The bilge is a solid block of ice
- Thread starter jaydog5000
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thanks
This is really helping guys. I did leave the mast up and cover it with tarps. I am going to check the seal were the mast meets the deck. where else might water be able to enter the cabin and or the bilge?
This is really helping guys. I did leave the mast up and cover it with tarps. I am going to check the seal were the mast meets the deck. where else might water be able to enter the cabin and or the bilge?
Next year, drill a 1/2 inch hole in the boat.
You can plug it with epoxy resin thickened with microballoons in the spring, or install (with epoxy) a little bronze threaded sleeve and a plug. I've done this on several boats. When you're on the hard it's great to really drain the bilge. Don't forget to deal with the hole before you launch!
You can plug it with epoxy resin thickened with microballoons in the spring, or install (with epoxy) a little bronze threaded sleeve and a plug. I've done this on several boats. When you're on the hard it's great to really drain the bilge. Don't forget to deal with the hole before you launch!
Re:Next year, drill a 1/2 inch hole in the boat.
Stupid idea! I don't know is 1/2 the people on this board or being jerk or just unexperience.
Stupid idea! I don't know is 1/2 the people on this board or being jerk or just unexperience.
jerk or just unexperience? what?
Waffle, It’s hard to follow you writing but I gather that you don’t like the idea of a hole in the bottom. On my boats I drill such a hole but make it such that I can tap it and put in a 3/8 inch round head machine screw bedded in boatlife. It’s a great way to make sure you have dry bilges in storage. What’s your problem with this? All the best, Robert Gainer
Waffle, It’s hard to follow you writing but I gather that you don’t like the idea of a hole in the bottom. On my boats I drill such a hole but make it such that I can tap it and put in a 3/8 inch round head machine screw bedded in boatlife. It’s a great way to make sure you have dry bilges in storage. What’s your problem with this? All the best, Robert Gainer
Waffle, Not such a stupid Idea!
That is why Perko makes the bronze drain plugs. It is better than allowing the water to do what it did in the picture or just to be penetrating the fiberglass and freezing. r.w.landau http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?resultCt=1&jspStoreDir=wm51&catalogId=10001&productId=72639&keyword=205437&y=11&x=5&storeId=10001&ddkey=SiteSearch
That is why Perko makes the bronze drain plugs. It is better than allowing the water to do what it did in the picture or just to be penetrating the fiberglass and freezing. r.w.landau http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?resultCt=1&jspStoreDir=wm51&catalogId=10001&productId=72639&keyword=205437&y=11&x=5&storeId=10001&ddkey=SiteSearch
Maybe I am wrong on the drain plug?
I even forgot that I have one on mu sunfish. I wonder why I have never seen one on a bigger sailboats. I'll bet that Island Packets have them? Maybe dirain plug will be a new feature on all boats.
I even forgot that I have one on mu sunfish. I wonder why I have never seen one on a bigger sailboats. I'll bet that Island Packets have them? Maybe dirain plug will be a new feature on all boats.
r.w.landau
Waffle, I had one on my 1968 Islander 30!
They were in my opinion a cure for poor design. My cockpit had two 3/4 inch drains that could be blocked by one leaf each. The cockpit was 8 feet long and 6 feet wide with a six inch high curb at the stern locker any water that rose above that level entered the boat. Neither that locker nor the starboard locker was scuppered so that any rain water that fell on the seats entered the boat through the lockers. I have corrected that.
They were in my opinion a cure for poor design. My cockpit had two 3/4 inch drains that could be blocked by one leaf each. The cockpit was 8 feet long and 6 feet wide with a six inch high curb at the stern locker any water that rose above that level entered the boat. Neither that locker nor the starboard locker was scuppered so that any rain water that fell on the seats entered the boat through the lockers. I have corrected that.
Waffle: You are on your honor
There is often a heavy price to pay for being wrong on this board and even admitting you might be wrong is good enough for the punishment. I think you need to stand in a corner for 15 minuts so you can think about beint wrong....................................................................................................................0r were you?
There is often a heavy price to pay for being wrong on this board and even admitting you might be wrong is good enough for the punishment. I think you need to stand in a corner for 15 minuts so you can think about beint wrong....................................................................................................................0r were you?
higgs , Maybe ..
I remember the Three Stooges drilling hole in the bottom of their boat to let the water out. It made sense to them so I must be missing something! It is ok to drill a hole in your rudder to let the water out and fill it up again before you lunch. If the patch fails the rudder just fills up with water. I would not recommend this action for the bilge in your boat. Ross a cockpit drain and a hole in the bottom of the bilge are not the same.
I remember the Three Stooges drilling hole in the bottom of their boat to let the water out. It made sense to them so I must be missing something! It is ok to drill a hole in your rudder to let the water out and fill it up again before you lunch. If the patch fails the rudder just fills up with water. I would not recommend this action for the bilge in your boat. Ross a cockpit drain and a hole in the bottom of the bilge are not the same.
