what are these two holes in bilge area?

[somewhereoutthere]

First post here, recent first time used boat owner. I've recently found something peculiar in the bilge area of my boat, and they look like two small holes. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what they are.

My boat is a 60s-early 70s Sangstercraft 1560 fiberglass runabout. Just got it, and have recently moved in at my local marina where it sits in a slip, and will continue to park. Just a few days ago, after a few days of rain with the boat sitting out there uncovered, I decide to go and check up on it and to run the bilge pump and cover it up. When I get there, I notice water fairly full in the bilge area which is essentially a recessed sump about a foot square and about 4" deep, where the pump and drain plug sit. I notice that when I clear out the water with the pump, water slowly trickles back in. From where, I had no idea. I must have had to sit there for about 40 mins manually pumping out the water (had a manual pump, didn't want to drain the battery) and waiting for water to trickle back in to do it again, until it'd flow less and less and finally stopped. It wasn't until I really stuck my head down back there before I notice two holes on the side of the sump- about 3/8" each. one sitting about 3/4" below floor height and the other about an inch above the bottom of the sump.

I've done a bit of googling on this and see some similar findings have popped up. Some say bad pump installations that havent been sealed, some say they drain water that collect inside the hull, etc. Not any really a clear answer to what these are. Limber holes? But then why would the lowest hole not be level with the bottom of the hull? and if these are to drain water out of the hull, why are they small enough that most of the water couldn't easily flow backwards and get pumped out?

Winter is coming soon. The days are mild but the nights can get to or below freezing, so I want to sort this and get it dry so I can cover it up. I'm certain there's still water trapped in there that I really would like to get out. Thanks for any help.

video of it:

Adrian

 

[Grub54891]

Looks like someone drilled those holes. Is there a locker in front of that area, or are they on the side? What ever it is, it's not good. There is wood under that fiberglass wich is now wet and rotting. I'd advise to fix the float switch so it keeps it pumped out.

 

[Chris1956]

Ditto....

 

[JASinIL2006]

I agree, the placement of those holes is curious... was maybe someone checking for rot in the structure and didn't bother to fill the holes?

In any case, why is the bilge pump not powered to clear out the water? If the float switch is broken, that's easy to replace. I'd be concerned first about keeping that sump cleared.

 

[somewhereoutthere]

I posted in some forums more local to me asking about it since Sangstercraft was a local boat builder here in Vancouver Canada. Sounds like these holes were put in by the manufacturer to drain the hull because I had gotten responses that confirm their existence from other owners of this make. Most of the responses were to get it hauled out and tilted up on the trailer to drain it all out. I guess preventative measures are the only way to keep the hull dry. It just seems like bad design on the manufacturers part. Thankfully the water that flows out is clean with no "rot juice" and the floor appears to be solid. I may fill the holes and drill a larger hole away from the sump that has a watertight cap purely for manual drainage.

 

[somewhereoutthere]

I agree, the placement of those holes is curious... was maybe someone checking for rot in the structure and didn't bother to fill the holes?

In any case, why is the bilge pump not powered to clear out the water? If the float switch is broken, that's easy to replace. I'd be concerned first about keeping that sump cleared.

Looks like it was common to disable the float switch because of the constant draining and filling due to these holes. People would get completely drained batteries as a result. The manual switch is operational and I had been manually draining the boat on my regular trips to check up on it. Seems like that's what owners of this type would do.

 

[racerone]

Bad design is using wood as the structural element in a boat !!-----These drain holes are fairly common in older boats.---Just because water has a way of finding it's way under the floor.-------Wood in a fiberglass boat should be outlawed !

 

[somewhereoutthere]

Bad design is using wood as the structural element in a boat !!-----These drain holes are fairly common in older boats.---Just because water has a way of finding it's way under the floor.-------Wood in a fiberglass boat should be outlawed !

Totally agree. At least now I do, with this crash course in old-boat ownership, LOL. It's up to me to get creative in fixing this mess.

 

[JimS123]

Bad design is using wood as the structural element in a boat !!-----These drain holes are fairly common in older boats.---Just because water has a way of finding it's way under the floor.-------Wood in a fiberglass boat should be outlawed !

