Down the drain

[Uncle Bill]

I have a 14 ft alum. boat. it has no drain plug or hole. If water gets in, I have to bail it out. Does anyone know if I can have a drain hole and plug installed.

[Guest]

Install a 12volt bilge pump.

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[Uncle Bill]

Thanks for the tip D-Man, but that would require hauling around a 12 volt bat.
and pump.

P.S. I am a machinist. I have worked in R&D for over 20 yrs. I have a few ideas and will fabricate something on my own if I can't find what i'm looking for. (and I'm still looking)
Thanks again.

[fiskyknut]

Hole saw, aluminum tube that fit's those plugs at you're marine store and you're in the beeswax. MIG or TIG will waterproof that little pipe going thru transom. No problemo.

Fisky

[Guest]

Bill,
If you're a machinist, you should have no problem cutting a hole(preferably with a plasma cutter) and welding a small piece of pipe in it with an aluminum wire-feed welder. Then just buy a plug and put it in. If you don't have the capabilities to do it yourself, just take it to any welding shop and they should do something like that fairly inexpensively. Good luck.

Mark

[This message has been edited by mwchiefs (edited 02-16-2002).]

[Uncle Bill]

Yup, pretty much what I thought.
Thanks guys.
Justa tip for ya, if ya ever decide to weld on an alum. boat. Make sure to surround the the area to be welded with copper heatsinks. The manufacturing of the boat can cause stress in the material and the heat from welding will "stress relieve" the material causing it to warp. For that reason alone I may end up attaching the "part" using an "O" ring, some type of sealer and either screws or rivets. Thanks again.

[Guest]

For a cheap and easy drain plug why not just cut a hole at the bottom of the transom and put in a livewell drain fitting or thru hull bilge fitting(the plastic kind)They sell different sizes and you can get plugs for most.I rebuilt an old aluminum boat and used these for the splashwell drains.Just cut half of the lip or flange off so it sits closer to the bottom of the hull.