Missing drain hole?

[Larryfirst1]

Maybe someone can help me out with this. Let me give you alittle background. I obtained this boat without knowing much about it's history and not knowing much about boats in general. But looking at the condition of the interior and the motor looking hardly used I bought it for $300. The motor is an Evinrude 55 hp 1968 and I found a registration that says the boat is homemade. The boat looks like a 1963 Starcraft--red and white (comparing to an online brouchure). The boat has 2 bilge pumps on it but there is no rear drain. It's been sealed off and patched. It's almost impossible to get the all the water out of the boat. I have it covered but the rain still gets into the boat. Should I redue the rear drain? I wonder why it was sealed up? Any advice is welcomed.

 

[fhhuber]

Not all that hard to drill the hole and get a plug.

I'd drill oversize a little and then epoxy coat the hole. That will help reduce the rate water gets into the transom. They probably did a transom replacement and just didn't drill it.

 

[jbcurt00]

Yep, basically ^^^

Dont be surprised it you find soft wood, and possibly water when you drill though.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Is it an aluminum hulled boat?

 

[jbcurt00]

Doh, great question ^^^ I took it to be a glass boat...

 

[Larryfirst1]

The boat is wood. It appears to be in good condition. I haven't found any rotted wood yet. All the interior is painted. That's why I'm puzzled on why the drain was sealed. Should I move the location or redrill the old one?

 

[GA_Boater]

Got any photos? Some boats didn't have a drain in the transom, sometimes in the bottom near the stern.

Starcraft never made any wooden boats, only aluminum and fiberglass. An odd stainless model way back, almost forgot about that one.

 

[Larryfirst1]

I'll take some pictures tomorrow. Thanks for your input.

 

[Larryfirst1]

No Title

Here's a couple of pictures of what I'm talking about. Someone has sealed the transom drain hole. I hope they come out Ok because I had to resize them before it would let me download them. What would you do? Relocate a new hole or re-drill the old one. Or leave it and rely on the bilge pump to get most of the water out.

 

[Larryfirst1]

Okay, I drilled out the old drain hole with a 1 inch drill bit. Should I glue in a drain tube with 5200 or should the wood be sealed first?

 

[third times the charm]

Someone may argue with me on this one, but if it was mine, i would expoxy seal the inside of the hole first. 5200 is great stuff, i have used it before, but im the type to go overboard on this. Expoxy seal the wood inside the hole, then once that sets up, seal in the drain tube with 5200, give it a good coat on the tube and inside the hole. Set tube in place and give the surfaces inside and out a good wipe down to clean up the excess and also to ensure a complete water tight seal.

 

[Larryfirst1]

Thanks for the advice Third times the charm. I need all the help I can get being that Im a first timer owning a boat. This forum on IBOATS has been a huge blessing. There are alot of good people here that share alot of great information to help out us newbees! Lol. Epoxy sealing the hole first makes since. What's the best way or method to apply the epoxy inside the hole to be sure the top side of the hole gets sealed. Should I do several lite coats of epoxy? And should I use PVC or metal drain tube? Or does it matter?

 

[Woodonglass]

I'd buy the plastic Drain Tubes sold right here on iBoats.

 

[third times the charm]

I'd buy the plastic Drain Tubes sold right here on iBoats.

Definitely agree with wood..

As far as getting the wood coated in the hole you drill, again, this is my thought on this, you can purchase the dobbers you find on pvc glue cans new at most local plumbing or hardware places. Those dobbers are, in my mind perfect for that.

 

[Woodonglass]

The other way to do it is to oversize drill the hole @ 1 1/2" and fill it completely with PB. Let it cure for a day, then come back and drill the 1" hole for the drain tube. You'll have a 1/4" coat of solid glass all around the tube. You won't have any issues with it again. this crude drawing shows what I'm trying to say. Black Circle is the 1 1/2" hole Blue 1" hole. Orange is the Peanut Butter filler.