Waffle , I SAID that my boat HAD a bilge drain
because the cockpit drains were inadequate and that I had removed it. Now my boat has NO bilge drain but has two , count them two, cockpit drains 2 inches in diameter. All of the cockpit lockers are well scuppered and I don't get rain water into the boat.
because the cockpit drains were inadequate and that I had removed it. Now my boat has NO bilge drain but has two , count them two, cockpit drains 2 inches in diameter. All of the cockpit lockers are well scuppered and I don't get rain water into the boat.
I was glad to hear ...
That I am not the only person that struggles with keeping the bilge free from water during the winter. *grr The last two winters I had minor amounts freezing in the bilge and had to routinely find ways to empty water just before the cold weather set in. This year, instead of a tarp, I chose to shrink wrap. I had the yard check for water and dry up the bilge on the day they did the job. I will be curious to see if there is any water in the bilge this spring. Water can't come down the mast because I had it down for the winter. It seems to me, from the many comments that I have read in this forum, that sailors seem to have an aversion to putting holes thru the hull of a sailboat that isn't essential. Powerboaters do not seem to have this aversion. It seems like it is common for powerboats to have a drain plug thru the bilge, (my ski boat has one) whereas sailboats do not. Maybe it is because it would be hard to find a location at the low point of the bilge that isn't blocked by the keel. I thought about putting one in my bilge but I think I would have to locate it either forward where I don't have access to the bilge or aft of the keel which is only low if the boat is resting on the stands with the aft end down. Waffle, I felt like a stooge one day when I lauched my ski boat without putting the plug in and took off across the lake. When I came to a stop, the water rushed forward and was swirling around my ankles, before I realized why the boat was handling a little sluggishly! *o One thing I am thankful for is that I never remove the plug from the boat when the boat is on the trailor! I can only imagine my predicament if the plug was in the truck!
That I am not the only person that struggles with keeping the bilge free from water during the winter. *grr The last two winters I had minor amounts freezing in the bilge and had to routinely find ways to empty water just before the cold weather set in. This year, instead of a tarp, I chose to shrink wrap. I had the yard check for water and dry up the bilge on the day they did the job. I will be curious to see if there is any water in the bilge this spring. Water can't come down the mast because I had it down for the winter. It seems to me, from the many comments that I have read in this forum, that sailors seem to have an aversion to putting holes thru the hull of a sailboat that isn't essential. Powerboaters do not seem to have this aversion. It seems like it is common for powerboats to have a drain plug thru the bilge, (my ski boat has one) whereas sailboats do not. Maybe it is because it would be hard to find a location at the low point of the bilge that isn't blocked by the keel. I thought about putting one in my bilge but I think I would have to locate it either forward where I don't have access to the bilge or aft of the keel which is only low if the boat is resting on the stands with the aft end down. Waffle, I felt like a stooge one day when I lauched my ski boat without putting the plug in and took off across the lake. When I came to a stop, the water rushed forward and was swirling around my ankles, before I realized why the boat was handling a little sluggishly! *o One thing I am thankful for is that I never remove the plug from the boat when the boat is on the trailor! I can only imagine my predicament if the plug was in the truck!
Ross, your boat used to have
a bilge drain? My SunFish does. It works like a snokle with a ball. You can leave it open when you sail and the water is force out of the cockpit. Is that how your bilge drain used to works? You might want to open them back up in case your bilge pump fails. Sound like a good backup! It sound like your cockpit lockers drain into your bilge?
a bilge drain? My SunFish does. It works like a snokle with a ball. You can leave it open when you sail and the water is force out of the cockpit. Is that how your bilge drain used to works? You might want to open them back up in case your bilge pump fails. Sound like a good backup! It sound like your cockpit lockers drain into your bilge?
Scott, I did the same thing with my
son jet ski. He is overseas in the military and left me his jet ski to play around with. How was I to know the darn thing a bilge drain!
son jet ski. He is overseas in the military and left me his jet ski to play around with. How was I to know the darn thing a bilge drain!
The bilge drain plug was installed from the
outside standard 1/2 inch IPS with a hex socket. Yes the cockpit lockers used to drain into the bilge but I rebuilt the entire boat and in last years, 15 inches of rain in one week, storm no water got inside. When I clean the decks I use a bucket and a swab. I dip the swab over the side and scrub the dirt loose then I dip the bucket over the side on a rope and rinse fifty or a hundred galons of water later the boat is clean, I have gotten my weight training exercize. And the boat is still dry inside. The bottom of my bilge is three feet below my waterline and a foot and a half below the cabin sole.
outside standard 1/2 inch IPS with a hex socket. Yes the cockpit lockers used to drain into the bilge but I rebuilt the entire boat and in last years, 15 inches of rain in one week, storm no water got inside. When I clean the decks I use a bucket and a swab. I dip the swab over the side and scrub the dirt loose then I dip the bucket over the side on a rope and rinse fifty or a hundred galons of water later the boat is clean, I have gotten my weight training exercize. And the boat is still dry inside. The bottom of my bilge is three feet below my waterline and a foot and a half below the cabin sole.
Ross, sounds like you did a good
with that boat of your. I'll bet she is a very nice boat after you got done.
with that boat of your. I'll bet she is a very nice boat after you got done.
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