additional deck drain....

CliffA

CliffA

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2009
4,712
Lake Norman, NC
Boat Info
2001 Sea Ray 340DA
Name: 'Happy Place'
4.5kW West. Generator
Purchased Nov. 2014
Fresh Water Use
Engines
Twin Merc. 6.2L (MPI)
640 hp (Total)
Raw Water Cooled
V-Drive Transmissions
my 215EC has small water collection wells and thru hull deck drains in the rear corners of the deck (see pic - not my boat but it shows the drain) that drain collected water into the bilge....the problem is the thru hull drain is a couple inches above the height of the bottom of the collection well which allows water to pool and stand in the well until it eventually evaporates....this causes the gelcoat in the collection well to become stained from the dirty water that stands in it for prolonged periods of time....i also suspect these two small pools of water add to the humidity level under the boat cover while the boat is covered during hot summer days....this could contribute to problems with mold/mildew stains on the cockpit vinyl.....i am thinking about adding a smaller drain in the bottom of the collection wells to allow all of the water to drain from the well and down into the bilge...anyone have any ideas for a smallish drain that could be used for this?....i guess i could just drill a couple holes in the bottom of the wells but the water would not drop down directly into the bilge.....it would drop onto the raised sides of the engine compartment then eventually find its way to the bilge, but i prefer to pipe the draining water directly into the bilge....

thanks....
cliff

View attachment 30464
 
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maybe drill a hole at the lowest point and install a brass fitting like this and run a plastic hose to a low point in the bilge :huh:
 

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moparlvr4406 said:
maybe drill a hole at the lowest point and install a brass fitting like this and run a plastic hose to a low point in the bilge :huh:
Click to expand...

good thought...i suppose i could tap some threads in the deck floor to screw in the brass fitting.....

thanks...

cliff
 
moparlvr4406 said:
or glass in a nut under the floor to screw it into
Click to expand...


hmmmmm....3M 4200 or 5200 to adhere and seal in the nut would be even easier than glassing it in place......
 
CliffA said:
hmmmmm....3M 4200 or 5200 to adhere and seal in the nut would be even easier than glassing it in place......
Click to expand...
5200...there ya go :thumbsup:
my inner hillbilly is rubbing off :lol:
 
Cliff, I don't really think that little bit of water you have (I remember exactly what you're talking about from my 215) is going to do anything when it comes to mildew - I just don't think that little bit makes any difference. But, you might consider adding a vent to your cover, especially if you don't have something like the original stuff (Sunbrella) which is breathable.

There are smaller through hulls, but even something like a 3/4" through hull probably has a 1-1/2" flange. Because of the concave nature of the deck (in that spot) you'd have trim the flange down quite a bit to get it to sit at least somewhat close to flush. Another option would be to glue the thru-hull flange to the bottom side of the deck.

Or, if you really wanted to get crazy, you could fiberglass something in place on the bottom side or even build up the bottom side and then screw a garboard drain flange to it and use a 1/2" fitting like pictured above. Heck, you could even simply fiberglass a 3/4" hose in place to the bottom side. Any number of possibilities. But, I honestly wouldn't do this just for the mildew issue since I really don't think it will solve it.

EDIT: I need to start increasing my words per minute....
 
Lazy Daze said:
EDIT: I need to start increasing my words per minute....
Click to expand...

it's the thought that counts.....:thumbsup:......you are probably correct about the small amount of water not affecting the humidity level....to be honest my primary concern for this project is to clean up the stained gelcoat in the collection wells because it is an eyesore....i am running out of projects to do to the boat and starting to concentrate more and more on small stuff like this...i will likely replace the plastic thru hull with a nice and shiney stainless steel thru hull once i clean up the well gelcoat....

cliff
 
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moparlvr4406 said:
5200...there ya go :thumbsup:
my inner hillbilly is rubbing off :lol:
Click to expand...

trust me bud, i have a healthy dose of 'hillbilly' in my blood already......almost to the point where some could call me 'redneck' and i don't think i would have a legitamate argument against that.....

sometimes ya gotta go with your strengths.....
 
after thinking about this for a while i think i came up with a very easy solution....sometimes simple is best....i can simply drill a hole in the low spot of the collection wells that has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of a drain tube.....then i can apply some dish washing soap on one end of the drain tube and force it into the drilled hole from beneath the deck....then just drape the other end of the drain tube into the bilge....the tight fit of the drain tube in the deck hole should be sufficient to keep the tube in place since there is not going to be any real pressure on the tube.....if not i can use some adhesive such as 5200 to lock the tube in place....i have some 1" clear vinyl tubing lying around from another project so this project will be at '0' cost.....i like projects like that.....all this depends on the thickness of the deck floor though....

cliff
 
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That'll work!

Instead of dish soap, heat up the tube with a heat gun (or dipped in hot/boiling water for a few minutes). It will become soft and very flexible - probably allow you to use even a slightly smaller hole.

1" might be a little big for that area?
 
Lazy Daze said:
1" might be a little big for that area?
Click to expand...

maybe....i also have some 3/4" tubing i believe...i don't want to go too small or the drain will clog easily from the pieces of debris carried to the drain by the water.....

the problem with heating the tube is the material will loose its memory of the original shape and may not fit tight in the hole.....when you heat the tubing to soften it and then force it in the hole the tube would not want to expand back to its original diameter when it cools thus it could be a loose fit....

cliff
 
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Well, I never thought of it that way. I guess I primarily heat tubing to push it ONTO things like nipples or to make removal easier. Oh well, a little brute strength is good for 'ya!

You can always thicken the floor with some epoxy mixed with a thickened agent... Or... just goop some more 5200 on the underside (think "strain relief" like an electrical cord). If you roughen the vinyl tube real good with some 60-grit, it'll give you a better mechanical bite. Maybe skip the dish soap and just muscle it through so the soap doesn't mess with the bond. Push it through and then trim flush with the concave nature of the hole? Bevel the leading edge to make pushing easier.
 
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CliffA said:
maybe....i also have some 3/4" tubing i believe...i don't want to go too small or the drain will clog easily from the pieces of debris carried to the drain by the water.....

the problem with heating the tube is the material will loose its memory of the original shape and may not fit tight in the hole.....when you heat the tubing to soften it and then force it in the hole the tube would not want to expand back to its original diameter when it cools thus it could be a loose fit....

cliff
Click to expand...

Cut the tubing with some excess to heat up then pull it through past the heated portion and cut it off.
 
thanks for everyone's input.....

cliff
 
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