How to install a garboard plug

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

My sump is 3.5 feet deep below the cabin sole, you drill from the outside. ................ :

I would never have thought of drilling it from the inside.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

My sump is 3.5 feet deep below the cabin sole, you drill from the outside.
I thought about sticking an offset drill to a piece of wood to drill a pilot hole from inside where I wanted it, deep down there. But even this did not work, access is pretty tight and under the engine. My little kid said he ain't going there with a drill, so I gave up for now.... I bought a shop vac.
How do you determine where to drill? Not too low not too high....

I found the low point in my sump by the high tech method; tap on the hull with a hard rubber mallet and listen.

Once I felt like I was really close I marked the spot and drilled a small pilot hole, then poked a wire in and felt around. Determined exactly how close I was to the bottom and drilled the final hole. Hit it dead on.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I found the low point in my sump by the high tech method; tap on the hull with a hard rubber mallet and listen.



Once I felt like I was really close I marked the spot and drilled a small pilot hole, then poked a wire in and felt around. Determined exactly how close I was to the bottom and drilled the final hole. Hit it dead on.

Unless hull is vey thick, two strong magnets will work too

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by rwidman

I would never have thought of drilling it from the inside.

On my boat no way it could be drilled from the inside unless I had a trained octopus.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by rwidman

I would never have thought of drilling it from the inside.

Originally Posted by skipmac

On my boat no way it could be drilled from the inside unless I had a trained octopus.

What I meant by drilling from the inside is just a PILOT HOLE to determine the location, then go outside with a hole cutter.

Originally Posted by skipmac

I found the low point in my sump by the high tech method; tap on the hull with a hard rubber mallet and listen.
Once I felt like I was really close I marked the spot and drilled a small pilot hole, then poked a wire in and felt around. Determined exactly how close I was to the bottom and drilled the final hole. Hit it dead on.

It’s a long keel with lots of void… I’ll try that method.

[Bluemansailor]

What I meant by drilling from the inside is just a PILOT HOLE to determine the location, then go outside with a hole cutter.


Thats what i did with my deep bilge. Worked perfect. Got my drain right at the bottom.

[Colin A]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Eep. The very idea of that makes me uncomfortable. I have a deep sump and my garboard plug is a wet-dry vac lol.

As a former boat yard worker I'm a big believer in a drain. I have never seen a boat sink from a failed drain plug (not installed sure but not failed) but have seen plenty in damage from boats filled with water in storage. Most power boats up to about 35' actually have them in my experience. We used to keep a bucket of the square topped plugs in the yard and just throw a new one in every year (brass). The more expensive boats had the ones with recess heads.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

It’s a long keel with lots of void… I’ll try that method.

My hull is a long fin that also has a large void. About 25% of the keel is hollow, center between the leading and trailing edge and about 20" from the bottom. Since I knew the bottom of the hollow to be flat and straight I sounded all along the keel to get a good feel for the bottom edge. Since the keel is solid lead encapsulated the sound of the hollow vs the solid area is very clear and the transition very sharp.

[Hilbert]

Extreme case of what happen to an Alberg30 without a garboard plug. The irony is that at one time it had a garboard plug, but a previous owner had it removed and filled in:


When I rebedded the garboard plug in my boat, I felt more comfortable using machine screws secured with nuts.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Hilbert

When I rebedded the garboard plug in my boat, I felt more comfortable using machine screws secured with nuts.

Through bolting is (almost) always preferred IF you can get to the back to install a washer and nut. I'm still looking for that trained octopus.

[rwidman]

You're still supposed to bond it.

Oftentimes, you can start a washer and nut by fastening the to a stick with double stick tape or some sort of "sticky stuff". Then you can twist the stick off and tape a wrench to the stick to hold the nut while you tighten it.

Variations on this technique would be soldering or brazing the washer and nut to a wire rod.

Step back from the problem and think outside the box.

[keepondancin]

I was going to respond to a post that must have been removed stating something to the effect that "to seal it up, just put the plug back in". After 60+ years of sailing, I would never have thought of that! I will be drilling from the inside with a pilot hole, with and angle drill on an extension. It is a Bristol with a substantial layup, and the deep sump is the skeg, so I am not sure sounding the hull will work, and short of finding really strong rare earth magnets, I don't think that method would work. Not sure that the octopus would cooperate, but I was thinking an NBA player might be able to reach, but non in my neighborhood. I will probably attempt the through bolt method, the final decision at the moment. Definitely will use the sometimes cursed 5200. I also intend to seal the edges of the hole with epoxy to protect the layup.