I had a 1971 Silverline that I bought new and kept for 14 years. It had 5 of those holes, one in each cavity between the stringers. Each hole was fitted with a rubber plug.

I never let water stand in the bilge. The pump took it all out except for maybe a 1/2". When we took her home at the end of the day I simply used a sponge and a bucket and dried her up. Every Fall I pulled the corks and raised the bow and I NEVER had so much as a drop come out.

When I sold the boat I told the new owner about that. He garage kept it as well. As luck would have it 25 years later I saw the boat on his front lawn for sale. I stopped and we talked and i inspected it thoroughly. Now 39 years old the floor was as sound as when new and the boat looked pristine.

As unluck would have it I saw the boat again 3 years later on the front lawn of the 3rd owner. The bilge was full of water above the 5 holes, the plugs were gone and the floor was rotten to the core. The upholstery was also shot. The owner saw me looking at it and he came out. I commented that the boat looked like it was kept out uncovered for the last 3 years. He said: "Its a boat. They are supposed to get wet".

The moral of the story is that YES, boats should not be made with wood, and we are all happy most manufacturers don't any more. But, given reasonable care even a wooded boat can last 39 years old.

 

[somewhereoutthere]

I had a 1971 Silverline that I bought new and kept for 14 years. It had 5 of those holes, one in each cavity between the stringers. Each hole was fitted with a rubber plug.

I never let water stand in the bilge. The pump took it all out except for maybe a 1/2". When we took her home at the end of the day I simply used a sponge and a bucket and dried her up. Every Fall I pulled the corks and raised the bow and I NEVER had so much as a drop come out.

When I sold the boat I told the new owner about that. He garage kept it as well. As luck would have it 25 years later I saw the boat on his front lawn for sale. I stopped and we talked and i inspected it thoroughly. Now 39 years old the floor was as sound as when new and the boat looked pristine.

As unluck would have it I saw the boat again 3 years later on the front lawn of the 3rd owner. The bilge was full of water above the 5 holes, the plugs were gone and the floor was rotten to the core. The upholstery was also shot. The owner saw me looking at it and he came out. I commented that the boat looked like it was kept out uncovered for the last 3 years. He said: "Its a boat. They are supposed to get wet".

The moral of the story is that YES, boats should not be made with wood, and we are all happy most manufacturers don't any more. But, given reasonable care even a wooded boat can last 39 years old.

Thanks for sharing how you practice upkeep on an older boat. It's completely my fault for not doing research on these sort of things, its hard to find info on it. So this is valuable.

The way I see it with my boat right now is, I will drain the water as much as I can at this point but continue to maintain upkeep how you describe. The hull drainage holes shouldn't freely let water move either direction and needs to be capped off and regularly checked. It seems the rubber plugs you had in the 5 hull drain holes, my boat needs as well.

Would you have any tips on how to really get it dry? It seems moisture wouldn't evaporate very easily down there with such small drainage holes. I will look for any other openings to the cavity next time I get to the boat.

 

[JimS123]

Would you have any tips on how to really get it dry? It seems moisture wouldn't evaporate very easily down there with such small drainage holes. I will look for any other openings to the cavity next time I get to the boat.

The key is never letting the boat's innards get wet in the first place. The plugs are to keep the water out, and removing them off season will help dry out the hull of the minuscule amount of water that might have gotten in.

Once the innards have been compromised, its just a matter of time. Without gutting the hull, I know of no way to remove moisture. Draining is needed, of course, but once the wood is wet, not much can be done.

We bought our second new boat in 1984. It was delivered to the dealer in the middle of a snowstorm. It was prepped and we drove her home a few days later, and then hosed her down to get the road salt off the trailer. She was full of water from the snow, and after putting her in the garage with the tongue jack as high as it would go, we drained gallons and gallons of water from the bilge weep holes until it stopped draining.

35 years later, when we sold the boat, there was zero sign of a soft floor, so I guess our diligence paid off.

 

[somewhereoutthere]

The key is never letting the boat's innards get wet in the first place. The plugs are to keep the water out, and removing them off season will help dry out the hull of the minuscule amount of water that might have gotten in.

