Drilling a hole to help drain water?

[bighornarcher]

I goes without saying (alright I'm saying it) that my knowledge of boats is very limited. I've been reading as much as I can to try to catch up somewhat. Anyway I looked at a 1989 16' Sportcraft CC last night. Boat was in really great shape overall and I was getting very interested. Then I see 2 drilled holes, maybe 1/4", in the floor right at the base of the transom in each corner. I asked the seller what the scoop was and he said he drilled them (don't know when) to help drain the water that collected there after heavy rains seeped through his covers. One had been plugged with silicone (or similar), but the other was open. He said it never really worked because they got plugged with leaves etc. He now keeps it in the garage. There is also the factory drain in the center. Now the seller is a longtime boat owner and I'm shopping for my first, but isn't the water simply going into the hull? And soaking up into the foam? There were also a few light 2 -3" cracks (fingernail wouldn't catch on them) in the corners where the sides met the floor near the drilled holes. Should I run like heck? <br /><br />Thanks for the replies.

 

[biloxiriver]

Re: Drilling a hole to help drain water?

Does the boat have a bilge below the floor; there should be an access hatch if it does. The factory drain would drain the bilge. I am with you, I would be concerned about where the water is going, especially if there is any chance he inadvertently drilled into the transom. Having had to replace a couple of transoms in the past I can tell you it ain't cheap. I would also be concerned about what the floor is made out of (wood or composit materials) and it present condiion as drilling through it exposes the material to moisture.

 

[agitator]

Re: Drilling a hole to help drain water?

I have an '84 20'Sportcraft and it has a self bailing hull. If it is like mine it would just drain into the bilge if it did not drain out the scuppers and would be taken care of by the bilge pump. Satisfy yourself that stringers and transom are sound. They are a modestly priced with good design boat that gives you a lot for the money.I like mine and didn't have to mortgage the homestead to buy it used. Hope this helps.

 

[richg99]

Re: Drilling a hole to help drain water?

If you can somehow find out what the weight of the boat was originally; add in the motor, trailer and gasoline weights...and then have the boat weighed at a truck stop, you can determine if she has become water-logged. <br /><br />It does surely seems strange that anyone would leave a hole in the decking open, unless that hole drains ( on purpose) into the bilge and there-by gets pumped or drained out. Something doesn't make sense, that is for sure. There HAS to be a bilge pump??? with this setup. Does it work?<br />RichG TX

 

[jtexas]

Re: Drilling a hole to help drain water?

Is it a plywood floor? if so the holes are going to allow water intrusion & it'll start rotting. That's not going to ruin the hull as long as the floorboards are isolated from the transom & stringers by fiberglass.<br /><br />Sounds like<br />1. He didn't keep it covered, <br />2. It has a drainage problem,<br />3. His solution to the problem was drilling holes in the floor, instead of keeping rainwater out,<br />4. What other "problems" did he try to shortcut with that same kind of thinking?<br /><br />If the floor don't drain to the bilge, then you'll be sloshing around on board whenever you take it out on a rainy day, or if you have swimmers/skiers/tubers climbing in & out; water will get in - it'll be very annoying if it accumulates around your ankles. It's probably something you can resolve if you want to spend time doing that.<br /><br />Very unlikely that the cracks have any structural impact - probably just superficial, cosmetic. Marine-tex (fiberglass putty) would be an effective, easy, quick, cheap permanent solution.<br /><br />I'm not saying "run away as fast as you can," just saying maybe see what else is available.

 

[bighornarcher]

Re: Drilling a hole to help drain water?

Thanks for the replies. It makes sense to me now that they must drain into the bilge. And there were 2 round access covers on the transom wall. I'm going to call him to confirm it drains to the bilge and see if he knows what the floor is made from. Any way for me to tell on my own? <br /><br /> He was quite straightforward on a few other items that needed attention that I probably wouldn't have known about. He's also been the only person to offer a sea trial out of all the boats I've looked at so far. Until he told me about the drain holes, it seemed like he was very meticulous about the upkeep.<br /><br />jtexas- I also wondered why the floor didn't just drain to the factory hole. So the "fix" does cause concern for other shortcuts. <br /><br />This is the only CC boat I've found so far up here in WA that wasn't a Boston Whaler. Hence my bilge/drain hole confusion. His price seems high in comparison, but the boat appeared in much better condition than the Whalers I've seen so far. The Sportcraft probably won't hold it's value as well though. <br /><br />Anyway thanks again. I really appreciate the help.

 

[navigator336]

Re: Drilling a hole to help drain water?

The floor is almost for sure plywood that is glassed over. It sounds like what the current owner did was logical, but not entirely thought out. It is almost impossible to keep water out of a boat stored outside with a cover, especially where you live. Even if the cover is perfect, you'll get condensation on the inside that will collect in places. The holes were too small (as he learned) and easily plugged. Hopefully, he sealed the I.D. of the holes after drilling it so that water wouldn't start soaking into the wood. You can probably test for rot by taking a tool like a small flat screwdriver or dental pick and probe the area inside the hole. It the blade pushes into the sides of the hole easily, or if pieces of wood can be easily popped out, then some rot is going on. If the rotting is localized to the hole (which it probably would be) then a product like "get-rot" would take care of it.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Drilling a hole to help drain water?

By CC you mean Center Console, not Cuddy Cabin, right? I assume it's an outboard? What you referred to as the "transom wall" with access covers is probably an interior bulkhead. The "transom" is that back wall of the hull where the motor is bolted to. There would be a splashwell - an area at the stern where water coming in over the transom can just empty back into the lake, and the bilge area would be underneath, plus maybe some storage, and/or some floatation foam.<br /><br />Does that make any sense?<br /><br />True you'll get water inside a covered boat, but the cover should at least screen out leaves & stuff. <br /><br />Maybe his outside storage area wasn't level, or the trailer tires were prone to losing air, or for some other reason water pooled in the corners away from the factory drain. Now that would make sense to me. And square with "meticulus about the upkeep."

 

[bighornarcher]

Re: Drilling a hole to help drain water?

Thanks for the additional info. I've got a call in and may go back for another poke so to speak. I figured I butchered my boat lingo (transom wall) ha! Makes sense now.<br /><br />Yes I did mean Center Console. And yes with an outboard and kicker. Hadn't though about the boat being unlevel during storage. He hasn't used it much the last few years so that may very be the story. <br /><br />Thanks again. Like my son would say "You guys rock!"