1981 Outrage 18 Adding Transom Drain

[luckybuff]

[I am] still rigging my [1981 Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 18 boat]. I drilled pilot holes for [a SONAR] transducer, and clear water dripped out. The boat sits good in water.

Has anyone added a flange or pipe plug hole to the lower outside transom to let foam dry out while [the boat is] on the trailer.

What [would be] the best hardware set-up?

[Phil T]

Just let the water drip out. When it stops, seal with marine tex. Let cure and redrill.

If there are other holes or attached transducers in the transom, check they are sealed well. Back out screws, add sealant and re-tighten.

[luckybuff]

Thanks for the information.

[jimh]

I presume the pilot hole you drilled was below the water line on the transom. How much water has come out? If only a couple of drops come out, I would not worry. If it drips steadily for a month, there is more concern.

What was the diameter of the pilot hole?

If you have a suspicion that the transom wood has water ingress, I would make a test hole of about 1/4-inch diameter. See what sort of water flow you get from that hole. I'd drill the hole just off centerline at the deepest part of the transom but about 1.5-inch above the hull bottom.

I do not recall any accounts of drilling a large hole in the transom on the keel centerline at the very deepest part, then installing some sort of valve or threaded cap into the hole for the purpose of letting out water that might be in the hull's foam. I would be worried that the modification to the transom would tend to weaken the transom, and that, having made such a large and permanent hole below the water line, the hole would most likely be a conduit for water to enter the hull interior rather than for water to leave the hull interior.

[luckybuff]

Thanks for the reply. I drilled a 1/8" hole half way up from keel to starboard side. Only one drop about every 20 seconds. I will likely not use the boat for another week. So I may remove the two screws and transducer. Then observe the leakage all this week.

[BarryCuda]

I had to replace a transom drain tube on a 1989 Montauk 17 [because] it had rotted and broken off in my hand when removing the plug. I took my boat to Marine Max, Stuart, Florida, where their guy they call MacGyver hooked up a wet-vac to the drain while the boat was standing bow-up high on its trailer. He let that run for four days. He said he pulled some water out.

[jimh]

Concern about water in the hull of a Boston Whaler boat is common. Read the FAQ answer at

FAQ Q3: Is there water in my hull?
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q3

Use of suction to attempt to draw water from the hull is one of the methods given in the FAQ.