Repairing thru hull drain plug fitting hole

[Rich L]

I yanked my ccp 200 out of the water for storm of the century and was trying to pull the drain plug out when the whole fitting started to turn. When I un screwed the fitting I noticed the area around the screw holes are not looking to good. How would one go about repairing the hole for the fitting. I might be able to turn the fitting to relocate the screw holes but is there a better way?

[fitz73222]

Welcome to wet transom blues... Pull the assembly let it dry for a week or so. Fill the old holes with 5200. Rotate it to find some new "bedding" drill and re- attach. The wood substrate is compromised. The glass however is quite thick on either side of where the wood used to be. Use some longer stainless screws and reattach the garlock drain with 5200 in the new drilled screw holes. Next time don't tighten the plug so tightly, just snug is fine with a fine layer of grease on the threads.

[slvrlng]

Take the whole backing plate out and use a blow dryer to help get as much moisture out as you can. Check the condition of the wood around the hole and if its soft gouge it out as best you can. If its really soft overdrill the hole and clean out all soft or damp material. You might need to go with a holesaw as big as 2 1/2". Then get some clear packing tape. Pull out two strips of the tape and lay them side by side with the glue side up. these pieces only need to be about 6 or 7 inches long. Pull off another piece of tape just long enough to cover the other two perpendicular to them and lay it on sticky side to sticky side.Add another strip beside the first so you have a square of slick tape with the sticky on the inside and a little glue on each side. Mix up some epoxy, just enough to fill the hole and coat the inside of the hole using the epoxy as a primer. Then add Cabosil to thicken and a little milled fiber for strength. Mix this up until it is thick like cold peanut butter. Wipe this into the "primed" hole and try to work any air out. If you can get to the inside tape it off using the slick patch you made and use duct tape to hold it in place. Once the hole is filled and you have it as smooth as you can get it take another of the slick patches and mash it onto the surface of the epoxy. Smooth it out as best you can and work any air out from under it. Then tape it into place as well with the duct tape. The packing tape will stick to the epoxy while it is uncured but give it 24 hours and remove the patches and you end up with a nice slick repair that is impervious to water and it ill be ready to drill and put the backing plate and plug back in.

Or.... you can do what Fitz said!!!!!

[fitz73222]

Take the whole backing plate out and use a blow dryer to help get as much moisture out as you can. Check the condition of the wood around the hole and if its soft gouge it out as best you can. If its really soft overdrill the hole and clean out all soft or damp material. You might need to go with a holesaw as big as 2 1/2". Then get some clear packing tape. Pull out two strips of the tape and lay them side by side with the glue side up. these pieces only need to be about 6 or 7 inches long. Pull off another piece of tape just long enough to cover the other two perpendicular to them and lay it on sticky side to sticky side.Add another strip beside the first so you have a square of slick tape with the sticky on the inside and a little glue on each side. Mix up some epoxy, just enough to fill the hole and coat the inside of the hole using the epoxy as a primer. Then add Cabosil to thicken and a little milled fiber for strength. Mix this up until it is thick like cold peanut butter. Wipe this into the "primed" hole and try to work any air out. If you can get to the inside tape it off using the slick patch you made and use duct tape to hold it in place. Once the hole is filled and you have it as smooth as you can get it take another of the slick patches and mash it onto the surface of the epoxy. Smooth it out as best you can and work any air out from under it. Then tape it into place as well with the duct tape. The packing tape will stick to the epoxy while it is uncured but give it 24 hours and remove the patches and you end up with a nice slick repair that is impervious to water and it ill be ready to drill and put the backing plate and plug back in.

Or.... you can do what Fitz said!!!!!

Lewis, take a riddilin pill, sit down and hug your wife, tell her she is your little 222. This is a symptom of a bigger issue that needs to be addressed with a long term plan.. Love you brother!

[gran398]

rich,

Glad you guys came out okay!

Forgot what year your 20 CCP is. Probably doesn't matter. Since you just pulled her, reckon she stays in the water. That one little fitting is responsible for 90% of our transom problems, IMO. Even if it's not spinning....once the seal is broken and its in the water...its leaking.

You could go on and on digging out wet wood from the bottom up...don't advise it. Get her covered up, put a heat lamp in the bilge...be safe, monitor it...dry her out. There are a bunch of discussions here on "rebuilds" regarding this. Just search "transom drain...garboard plug", etc.

Basically...the transom is wet. Some more, some less, some totally shot. Even the composite transoms...once that seal breaks, and they're in the water....they'll leach water. Although the composites won't rot...they'll still get plenty wet.

As long as she's stiff presently, get her dried out well enough so you have decent dry substrate...glue it, screw it... and forget it.

And run it. You'll know when its time to replace the transom.

Keep us posted

[Rich L]

I'm singing the wet transom blues, looking to get her back in the water asap so we don't miss out on the summertime fun. I'm going with the glue and screw method until I get her home for the winter. Then go with the serious repair, I do have an electric desicant dehumidifier that would speed up the drying. So how bad does the transom wick when this happens?

[gran398]

They all "wick" to a greater or lesser extent. As mentioned earlier, get her right for running this fall. Affix/re-bed the drain tube, get a nice job.

The next step, as mentioned...dependent upon saturation/rot.

My 1973...the rebuilder said recently when we ripped out the transom....had nothing been addressed...had a least five more years if not more of useful transom life.

Unless she's heavy (weeping low at the stern) run her as normal after this effort. JMHO.

[wayneo]

Hello gentlemen
recently picked up a 81 20 ft walk around and noticed the transom drain was loose, pulled the brass plate and there was no sleeve in drain and wood is wet, it seems there is about an 1/8 inch space between the plywood layers in the hole, hull is solid with spider cracks on port side. should I be concerned or just resleeve, 5200 it and be done??

Thanks :bounce:

[gran398]

Hello gentlemen
recently picked up a 81 20 ft walk around and noticed the transom drain was loose, pulled the brass plate and there was no sleeve in drain and wood is wet, it seems there is about an 1/8 inch space between the plywood layers in the hole, hull is solid with spider cracks on port side. should I be concerned or just resleeve, 5200 it and be done??

Thanks :bounce:

Wayne, your recent post wasn't answered, so...

Get it dried out, dig out the mung best possible.

You're gonna need a new transom at some point due to her age, but if she seems decent for now, heck, run it.

You could get fancy and try to fill where the rot/mung was, but if it were mine, I'd just load it up internally with 5200, set it and forget it.

Like Fitz said in 2011, you have two solid pieces of glass, inside and outside...that's where the bond on a transom that age is going to be anyway.

[Capt. Bob]

Since you're tagging on to this thread, here's another that just popped up. These links may help.

http://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=12086.0

Good luck.