Once the innards have been compromised, its just a matter of time. Without gutting the hull, I know of no way to remove moisture. Draining is needed, of course, but once the wood is wet, not much can be done.

We bought our second new boat in 1984. It was delivered to the dealer in the middle of a snowstorm. It was prepped and we drove her home a few days later, and then hosed her down to get the road salt off the trailer. She was full of water from the snow, and after putting her in the garage with the tongue jack as high as it would go, we drained gallons and gallons of water from the bilge weep holes until it stopped draining.

35 years later, when we sold the boat, there was zero sign of a soft floor, so I guess our diligence paid off.

The bilge area of the boat is 12x12", roughly. And the drain is an inch above the floor. So if I get more than a little over half a gallon in that bilge and it starts going into that little hole that goes into the floor, I'm hosed?

 

[hugh g]

Never leave a boat uncovered in a slip. Ever. Sh*t happens & it will during the week when you're at work or out of town.

 

[JimS123]

The bilge area of the boat is 12x12", roughly. And the drain is an inch above the floor. So if I get more than a little over half a gallon in that bilge and it starts going into that little hole that goes into the floor, I'm hosed?

I apologize for not comprehending your original post.

Your boat needs to be covered in a slip, or in your driveway for that matter.

You need to have the auto bilge pump re-connected. Forget what others do, they are wrong. If the boat is covered, there should be no frequent running of the pump and thus no battery drain anyway.

If the weep holes continuously drain water, then your hull is probably compromised anyway. A boat of that age is already 30 years beyond its useful life, so if the innards aren't totally rotten it would be a miracle.

Get the boat out of the water, drain the hull, get a high quality cover and hope for the best.

 

[Chris1956]

Sniff the drainage. If it smells like rotten wood....

 

[somewhereoutthere]

I apologize for not comprehending your original post.

Your boat needs to be covered in a slip, or in your driveway for that matter.

You need to have the auto bilge pump re-connected. Forget what others do, they are wrong. If the boat is covered, there should be no frequent running of the pump and thus no battery drain anyway.

If the weep holes continuously drain water, then your hull is probably compromised anyway. A boat of that age is already 30 years beyond its useful life, so if the innards aren't totally rotten it would be a miracle.

Get the boat out of the water, drain the hull, get a high quality cover and hope for the best.

No harm done at all. I'm just trying to understand why the boat was designed this way and if anyone reading might be familiar with this make. The floor looks and feels absolutely rock solid, especially after seeing a couple boats before picking this one up. The transom looks good too. The length it's been sitting at the slip uncovered hasn't been more than several days and the amount of water that's accumulated can't be more than an accidental spill of a 2 gallon bucket's worth while onboard, fishing. It puzzles me as to why, if detrimental to the innards, free flowing drain holes were put in a part of the boat's floor drainage where water can easily get trapped inside. My initial thought was that it is glassed inside. Still not good to trap water anywhere regardless, but it could explain why the original floor is still on, its not soft, and there's no smelly water coming out of the hull. I'm going to be hauling the boat soon and will be draining it as well as I can, through the use of vacuum. I have a good cover, just didnt get it on in time for the first rain of the year. I figured a days worth of rain wouldn't hurt the boat at all. I definitely will get it on though, since as you imply, if you want a meticulous boat, all preventative measures need to be done. I'm hoping this isn't going to be a big deal and that it'll come out just fine.

 

[somewhereoutthere]

Never leave a boat uncovered in a slip. Ever. Sh*t happens & it will during the week when you're at work or out of town.

Point taken. You should see my marina though... maybe just a 1/4 of em are covered.

 

[somewhereoutthere]

Sniff the drainage. If it smells like rotten wood....

I had initially done this and even tasted the water to see if it was saltwater (blech). It was clean looking freshwater and there's no odd smells.

 

[JimS123]

It puzzles me as to why, if detrimental to the innards, free flowing drain holes were put in a part of the boat's floor drainage where water can easily get trapped inside.

If there were NO holes and water got in there would be no way for it to escape. Manufacturers that don't put the holes in are simply hoping for the best. You never know what consumners may do, like drill holes for seats and such, and then not seal them up.

The solution is a rubber cork...