Bow Hatch SUCKS, need drain mod
Posted: Thu May 09, 2019 1:24 am
Bought my first aluminum boat 5 mo ago and am learning tons from this site. One item that is making me scratch my head is how the boat manufacturer designed the drain pipe in the bow hatch. The drain hole is about 1/2" above the bottom, so when it rains or sea spray comes over, eventually the hatch gutter fills up and water flows into the hold, soaking everything that is in there. Nice place to keep your galvanized anchor but was warned by other boat owners to watch out for corrosion.
So I'm looking for solutions. My thought; plug the drain hole, tilt the boat on trailer to ports side (non drain side), fill the hatch with some "goop" to the level of the drain hole. Let it dry and wallah the hatch will drain when the boat is level and water flows in. Question is what goop should I use and how to prepare the aluminum surface?
Next step, use a SS bolt, say 1/2", drill a hole through the bolt, sand the head down to 1/8 thick, drill a hole in the hatch gutter above the drain hole, insert the bolt (with tefgel or nylon washer) and nut from below; then clamp PVC line to bolt and drop it in drain hole. So when the gutter fills up it starts to drain before it overflows the rail on the inside of the hatch.
Comments, pros, cons, alternates?
thanks
So I'm looking for solutions. My thought; plug the drain hole, tilt the boat on trailer to ports side (non drain side), fill the hatch with some "goop" to the level of the drain hole. Let it dry and wallah the hatch will drain when the boat is level and water flows in. Question is what goop should I use and how to prepare the aluminum surface?
Next step, use a SS bolt, say 1/2", drill a hole through the bolt, sand the head down to 1/8 thick, drill a hole in the hatch gutter above the drain hole, insert the bolt (with tefgel or nylon washer) and nut from below; then clamp PVC line to bolt and drop it in drain hole. So when the gutter fills up it starts to drain before it overflows the rail on the inside of the hatch.
Comments, pros, cons, alternates?
thanks