bilge/splashwell drain problem

[drewmitch44]

Ok im pretty happy where ive come with the boat this season. I got a motor on it and ive been Bay fishing all season with no real problems. I want to tackle this bilge drain and the 2 splashwell drain holes next. The last time i went to put the plug in the bilge drain i noticed that the brass piece that the plug screws into was loose on the transom. So for a quick fix i put some jb waterweld all around it and was careful as to how tight i screwed in the plug. It might be my own fault because im used to using the plastin and rubber nylon type plugs on all my smaller boats. Well the first time i put that brass plug in i thought that the threads had to go all the way in so here i am on the ground trying to tighten the wrench with my foot to get better leverage. Thats when i saw the whole works move. I dont think it leaks now but i want to know should i just take it back off and put 4200 or 5200 all around it and then just bigger screws? I like the type of plugs that im used too because the wood part of the transom is not exposed from the inside. Just not sure of my ooptions as far as replacement goes. I added a couple pictures and you can see the bilge plug in bot and in one you can see one of the splashwell drains just above the waterline. Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

 

[dingbat]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

If the boat was built properly the drain hole would have been glassed through and no wood is exposed. Remove the plug and check for water intrusion. If none is present, seal up existing screw holes with Marine Tex or epoxy then rotate the plug 30 degrees and redrill the holes.

To install use 4200 under the flange and in the screw holes.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

ok im going to tackle the bilge drain first ill ad pics as i go. Im going to try to not start another project til i get each one done. That seems to be my probles i start too many projects at one time on this boat. Ill complete one and start on the next. Ill add pics as i go. They will be a little blurry because its with my cell phone but you'll get the idea. Starting this afternoon, pics will be aded tonight.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

Ok here is the drain casing out. I plan on sanding everything really well and putting eather cloth or mat around that area and inside the hole to seal up the exposed wood there and reinstalling the brass fitting and rotating it like 30 degrees like you said. There is a little bit of glass missing at the verry bottom peak below the drain hole. I think im going to glass that over as well whyle im working in that area. Im using the bondo resin with hardner and the bondo fiberglass out of the package. I have both fiberglass mat and fiberglass cloth but im not sure which one to use for this repair. I have used both quite a bit, i used the cloth on the whole floor when i was redoing my floor. Also i have used the fiberglass mat when i was fixing some cracks in my splashwell. The mat seems to be thicker than the cloth so i think im going to use the cloth for the drain hole repair. All im going for really is to seal it all up. Then after the glass is done i plan on using star-bride epoxy to better bond the plug fixture to the hull. Does what im saying make any sence?? Thanks a lot for the advice guys!

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

Got it

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

Sorry didnt mean to post that!!

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

Ok I decided to glass the whole hole and fix the bottom at the same time. Im going to cut the hole back out and glass the inside to close it all up. Then im going to get on the inside and glass it up in there. Then sand it all down and reinstall the drain fixture with star brite epoxy and 4200 to seal the 3 holes up. Here is a pic of the hole glassed over. You can see the chipping on the bottom edge that i got over as well.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

4200 on the new screw holes i meant.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

Ok i got the whole thing cleaned out. I reglassed the whole thing and i painted and when i was getting ready to reinstall the drain fixture i drilled the lower hole a little bit of water started coming out. Im going to let it drain as much as it can before i reinstall. Is that the righ move? Im wondering if i should just put it back like it is. I took a pic of the drip and all. Here it is!!

 

[dingbat]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

It looks like the wood in your transom is saturated, not good. I'd let it sit as long as possible and maybe even put a heat lamp on it ito help dry it out if possible.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

I drilled 2 other holes on eather side of that lower hole for the bilge drain and a little of water came out. Its been about 24 hours now and its no longer draining. Im ready to install the drain fixture but how do i seal up the holes that i made that the drain fixture is not going into? I am also removing a old fish finder transducer there is a total of 5 holes for that. How do i seal up these holes? I was thinking about using that epoxy putty. Is that the right thing to do or what??? these holes are tiny screw holes but im not sure how to seal them up properly. Help me out please.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

Ok i found this thread. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=220153&highlight=transom+hole

I have some of that epoxy in the stick form that seals hard as a rock. Im going to use that as a perminant fix. I think that ill leave the 2 holes that i drilled to help the wiid dry for a whyle though as i want to make sure that everything is dry in there.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

How does the transom feel? Does it pass the rubber hammer test?
That water dripping has me worried for you..
Any water in the transom will eventually get the rotting started.
My transom was exactly the same.It had thru hull drains that were letting water soak into the transom.I thought it was just wet until i started to dig further.Ended up the transom was gone.
Any way to access the inside? drill thru the inner fiberglass and see if dark wood shavings come out.
Good luck!!

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

The wood inside there feels pretty solid and is not too dark in color. There is no transom flex with that 115 trimmed all the way up and me pushing down as hard as i can. The tounge of the trailer will lift before that transom moves. When i had that plug thing off i could see the wood in there and it was all dry. I think that the problem started because i started using one of those screw in type plugs and a buddy put it on and turned it so tight that he was laying on the ground and using his foot to tighten it. I was like woo woo it dont need to be that tight. After fishing that day when i went to take the plug back out the whole works was turning a little as i was trying to get the screw in type plug out. So i know that the 3 screws pulled some of the wood around in there. I think that is how the water got in there. It seems to have stopped draining now and i have reinstalled the drain fixture thing with the 3 screws. I just want to know the best way to seal up small holes there. like the little ones to secure the transducer and all. Thanks gary i was shook about the water also.

 

[redfury]

Re: bilge/splashwell drain problem

Sounds like it just got wet from sitting in the water for the day with the transom plug screwed up.

You could squirt some acetone in there to help displace the water and help dry that area out....