Drain holes?

[DerekBogie]

I am sorry for stupid questions but i am too new to boats and am trying to learn. I have a 1985 beretta with a mercruiser motor. It has the regular drain plug in the back. It has a live well in the rear and in the front. The boat has 3 white drain holes on the boat that would seem to be under water when the boat is launched. Do these holes need to have plugs or what are they used for?

 

[seabob4]

Re: Drain holes?

The one forward is probably a sink or storage compartment drain. The one on the hullside is probably the bilge pump discharge. You can find that out easy enough, just put some water in the bilge and see where it pumps it overboard. The one on the transom is probably a cockpit drain.

 

[DerekBogie]

Re: Drain holes?

actually there are 4. on the bottem left side of the boat there is another.

Do any of these holes need plugs? i put water in both live wells and no water came out of any hole beside the actual drain hole.

 

[sasto]

Re: Drain holes?

The one forward is probably a sink or storage compartment drain. The one on the hullside is probably the bilge pump discharge. You can find that out easy enough, just put some water in the bilge and see where it pumps it overboard. The one on the transom is probably a cockpit drain.

What seabob says. The one underwater on x-som in intake for baitwell.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Drain holes?

Derek,
Look at this pic...

That one, and the other you describe on the bottom left, need to be either bronze or Stainless Steel...or Marelon. Those are approved "below the waterline" materials. What you see there is Nylon...no, no, no. Replace them ASAP, as they can sink your boat...

 

[DerekBogie]

Re: Drain holes?

Thank you for those comments. How would one change from nylon to bronze or stainless steel and where would one find the parts? Do those two below water level need plugged or all those holes suppose to stay open?

 

[seabob4]

Re: Drain holes?

Derek,
Defender Marine will have all the fittings you need...just click here. And no, the holes don't need to be plugged.

But what I would do is get your head and any other part of your body you can (I realize, it's not easy!) and identify and inspect all your hose runs, attachment points, fittings, t/hulls, pumps...in short, everything! It's an old boat, stuff wears out!

 

[DerekBogie]

Re: Drain holes?

thanks a lot for the immediate response seabob4. I will make a checklist of what needs done. So far i found a few holes from where things were attached to the bottem of the boat. I need to refiberglass those. There is a wire that comes to the sterndrive upper unit. it is a 2 wire set and 1 wire is ripped off. not sure what it goes too but i will find out. The speedo cable is broken, and the distributer is completely unbolted and is missing the bolts. I will furnish plenty of good quality pics as to my restoration attempts and i hope for more comments, tips, and help along the way as i cannot do it without the help of this site.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Drain holes?

Well, Derek, now we find out the boat is not running. Can't run with out a distributor...

Keep posting, you probably want to break the restore into different sections, i.e. engine, outdrive, electrical, fittings, fiberglass, upholstery, trailer, etc. It will give you a better, more organized direction, as well as give a sense of accomplishment when you get things taken care of...

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Drain holes?

For gosh sakes stop scaring the daylight out of this owner. There is nothing wrong with the fittings in that boat. If the boat has livewells, those fitting "above" the water line are overflows for the livewells. Without them, that would sink the boat if the pump was not turned off. At least one of them that is below the water line is the livewell pump intake. It takes in water and pumps it to the livewells. Excess water simple flows out the overflow. None of the fittings above the water line need plugs. The intake below the water line doesn't either unless the plumbing inside the boat is compromised. If the hose comes off the outlet of the pump for example, THAT could sink your boat. The hull drain has nothing connected to it and drains any water that gets into the boat (obviously when the boat is on the trailer). when in the water the plug MUST be in place.

 

[DerekBogie]

Re: Drain holes?

I hope it is not going to be a truck load of money to get this boat water ready. I do not get paid much and am really trying to make some summer fun for my wife, son, and I.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Drain holes?

EXCUSE ME? SCARING? Below the waterline fittings, be they drain, pickup, whatever, like the one next to the outdrive in the pic, is CLEARLY nylon, and has no place being on a boat below the waterline...and that one is, plus the other one he mentioned that we don't have a pic of, and from what I gather from his description is below the waterline as well.

I build boats for a living, build them to ABYC/NMMA standards. Been around this block a time or 2...

And I doubt that nylon t/hull to port of his outdrive is someones idea of a garboard drain...

 

[seabob4]

Re: Drain holes?

Silvertip,
No disrepect to your post, as your information you offer here is very valuable. What I am trying to say is that the only approved t/hull fittings for use below the waterline are Bronze, SS, and Marelon. It is clearly evident from the photo the OP presented that the t/hull next to the OD on the port side is nylon. That needs to be swapped out for one of the above types.

I wasn't trying to scare anyone...

