Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

Hi Everyone. I'm a newbie who has been fortunate enough to inherit a 1985 Bayliner Capri from my father-in-law. The boat hasn't run for at least five years and, for at least a brief time, was filled with water. I've never owned, much less restored a boat before, so I am fixing to learn a lot.

I've been lurking around the forum for a few weeks as I've worked to gather manuals and information. Now I think I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and start work.

Because of the water damage, the plywood deck is at least half rotten. I plan to attempt a replacement this winter. In the meantime, I'd like to start in the shallow end and repair the transom drain plug.

As you can probably see from the picture, the drain tube itself has been pulled out of the hull leaving behind three holes and a mess of old sealer.

I'm looking for advice on the best was to repair the drain. I've seen some posts that advocate PVC. I've read in other places that brass is best. I don't have easy access to the back side of the transom, so I need to know if it's okay to attempt a repair entirely from outside the hull.

Finally, while poking around in the boat, I came across a brass drain plug still in it's original package. Is it worth saving?

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

I'm no expert myself, having just acquired my first boat this summer and begun the resto on it. So take what I say with a grain of salt...


If the drain tube has been missing for some time the chances are extremely good the water has had a chance to work it's magic on the wood in the transom and the wood is most likely rotten. I would check the wood in the transom before putting too much time and effort into repairing the drain.

Besides, if the floor is rotten, then chances are the stringers underneath are as well. And once you get the old floor and stringers out, replacing the transom is that much easier - and definitely the time to do that job. Remove the floor, remove the stringers (if bad), and then remove the transom. Rebuild in reverse order.



That said; if you are intent on replacing just the tube for now, get a nice copper or aluminum tube, cut it to the proper length to just fit through the transom, clean out the hole as best you can, and then slather it up with either Peanut butter (just do a search for the recipe) or PL Adhesive and then slide the tube on up into place.

Considering that you are likely in for a transom job in the not too distant future, I wouldn't worry too much about flaring the other end of the tube as it will likely be coming back out soon anyway.



As for the plug you have, absolutely save it. Once you get a new drain tube in place, you'll need the plug to - well.... plug the hole.

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

Oh, and welcome to iBoats.

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

more than likely you'll have to tear out every piece of wood in the boat, i'm just finishing up an 88 16ft capri it's sorta a restormod as it's now a fishing boat with a casting deck up front and the back end is open. good luck and welcome. you can check out my thread by following the link below and the my photobucket pics will give you a look at what you're in for

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

That Bayliner took what is know as a Garboard Drain plug. Its a brass or bronze fitting that attaches with three screws and has a brass plug with pipe threads and a square end for a wrench to fit.



The good part is that they seal well, and can't come out by accident. The bad part is it takes a wrench to tighten and remove them.

That rubber plug you found is for the smooth brass tubes. They work well too.

My preference is for a stainless steel garboard drain, a little harder to find, but it won't turn green from exposure to salt water.

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

Thank you Lightnig, fishmonster, and mark. I feel very welcome and am very happy for all the good advice.

I'm going to head to the local boat store to pick up a Garboard Drain kit, SS screws, and tube of epoxy to fill the old holes and to seal the whole thing up. I'll be fine with brass as I live in Michigan and am pretty sure my little boat will never see salt water.

In fact, if the transom is rotten, I'm wondering if the boat will ever see anything more than rainwater. I've prepared myself mentally for the deck replacement, but I'm feeling a little intimidated by the though of taking the whole boat apart to get to the transom!

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

I was feeling the same way about doing my transom. When first looking at my restore before I started to rip it apart I was hoping and praying that the transom was ok enough to leave it - it wasn't (check my signature below for a link to the thread on my project, pictures-a-plenty)

My story is typical of most here; once my floor was out, I found the foam was bad. Once the foam was out, I found the keel/stringer was bad. Once the stringer was out, I found the transom was bad. Once the transom was out, I had no more wood to be bad!

I've now got my hull down to bare 'glass all the way around, and in the process of getting ready to start putting it all back together. As far as the demo part of the process, the foam was the worst. Getting the transom out was very easy once I pulled the cap (I hemmed and hawed about doing that too, but oh so glad I did).


The best advise I can give is to just dive in and start looking to see just how bad it really is. Once you have all the facts about what needs to be done, decide whether or not you want to proceed.

If you want to do a quickie check on the transom before going any further; drill a few holes (from the inside) and check the wood that comes out of the hole. dry dust == good, wet mush == bad. Then fill the holes back up with epoxy. Do a search here for 'Core Sample' and you will find lots more info on doing this test.

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

To put it plainly, you are either ready or going to be ready to NOT use the boat for a while and put some weeks worth of effort in it to do it right, or find a better boat in better condition.

Free is NEVER free in boating, unless grandpa gave you the boat that he has always kept stored in dry storage and waxed once a season, and even then, it'll still cost you something.

