Drain Plug Issues-gctid824175

[Bri70]

Hi All,

Boat is a 2002 2050 Capri.

As I removed the drain plug after a day on the water today, the entire drain plug assembly ripped/pulled out of the hull as I went to un-screw the plug. Has anyone ever had this happen? I'm assuming the existing holes in the fiberglass are stripped?

As you can see in the picture, the drain plug assembly looks 'keyed' so it can only be inserted into the hull one way. Are they all like this? I am assuming I need to be able to orient the new piece differently and drill new holes?

Are different styles available with different hole patterns?

Anything I'm missing?







Thanks


Attached files

[green650]

Yours like this one?

http://www.lfsmarineoutdoor.com/sea-dog-3-4-bronze-garboard-drain-t-handle-plug.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8oWHlPyY1gIVS01-Ch0tdgdBEAQYBSABEgJCkPD_BwE

[Bri70]

It seems like that may be a good option for a replacement, because mine has (3) holes and that one has 4, so the 4 holes should naturally sit in different spots than the 3 holes that I have and allow me to drill fresh holes.

Is there anything special to installing these? Do you just drill/screw directly into the fiberglass? Any sealant?

Thanks.

[Chief_Alen]

Picture of the hole ?

[Nauti_Mike]

Since the entire plug assembly came out you probably have some transom rot. Is the area around it solid, if so fill hole with epoxy and redrill else you may be in for a bigger transom job.

[builderdude]

The screws go through the outer fiberglass layer and into the transom core, the core is made of plywood mostly but around the drain plug may be a solid piece of wood. With your garboard drain assembly coming loose so easily I fear your transom core in that area is no longer solid

[Ruffryder]

transom must be mush.

[Bri70]

Not the greatest news...here is a picture of the hole. Can't see much.

When you say to epoxy the hole and re-drill, do you mean the big drain hole, or the screw holes?



Thanks


Attached files

[green650]

You definitely got some water in your transom. Might want to drill some exploratory holes to see how far till dry wood.

[builderdude]

"green650" post=824214 wrote:
You definitely got some water in your transom. Might want to drill some exploratory holes to see how far till dry wood.

Drill from inside the engine bay, 1/8-1/4" holes, just into the core material, don't go all the way through!

Look at the material the drill bit brings out, that'll be the condition your core is in.

[Nauti_Mike]

"Bri70" post=824213 wrote:
Not the greatest news...here is a picture of the hole. Can't see much.

When you say to epoxy the hole and re-drill, do you mean the big drain hole, or the screw holes?

[attachment]40942 wrote:
IMG_0019.JPG[/attachment]

Thanks

Screw holes. But first drill a small hole within the diameter if the plugs flange to see if the wood core is wet.

[CptCrunchie]

I recalibrate the photo so we can see a little more definition.



Looks reasonable. What does it feel like? Wet? Mushy? Flaking? Spongy? Does it feel like it would support screws?

Personally, I would thoroughly dry it out with a hair dryer set on medium to low to drag as much moisture out of it as possible. Then apply a couple coats of a catalyzed epoxy. Scrape, sand and buff the transom, and screw and glue it back in with 3M 550 Marine Adhesive Sealant.

[Chief_Alen]

Probe the hole with a ice pick or small head screwdriver.

[bhawes]

It's unlikely that the plug base would pull out like that if the area around it is not rotted. You need to determine the extent of the rot before going forward. Drilling partial holes from the inside is the best way of doing this. What comes out of the drill bit twists will be a good indicator of what you've just drilled into. You need to determine how high up your transom this moisture has migrated. Your transom is an integral part of your vessels superstructure and needs to be structurally sound. You'll likely find that you have screws through the outside of your transom below the waterline (transducers, speed indicators, etc.,) that were not adequately bedded with the proper sealant, that have allowed water to enter into your transom. I'd strongly suggest not putting a Bandaid on your plug housing until you've determined the extent of the damage.

[Solandri]

"Bri70" post=824178 wrote:
Is there anything special to installing these? Do you just drill/screw directly into the fiberglass? Any sealant?

Agreed with the others that your transom core is probably rotted. You need to verify that first before proceeding.

I removed a transom mount transducer from my 1994 2556 about 2 ft from the drain plug. I filled those drill holes with epoxy.

Then I drilled new holes so I could mount a piece of starboard (to which I could attach and move around transducers, so I wouldn't have to keep drilling into the transom). Start drilling backwards (drill in reverse) for about 1/8 to 1/4 inch and you won't chip the gel coat. Pilot holes first, then gradually enlarging it until it was slightly bigger in diameter than the screw which would go in. For my application, the closest new hole was about 1 ft from the drain plug. The fiberglass shavings came out smelling like fresh epoxy, and the wood shavings came out dry, which was a relief since the surveyor noted possible moisture in that area of the transom. I blasted all the shavings and dust out of the holes with compressed air. (Don't be an idiot like me and have your face directly behind the hole when doing this, or you'll get an eyefull of painful fiberglass dust. I wear glasses so figured eye protection was unnecessary. Not so.).

I then filled the drill holes with epoxy, forcing it in with a small screwdriver, then applying excess epoxy to the outside surface and packing it into the hole, completely filling it. The goal here is to put a layer of epoxy along the inside surface of the hole you've drilled into the wood core, so the wood is sealed by epoxy against moisture seeping in through the screw hole. I cleaned the transom surface of excess epoxy (to maintain a flat mounting surface), and let it cure for 24 hours (recommended cure time for the epoxy I was using; YMMV).

The next day I drilled a hole slightly smaller than the screw diameter into each screw site in the cured epoxy. Blasted the dust out of it with compressed air again. Forced 3M 4000 into the holes (5200 would work too), smeared the 4000 all over the screw, lined up the starboard, and screwed it in place. Oh, I also applied silicone in the tiny gap between the starboard and hull so no water would be forced into the gap and into the screw holes under pressure while underway. In your case, since it's a permanent attachment, you'll probably want to use 3M 4000 or 4200 or 5200 in the gap.