No drain hole in boat

[iggyw1]

Help! I have an older (1965) Geneva fiberglass boat, 16 ft. long. In the boat, I have a floor above the hull. In the rear of boat at the stern, there is about 6" of free space between the boat floor and the boat hull bottom. OI do not know how much room in between the floor and hull at the bow of the boat. When I bought the boat last year, there was a ton of water under the floor, and no outlet for this water. There is a drain plug that is in the stern of the boat, but that is just at the top of the floor, no drain plug below the floor and the floor was probably sealed 100% all the way around the boat at one time, but it is not now completely sealed from the hull. In other words, new seat were installed at one time, and battery brackets with screws into the floor, gas tank hold downs with screws, etc. etc. so water gets under the floor now.

I cut a hole into the floor last year when I bought the boat and installed a bilge pump, but I want to add a drain into the stern at the level just above the hull of the boat. Is this possible? Is there a specific type of drain hole fitting I should look for? The bilge pump works good but there is still some water that remains under the floor because the pump is actually a little bit above the hull bottom. I figure if I put a drain plug in at the hull elevation, it would drain as I am on the ramp and trailer as I drive it home. Thanks!

 

[airshot]

That would be a wise idea, if you are handy with fiberglass then it should be quite simple. If you have never worked with fiberglass before then some research will be needed. Many of the boat part places have thru hull drain plug kits including here on I-boats if you do a quick search. Many are just an aluminum tube with the proper size plug that needs to be glassed into place, then properly sealed and finished.

 

[smokeonthewater]

No glassing required.

Drill hole, insert drain sealed w 5200, drill and install 3 screws also sealed w 5200... Done deal.
http://www.iboats.com/Seasense-Garb...96840692--session_id.189511931--view_id.56062

 

[UncleWillie]

No glassing required.
Drill hole, insert drain sealed w 5200, drill and install 3 screws also sealed w 5200... Done deal.
http://www.iboats.com/Seasense-Garb...96840692--**********.189511931--view_id.56062

You want to install a Garboad Drain.

Be sure the bildge is bone dry refore you start drilling the hole.
When Installing in a Glass boat; the Transom has a wood core that must be kept dry at all costs.

Seal a short piece of close fitting PVC Pipe in the hole as it passes through the transom.
If you allow the water to soak into the wood in the transom, The clock timing the final demise of the boat will start ticking!
If you drill the hole, and find water running out of the wood, the clock is already running.

 

[iggyw1]

OK guys, thanks for the input. I like the idea of drilling a hole (with a little hole saw) and put the fitting in with three screws. One more and last question: Did anyone ever see a drain hole at the very bottom side of the boat? That seems like I would drain the boat 100% if the drain plug was at the bottom of the hull rather than thru the stern. Is this ok to do or not? Thanks again!

Maybe even putting the drain plug in from the inside of the boat instead of on the outside if I put it on the bottom of the boat?????

 

[iggyw1]

You want to install a Garboad Drain.

Be sure the bildge is bone dry refore you start drilling the hole.
When Installing in a Glass boat; the Transom has a wood core that must be kept dry at all costs.

Seal a short piece of close fitting PVC Pipe in the hole as it passes through the transom.
If you allow the water to soak into the wood in the transom, The clock timing the final demise of the boat will start ticking!
If you drill the hole, and find water running out of the wood, the clock is already running.

So far, the wood at least on the upper portion of the old boat was dry inside. I drilled a few holes and sealed them really good for a kicker motor mount thru the stern, and the wood was bone dry.

 

[Jeep Man]

OK guys, thanks for the input. I like the idea of drilling a hole (with a little hole saw) and put the fitting in with three screws. One more and last question: Did anyone ever see a drain hole at the very bottom side of the boat? That seems like I would drain the boat 100% if the drain plug was at the bottom of the hull rather than thru the stern. Is this ok to do or not? Thanks again!

Maybe even putting the drain plug in from the inside of the boat instead of on the outside if I put it on the bottom of the boat?????

I have a `50s aluminum boat with the drain plug in the bottom. With mine, there is a cupped addition (clamshell) in front of it to prevent water from entering when in forward motion. This is a necessity. As you may know, an effective way to drain water is to pull the plug while in motion and re-insert the plug when all the water is out with the boat still in motion. Without this clamshell, this method is impossible.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Yes many bigger boats have them on the bottom but with your boat, put it in the back, center of the transom as low as possible.
When I have drilled them. I drill a 1/4" hole from the inside with a drill extension so I can lay the bit flat on the bottom. That way I get the exact location of the bottom on the outside of the transom... I then drill the hole for the drain from the outside such that the inside of it ends up flush or even SLIGHTLY below there. By doing it this way every bit of water drains. With a small boat you want it in the transom because it is easy to raise the bow and promote complete draining.

After you get this in, your next project is to get busy stopping the water from getting in there... Seal it back up. Wouldn't be a bad idea to acquire a cover that will keep the rain out of the boat all together.

 

[iggyw1]

Yes many bigger boats have them on the bottom but with your boat, put it in the back, center of the transom as low as possible.
When I have drilled them. I drill a 1/4" hole from the inside with a drill extension so I can lay the bit flat on the bottom. That way I get the exact location of the bottom on the outside of the transom... I then drill the hole for the drain from the outside such that the inside of it ends up flush or even SLIGHTLY below there. By doing it this way every bit of water drains. With a small boat you want it in the transom because it is easy to raise the bow and promote complete draining.

After you get this in, your next project is to get busy stopping the water from getting in there... Seal it back up. Wouldn't be a bad idea to acquire a cover that will keep the rain out of the boat all together.

Thank you for the input. I think I will end up putting it thru the transom, but if I do put it on the bottom, I understand why I would need the "clam shell" device in front of it as in the other reply. I cannot locate the drain plug in the center of the transom as there is a 2" x 4" board running the entire length of the boat right down the center, that is one reason I was even considering putting it on the bottom of the boat (there too it would have to be off center because of the 2x4).

That's why the bilge pump will not empty the water completely, it is at the side of the 2 x 4 keel board and I had to keep it a few inches away from this board to allow the water to get into the bottom of the pump so it is up the 'V' bottom a little ways.(hope you understand what I mean). As for getting a cover, LOL, the boat is garage kept so the only time it gets any water in it is while out fishing (rain and the big "tuna" boats swamping me). It's a big lake and we have some massive boats on it that do not really care if they get our boats full of water or not from their wakes. I don't mean that they 'swamp' us, but we do get some water in our little boats from them, and it does accumulate over a day on the water.