I got my boat from a ditch. I was completely prepared that I would not float the boat for years to come. I'm on year 3 due to limited space/time/energy/funds to work on the boat hardcore, but I'm loving every step that gets completed now that I'm on the build stage.

As far as my opinion based on what you described, seal up and get the drain plug working if you can, but you will probably find nothing for the screws to bite into..the old one probably fell out due to rot.

Take a rubber mallet and start giving the transom area a few good thwaps and see if it sounds hollow or not so solid anywhere near the bottom.

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

In fact, if the transom is rotten, I'm wondering if the boat will ever see anything more than rainwater. I've prepared myself mentally for the deck replacement, but I'm feeling a little intimidated by the though of taking the whole boat apart to get to the transom!
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The transom is likely the easiest part of the restore. It seems intimidating, but when you get to replacing the stringers and deck you will miss the simplicity of a transom build.

As others have noted, no boat is free. They either cost you a pile of money or a bundle of time and decent money. Take a look at other projects, especially restores like yours, and decide if you want the project or not. It is a fun project, but will never be worth the money you put into it. If you don't love the boat and plan to keep it for a while, I would advise looking for a different boat, one well taken care of.

If, however, you are up for the challenge, have the time (months) and the money (~$1500, but it can easily get higher) and (the cool part) want more tools, well, you have found the right place and we'll help you every step of the way, cheering you on as you go. We're all a bunch of nuts, here, and some members (the insane ones) have restored multiple boats already, so you know you will get expert advice at every turn.

Welcome to the forum!

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

I would highly advise the replacement of the transom from the sounds of what you described. If the drain tube is missing, it's obviously missing for a reason? If your boat has been filled with water at one time, expect to replace anything wood. If that doesn't sound like fun, then this isn't the project for you.

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

As Lightnig and redfury suggested, I did some hammering and drilling on the inside of the transom. Based on my untrained eye and optimistic mind, I am cautiously optimistic. The plywood seems to be intact.

I'm sure, as I start to tear into the deck and follow the trail of rot and destruction, it may lead me to a transom replacement. If that's in my future, I guess I've found the right forum to turn to! I already am overwhelmed with the support and good advice I've received.

I've already learned a lot and I'm sure that'll only continue. I'm not afraid of the work or the mess and I'm not getting into boating thinking anything'll be cheap

The boat was my father-in-law's and my wife grew up fishing from it. Restoring it will be a labor of love. Pops has been ailing for several years now and made the mistake a few years ago of giving it to my wife's ne'er do well ex-husband. Now it's mine and I am aiming to undo a couple of years of neglect and attempted "repairs".

The drain tube is fixed (thanks again everyone), and I've started to look at the electrical system. A soft and crumbly deck awaits me this winter. Who knows what other surprises I'll find!

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

dont get too carried away on wiring and that sort of stuff, becuase if your doing a full deck/transom/stringer job, that will mostly, if not all have to come out. I would just get down to it and start removing the floor..

Transom replacement isnt as bad as it seems, we did it on our boat, and yeah, it was a B!^ch to remove, but after that its really not that bad...

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

Brian_in_Waterford said:

As Lightnig and redfury suggested, I did some hammering and drilling on the inside of the transom. Based on my untrained eye and optimistic mind, I am cautiously optimistic. The plywood seems to be intact.

I'm sure, as I start to tear into the deck and follow the trail of rot and destruction, it may lead me to a transom replacement. If that's in my future, I guess I've found the right forum to turn to! I already am overwhelmed with the support and good advice I've received.

I've already learned a lot and I'm sure that'll only continue. I'm not afraid of the work or the mess and I'm not getting into boating thinking anything'll be cheap

The boat was my father-in-law's and my wife grew up fishing from it. Restoring it will be a labor of love. Pops has been ailing for several years now and made the mistake a few years ago of giving it to my wife's ne'er do well ex-husband. Now it's mine and I am aiming to undo a couple of years of neglect and attempted "repairs".

The drain tube is fixed (thanks again everyone), and I've started to look at the electrical system. A soft and crumbly deck awaits me this winter. Who knows what other surprises I'll find!

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Good for you, a project is always better when it has some meaning for you. An extra bit of motivation to make sure it's done right.

In regards to the Transom, many people find that the rot is down low, near the center. So it may be good towards the top and sides, there could be a really bad spot towards the center...

Re: Bayliner Drain Tube Repair

I think what is more important than anything regarding trying to fix something that is "questionable" is just simply being aware of it.

Seriously, there aren't enough fingers in this community to count the number of people out boating that know NOTHING about their boats or how to properly maintain the hull. Probably close to the same number of people that drive cars and only worry about what key on the ring goes in the ignition.

I'd rather know that someone comes here and gets educated on why they need to raise the flag of awareness and then put in the temporary fix, than someone who just does the fix without gaining any boat knowledge.

We all know a temporary fix becomes permanent more than it stays temporary. It's only permanent until it breaks, or breaks again.