through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

the tapered lip of the brass drain tube that comes out on the bottom of the boat has eroded and no longer exsists. I have not been able to find out how the heck to replace that tube myself. Haven't even been able to locate a drain tube that long. Plus. . . been told that even if I can find the tube, I would need a special tool to make the lip once I fit the tube through the hull.

Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. I am currently using a "t" drain plug from the bottom (up) to stop water from entering the bilge. However, the water pressure at that drain plug when I'm running will probably start openning up that hole if I wait too long.

OH! And. .. Does anyone know "WHY" SEACRAFT glassed electical wires for the navigation lights into the cap?!?! Just curious! Seems very impractical!

thanks

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

i plug mine from the inside thriugh the remnants of the bait well

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Well my problem is with the self bailing drain tubes in the floor. Unfortunately I can't just plug them from inside the boat because the lip that has fallen off is the side that comes out the bottom of the boat.

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

i dont have floor drains. previous owner removed them. the only thru hull below water is the baitwell drain. my fishbox drain has been glassed as well. i think you can get a flaring tool at west marine. good luck.

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Use the search tool! Have been many posts on this subject, including one I did a couple of years ago. Enter something like Scupper Tube Repair.

As for the nav light wiring, I'd say that's a pretty simple way to protect the wiring; makes sense to install it after they lay up the cap while still in the mold. Also better and cheaper than stringing loose wire with tie wraps every foot or so. Those are wires you shouldn't have to fool with anyway, unless the boat sinks, in which case that's the least of your worries!

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

At least a dozen ways to re-skin a scupper. right now water is probably seeping into the bilge and rotting the putty wrapped wood blocks that support the floor and tube configuration.
Here's a link to my recent replacement effort. 4" Moeller or Sea Dog brass drain tubes, $3-4 ea., Moeller Drain tube flaring tool, $35; small tube of of 3M 4200, $6; about $5 of 2:1 epoxy and filler flour and a bit of masking tape and paper. Dry feet at the end of the day, priceless. Any questions feel free to ask. Bushwacker over-drilled his and created a thicker epoxy barrier between the wood and the brass. Thus, if his brass tubes corrode, the wood block will still be sealed keeping water out of the bilge. Do some searches as he suggested. Good luck. It's not that big of a deal...

http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/i...pper%20Repair/

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

I not so smart so maybe someone can explain but are you saying that the outside of the scupper has been glassed in and now your cockpit drains in the bilge?As far as cockpit scuppers drains or whatever go why not just use plastic thruhulls? They aint gonna corrode and there cheaper.Cut the old ones off if you cant break them loose.Just cut the nut in 3 or 4 places be careful and knock the piss out of it with a hammer.Might not be right but I did it to the fish box on mine.

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Bush, the problem is that the wires are over 30 yrs old and the insulation is hard and britol. Are these wires meant ti last exposed like that for 30 + years. They've been working fine until now, and I haven't really messed with them at all.

It's just that I peeked under there and when I saw and felt the wires I was wondering if I should attempt to change them to prevent the possibility of my nav lights not working all of the sudden while I'm out at night.

I'm still learning about this stuff so thanks for all of your input man. It is priceless to me.

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

McGill:

Thanks for your advice. The link with the pics is going to help me tremendously. I'm going to jump on that as soon as I get a chance. Hopefully I'll save like $200.00 (per side) that I being quoted to do the drain tube replacements.

Really!

Thanks!

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Like I said - a dozen ways to do it. I'm not sure about Avian's scuppers having a nut to cut, but I'm sure plastic is fine... most of the plastic thru-hulls I found were too short for the application as the tube itself needed to be at least 3-5/8" in my app. I think Bigshrimpin used pvc pipe or tubing on his scuppers. Someone else used bronze ones.

I don't think I said that... but
What I said about the seal is that when the tube separates from the wood block it creates a leak point. Water penetrates, soaks and rots the wood block and eventually travels down the hull and/or stringer into the bilge.

By overdrilling like Bushwacker did when you fill the holes with thickened epoxy you effectively make a seamless bond between the fiberglass hull and the fiberglass floor. if you now re-drill a smaller diameter hole the new hole has fiberglass walls, now the water has no way to seep into the bilge unless it first comes into the cockpit/deck.

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

I recently replaced my combo light on bow with separate red and green lights on cabin sides to make way for an anchor bracket. Nav lights don't pull many amps, so the original 1972 wires were fine and I just spliced the new lights to them. If you've been putting a lot of amps thru a wire it'll get hot and oxidize; then the insulation WILL get brittle and when you scrape it off the outside of the copper wires will be black; if they've been submerged in sea water, you'll see green copper sulfate. Any black or green wires should be replaced. I've seen than on trailer lights and bilge pump wiring, but not on nav lights.

