Water from bilge screw holes - NEED ADVICE!!!

[inAjet]

Hi All,

Replacing the factory-installed bilge pump in my 21 year-old Sea Ray bow rider. Since the new pump mounting bracket (naturally) has a different screw pattern, my original plan was to marine-tex the old holes closed and drill new ones (see attached photo).

HOWEVER... when using compressed air to clean out one of the old holes, water sprayed out the other, along with a bubbling sound below.

It appears that Sea Ray (wisely) glassed in a bilge pump mounting board (either fibreglass or wood) between the sides of the hull and gel coated it. When installing the bilge pump, and likely also the float switch, it appears they've (unwisely) used a 1-inch screw instead of a half-inch screw, which went right through the mounting board. My thinking is that over the last 2 decades, bilge water has slowly seeped into the small space between the mounting board and the hull thought these screw holes. Moving a toothpick around in these holes confirms there is a space down there.

I have confirmed with Sea Ray that the hull is not cored nor are there any screw holes into the hull in this area, so I have no concerns of core rot. The boat lives on a trailer when not in use. The question is what to do about this water. My thinking now is, instead of closing up the old holes, to just leave them open to allow for some ventilation of this space so that maybe over the course of a winter in storage the water can drain out. Maybe even drill them bigger?

Does anyone have any thoughts on what to do here? Would appreciate any and all feedback.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[GSPLures]

Welcome
It is a sacrificial piece of wood just for mounting the bilge. More than likely the whole piece is completely gone. The harder option is to cut that piece of wood out glass in a new one and gel coat it. Another option is to try a pour in product i believe it is called git rot or something close to that. The wood will more than likely never dry. If by chance there is enough wood left you can try to drill bigger holes then use a dowel rod cut to size in the hole with resin so the new bilge screws have something to go into.

 

[briangcc]

IF, mighty big IF, that's the only spot of rot, my thinking would be this....

Cut the fiberglass top off the sacrificial mounting board, leaving the sides intact to be used as a form. Remove rotten wood - chisel, grinder, whatnot. Pour in Seacast - such a small area it should be reasonably inexpensive to do. Once set, it will not rot again as Seacast is a composite material. Mount bilge pump to Seacast and forget it.

 

[GSPLures]

IF, mighty big IF, that's the only spot of rot, my thinking would be this....

Cut the fiberglass top off the sacrificial mounting board, leaving the sides intact to be used as a form. Remove rotten wood - chisel, grinder, whatnot. Pour in Seacast - such a small area it should be reasonably inexpensive to do. Once set, it will not rot again as Seacast is a composite material. Mount bilge pump to Seacast and forget it.

That was what I was thinking of seacast not git rot

 

[inAjet]

Thanks, guys - I appreciate the advice.

Seacast sounds like an ideal solution, but would also likely require removing the motor to make enough room to get tools down there to cut out the old piece - a job that I do not have the equipment nor the space to accomplish at the moment.

If I drill two new holes and, by chance, there is enough wood left for screws to grab, and since it is only a sacrificial piece of wood, do you think I'd get away with using it as is for the time being? If so, any thoughts on what to do about the water that's already in there?

 

[GSPLures]

If that wood does not extend to the stringer or the transom(shouldn't, but does not mean there is not rot elsewhere on a 21 yr old boat) "that" rot will not extend to other places.

All it is used for is to secure the bilge pump. Worse case is the pump comes loose and you have to secure the pump another way. Just make sure you pay attention to the pump so it works correctly.

 

[inAjet]

If that wood does not extend to the stringer or the transom(shouldn't, but does not mean there is not rot elsewhere on a 21 yr old boat) "that" rot will not extend to other places.

Thanks - that's exactly what I figured. It's a bit hard to see in the photo that I attached to my first post, but the mounting board is clearly defined with the forward and aft edges sloping down where it is glassed to the hull, so I am reasonably confident that it is not connected to the transom or to a stringer.

I think what I'll do for now is to slide a spray bottle handle down into the holes and pump out as much of the water as I can (not that it will likely prevent any damage at this point), and then try to work with what's left of the wood. The float switch is still very secure on the board, as was the old bilge pump, so I have some hope that there is enough meat left to last a while longer.

Just make sure you pay attention to the pump so it works correctly.

Wilco.

Appreciate all the advice for this noob to hull repair. Love this forum!

 

[inAjet]

I'm still curious as to whether the Seacast would displace the water within that space. If it's liquid enough, I'm thinking I may be able to pump it into one of the existing holes so that it forces the water out the other and in the process of doing so, completely fills the empty space between the mounting board and the hull.

Ideally, it would be a product that is heavier than water so the water floats to the top and out the holes. Does anyone know of an alternative product that is specifically engineered for such a purpose?

 

[KJM]

I'm still curious as to whether the Seacast would displace the water within that space. If it's liquid enough, I'm thinking I may be able to pump it into one of the existing holes so that it forces the water out the other and in the process of doing so, completely fills the empty space between the mounting board and the hull.

Ideally, it would be a product that is heavier than water so the water floats to the top and out the holes. Does anyone know of an alternative product that is specifically engineered for such a purpose?

I doubt the empty space is that empty, likely old rotten wood in the way. Why not just use epoxy glue or thickened resin to secure the base and forget the screws and the rotten oiece of wood? Just make sure the glue don't ozze up enough to interfere with the spinning of the pump.

 

[inAjet]

Why not just use epoxy glue or thickened resin to secure the base and forget the screws and the rotten oiece of wood?

That will definitely be plan B if I find that the wood is too deteriorated to hold screws!

 

[inAjet]

So I got the new pump mounted, and there was plenty of bite left in the mounting board. The pump is solid. Before doing so, I sucked out as much of the trapped water I could using a syringe and shop vac. I didn't waste any time closing the old holes properly with epoxy, as the damage has already been done, so I just used a bit of 3M 4000 UV to minimize any further water ingress. I have accepted the fact that at some point this board will have to come out and be replaced properly, but for now it's still getting the job done.

I called Sea Ray to ask whether this board was made of glassed in plywood or solid fibreglass, and they referred me to (a) the Sea Ray Owner's Club forums, and (b) a review article of a 2003 BR that mentions that these Sea Ray bow riders are all-fibreglass construction. Amazing that the manufacturer doesn't even know how they built the boat...

During this job, I started to wonder what the two plugs located on either side of the bilge pump mounting board are for (red arrows in the attached photo, mounting board outlined in green). Does anyone on here have any knowledge on these plugs? As far as I know, they have been there since the factory. The gelcoat seems to be cracking around the edges of the plugs, so it has me wondering.

 

[KJM]

I was wondering what they are for too from your earlier photo! Be interesting to find out.

 

[inAjet]

I was wondering what they are for too from your earlier photo! Be interesting to find out.

I'll certainly let you know what I find out! Someone on the SROC forums suggested holes for previously-installed through-hull transducers; however, there is absolutely no evidence on the exterior of the hull of any hole repairs having been done. To the best of my knowledge, the only transducer every installed in this boat is the one you see epoxied rather messily (not my work) onto the bilge pump mounting board in the same photo.