 

[Kracken]

Re: Drain holes?

Really Seabob?

One of my boats is a 3 year old Cobalt bowrider. It has 2 nylon drains below the waterline for the coolers. Is this something I should be concerned about? I have to admit that I have thought about the possibility of hose clamps letting go. As soon as the batteries failed the boat would sink.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Drain holes?

Kracken,
Yes, this is true. In order for a boat to meet ABYC/NMMA specs, those are the materials approved for below-the-waterline usage. Let me ask you this. Do your drains exit out the hullsides? How far below the waterline are they now located?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Drain holes?

And I respect your comments about the requirements. I've spent a little time looking at this issue and one thing stands out in these standards -- that being "seawater". Judging by the condition of the trailer in this thread I would suggest this is not a saltwater boat. Additional reading also turns up a Brass vs Bronze issue. So the question for the experts is how is it that the vast majority of what I will call recreational boats (fishing, water skiing, and even smaller cruisers get by with "plastic/nylon" through hulls and a multitude of nylon plumping fittings are also sold by all of the major marine vendors. Key items are drains and live well pumps. There are some pretty spendy Rangers, Warriors and other boats that use nylon through-hulls. So as a group, lets dig into this and see what the "fine print" really say. I think what you are going to determine is that the draft of the vessel and perhap its size and intended use has a bearing on what type of fittings are required for certification. A commercial passenger carrying vessel would likely have different requirements than the run of the mill 20 foot runabout used in fresh water.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Drain holes?

Silvertip,
One would not believe the exercises one has to go through to meet ABYC requirements as far as "certifying" a boat. Not just hull penetrations (as t/hulls are addressed as), but seating, hand rails, batteries, fuel tanks, boarding requirements, etc., etc. And if you think they are rigorous, delve into CE requirements, or AUS/NZ or Canadian requirements...they make the ABYC look like pikers!

The point I was trying to make in this thread was that only materials approved for below the waterline usage for your own safety's sake. Regardless of which builder might use them or not. Nylon, being of oil origin, can dry out, regardless of where it lives, and crack, leaving an owner with a big hole in the bottom of the boat, or at least below the waterline. Bronze, SS, and Marelon will not do that, hence their approval.

I talk regularly with both ABYC and NMMA. I don't agree with them all the time, but, as subscribing members, I do what they require. 99% of the time, I have no issues with their requirements. I am on a first name basis with John Adey, the technical director at ABYC, not by choice, as usually when I call him, it is because of a section in the rulebook that I don't agree with or want to get around, due to the design of the boat I have to work with.

But when it comes to hull penetrations below the waterline, I never question, never have. Bronze, SS, or Marelon. No ifs, ands, or buts...

 

[Silver Heels]

Re: Drain holes?

My vote goes for Seabob. I don't have the expertise in boat building he does, but I see no reason to try to save a few bucks by trusting suspect through hulls. We don't know how old they are, or if they are properly installed. Replacing anything plastic that could sink the boat with a simple crack is just good preventive maintainence.

 

[Kracken]

Re: Drain holes?

SeaBob,

First off, I am not arguing the point with you. Actually your comments have peaked my interest. It sounds like you knowledge of boat construction far outweighs my own. I was under the impression that Cobalts were a superior built boat and if this is a safety issue, I am very disappointed.

The picture shows where the nylon drain holes are. There is one hole on each side for draining the coolers. Both are nylon with about a ? inch hole. There is a rear drain on the transom that is stainless.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Drain holes?

Kracken,
I took a look at the pic you posted, and your drains appear to be pretty far down on the hullside.

Often, when a boat is new, it weighs a lot less then one several years old simply because gelcoat is a semi-permeable membrane, and it can allow water to pass through it and be absorbed by the underlying laminates. Vinylester gel is much less susceptable to thie than polyester, but it still occurs, so boats become heavier with age. Thus they sit lower in the water.

Now when a builder designs a new model, that boat will be tested to NMMA requirements. One of those requirements is "the 7 degree test", whereas a boat has to have weight added to so that it will list at 7 degrees (an inclinometer is used to measure the list). The requirements are that the waterline must be at or below the opening of the t/hull. Now if that was met on the boat being certified at the time, then nylon is an acceptable material for use as a t/hull.

But as boats grow heavier, they sit lower in the water, and all the gear we carry doesn't help. Thus, what was once an acceptable situation becomes unacceptable over time. One might say to the builder why they simply didn't move the drains up a few inches. Often, because of the design of internal structures, this simply can't be done and still allow the compartments to drain.

One part of my job at Proline is to locate t/hulls so that they allow the proper function of the drain, yet at the same time meet NMMA/ABYC requirements. And I will tell you, I cuss the designers A LOT!