Here's one link to some photos of the scupper repair I did.
leaking scupper repair I stayed with the original brass tubes to get max flow area. You can use schedule 40 PVC but you'll lose a lot of flow area due to the thick walls. I've been out in enough big seas that I decided if I ever took one over the transom, I'd want to get that water off the deck ASAP, so the more flow area the better!

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Bush,

Thanks for the info. on the wires. Now I know what to check for. I don't think there is any black or green. So you just helped me prevent an unnecessary project.

Will def. go with the brass tubes. Got to put some tools together and get my head right about how I'll go about fixing. I like the idea of making the hole a little bigger so that I can unite the materials. I am still a "padawan" at best and all of these projects are firsts for me. But I learn fast. So we'll see.

Thanks!

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Sorry my question was for avian.I just thought he was saying the cockpit drained into the bilge but I think he meens it drains out of the bottom of the boat.Ive gone and looked at previous post now and seen that other boats have been modified to do this(drain into the bilge).Is there a reason for this instead of just letting the water out of the boat. Also I was thinking(that tends to get me in trouble) that he said the cockpit drain was a brass truhull that he could not get broken free. And my scuppers are plastic had no trouble but I havent had them out to see if the wood in the transom was wet around them.Just 5200 around them.

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Guess this is one of those differences I wanted to know about.My tracker hull has a different scupper setup than Avians boat or I guess all older models so now I'll shut up.

Re: through hull drain tubes in the floor
 

My 18 has no scuppers except the 2 in the motor well. The plastic ones behind the baitwell have been filled with 5200 and the hoses/tubes and wherever they went are gone. I have toyed with the idea of cutting flappers in the side of the hull at the floor to have some drainage, but as low as the thing sits in the back they would probably only work when running. I can't imagine scuppers that run through the bottom work all that well either.

Eric

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

That's because your missing one small but important detail. There are small wedges attached to the hull just in front of the scupper tubes which create SIGNIFICANT suction. It pulls the water out much faster than just depending on gravity!

I think I had temporarily removed them for better access when flaring the end of tube, so that's why you didn't see them in photos in my old post.

Also, you don't necessarily have to buy an expensive flaring tool. I used some threaded rod, nuts & washers and some tapered sockets I had to get the flare started, then finished with ball peen hammer. Maybe not as pretty as using a tool, but it worked! One problem with those plastic tubes is that they will eventually crack if enough UV gets to them.

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

I had replaced these on an older Whaler I had. A tow ball works great also. I had to "anneal" the brass tube by torch heating and quench in water usually twice. This prevents splitting when flaring.

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

I have no evidence on my boat that anything ever went through the bottom of the hull except the drain for the baitwell. I will search harder i guess.

Eric

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

The thru-the-bottom scuppers may have been unique to the Potter models, about 1970-79. Not sure of configuration post-Potter.

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

mine is a 79. i know it had them at one time because the plastic thru deck fittings are ther but have no tubes or hoses attached and the fittings have been filled with 5200

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

if your floor drains are like mine, it was pretty easy to get them out and put new ones back in. i tried to use PVC but didnt like it. i would have had to get new plugs and stuff. so i went ahead with the brass and epoxy and have had no problems or leaks yet. thats been probably 1.5 years ago.

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Bush I'm going to have to start paying you for ideas. I would have never thought I could taper the tubes like the way you described. Definitely hit you up when I attempt that. I have to watch a couple of old mcgyver episodes to gain some confidence first. LOL

In reference to Greno's qoute. I do have a major problem when those floor drains are unpluged. If your maintaining your station and you walk to one side of the boat the drain hole in the floor drops below the water line and begins to pour onto the deck. I always thought that was kind of a weird reaction if they weren't meant to be plugged all the time.

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

has anyone else had the flooding problem with the drain dropping below the water line when you walk to one side of the boat?

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Yo, Avian, Common problem. Couple of solutions include adding 2 1" drain plugs to the mix or considering the time tested "vortex" concept.

Here's a link to FELLOW-SHIP's "vortex" creation also known as a flapper valve or a duck bill valve.
http://www.classicseacraft.com/forum...rev=#Post40102

There you'll see also CSickNick's more modern creation (I think he used bronze and a check valve) and a really good discussion. Note the dates of the posts to give you an idea of how to use the search engine should you need to refer to them again...

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Here's a picture

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...1/P9300011.jpg

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

FELLOW SHIP and you other people that have changed the deck drains come aboard with some help!

Re: thru hull drain tubes in the floor
 

Help? Go to the search function and type in self bail scuppers Then check older than 1 month. Next take your laptop and sit on the can for the next few hours reading and looking at pictures [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

So does everyone have to plug the scupper holes with these? I have a straight inboard 75' and was hopeing that when I redid the floor with composite material and checked the foam that something would have a sign of being waterlogged bad to explain why the drains flood?... I