find this a relatively routine task. I had some experienced folks looking over my shoulder when I did mine and it went fine.

Going further aft there will be one for the sink. In the Commanders its to starboard. I'm not sure where for the Ariel. If you are living aboard you need the sink. There are two more further aft for the cockpit scuppers. Scupper seacocks left closed can unbalance the boat in heavy rain or seas as the cockpit will fill with water. If things get serious enough for water in the cockpit to go over the bridgedeck to the cabin then sinking is not out of the question. You can see a previous post of mine about being swamped by a careless power boater. The scuppers cleared the water quickly. If closed in storage they can also lead to build ups of ice that can damage the boat. I repaired stress cracks in my Commander's cockpit walls that resulted from the previous owner not keeping the scupper lines clear. There were hundreds of pounds of ice in the cockpit for months. Most Ariels and Commanders use straight hose and double clamps from the scupper tubes and sink to the thru-hull tubes.

Here in Baltimore I leave my boat in the water through the winter every other year and have survived well even when the boat was surrounded by ice. I check the hoses at least once a month and replace them every two years. Every time I do it I debate whether or not I should wait another two years since all the gear looks virtually new. So far, I've replaced it every time. There are plenty of other Ariels and Commanders in my area and they all use hose and double clamps. They don't replace as often as I do. None have sunk.

Go sailing.