Limber Holes

[pressuredrop]

i cant really think of a good reason why but my allied seawind as many bulkhead compartments that have no way for water to drain. i am going to drill limber holes in all of them so everything goes to the bilge unless someone comes up with a good reason not to? (although she is very tight and not much water collects in the sealed areas at all)

[Cheechako]

Not sure if the allied had a liner or piece built interior.... but if your boat has plywood cabinetry, settees etc and those are glassed to the hull, you might want to just leave it. a hole drilled through the glass/plywood will allow water to enter the plywood and rot it. If you have little water intrusion a sponge would be best maybe....? or you'll have to hole saw holes and epoxy the inside of the hole.... not worth it....

[Allan S]

How about drilling a large hole, say 3/4 of an inch, filling it with epoxy, then drilling a 1/2 inch hole in the epoxy. Therefore the ply interior, (if there is one) stays dry....Allan

[clockwork orange]

You are quite right,there should be limber holes to allow all compartments to drain to he lowest point if possible, i usually glue in a piece of PVC pipe to protect the plywood edge. Someone will probably tell you it doesnt glue well but they would be wrong,you just need to sand all the gloss off the outside first with about 80 grit to give it some tooth and glue it in with epoxy.
Please dont leave a raw hole, ive seen way too much damage caused by that.
Steve.

[Cheechako]

The other problem is that it is often very hard to get the drilled limber hole at the lowest point due to drill angle etc..... so you are going to have some water sit anyway. The simplest method is likely: Drill a hole with a hole saw, deburr the ragged stuff left where the hole saw breaks through, wipe the inside of the hole liberally with 5200 sealant and let it harden.

[Boracay]

One of the major problem in a steel boat is water sitting on the hull plating. It pulls off the paint and then spot corrodes that area.

My solution has been to fill every place where water might collect, and I can't fully drain with limber holes, with generic 5:1 epoxy resin.

It sticks to the steel/existing paint so water cannot go under it and prevents water from pooling.

My suggestion is a variation of this. Drill the largest possible holes, seal them with your favourite sealer (mine is 5:1 epoxy thinned 15%) and then pour in straight epoxy resin to prevent any pooling.

Use large holes as good airflow is going to be as important as drainage to keep the boat good.

Most limber holes are going to be in non structural areas. If there is any doubt then local reinforcement must be used.

There is an Allied Seawind Owners Website with a huge amount of information. I did an advanced Google search of it using limber and found more information than I had time to read.

[Christian Van H]

Consider drilling then soaking with CPES. More than once. See here: CPES™-Wood based epoxy products to repair and resist wood rot.

[pressuredrop]

thanks guys, sealing the holes will be no problem, just wanted to make sure i should make the holes...
boracay - great idea for preventing pooling, thank you!