Last month, someone had asked about the best way to get at a leaky Gudgeon, and I told the guy to install a deck plate on the transom. Well guess what? I took my own advise and installed a 6" Beckon deck plate yesterday. I was replacing my self-bailing hose when I noticed that my lower Gudgeon had water stains on the inside and it had been kind of damp in there. As I was reaching through the hatch opening, I got stuck and almost couldn't get out. My legs were hanging out, and I was wedged in the opening calling for help, but my wife was in the house and couldn't hear me. So, I just tried not to panic, took my time, and I finally wiggled out of that opening. I weigh over 220 LBS, so it isn't easy to fit in such a small opening. I wish that I had installed that deck plate a long time ago. I was able to remove the Gudgeon all by myself by holding a box wrench with my left hand, and my ratchet wrench with my right. I re-caulked Gudgeon, and re-installed it. I just snugged up the nuts and bolts so that the 3M Caulking can set up. Tomorrow, it will be an easy task to tighten them down good. The 1" hose for my self bailing cockpit was always getting plugged up because it was a straight hose with a 90 degree bend, or kink to it where it comes off the bottom of the sole plate and connects to the transom outlet. I cured that problem with a 1" Nylon 90 degree L fitting, a 4 inch length of hose, and a longer piece between the L and the transom outlet, along with four S.S. hose clamps. The hardest part of installing the deck plate, is cutting the hole without a 6" hole saw, but outside of that, it's worth the time,and can save one--a harrowing experience.
