Locker Drain Ruminations

G

garyf

New member
It took some guts, but I'm no longer a thru-hull virgin... did my locker drain today and happy with the results so far. I'm actually pretty surprised at how firm the balsa core is - my only previous experience with balsa was the really light and fragile stuff used in model airplanes.

Anyway, I Dremeled out the balsa around the hole and sealed it with epoxy/filler as per best practices and so on. I've got a 3/4" thru hull fitting in there... cut off the part beyond the nut with a Dremel and epoxied some screen in place to prevent wasps or whatever from making a home in the locker.

Even though I positioned the drain about as well as I possibly could, the angle and the nut leaves the opening about 1/4" or more above the floor of the anchor locker, so water would collect before it gets up to the level of the lip. I'm thinking that could be improved, and I'm considering...

(1) raising the floor of the locker slightly - possibly a glued in rubber mat or some other method y'all might suggest...

(2) I could remove the nut on the thru-hull fitting and just glue/seal in place, cutting the inside of the fitting flush with the inside of the locker. I'm not crazy about this idea for more than one reason... and I think there'd still be a slight lip, but greatly reduced.

Thoughts on either of these approaches... or suggest something else?

Thanks for any input. I did search in this section for similar discussion and couldn't find it if it's here. It does sound like make the locker evolved over the years, though... mine does not appear to be what some have described a "separate structure" it's just molded into the bow.
 
Gary, I have just become a fan of Flex Seal, and have used it in a couple of applications, not on the boat though, but it comes in a liquid, or paste. I know there has been talk of pouring a new "floor" in that locker, and making it drain better. FlexSeal could be spread in with a spatula, and filled to the side away from the drain relatively easily. It is usable even underwater, and has a bit of rubbery resilience.

Just a thought.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMG_2044_sized_1.thumb.jpg
 
hardee":1c4yqi0i said:
Gary, I have just become a fan of Flex Seal, and have used it in a couple of applications, not on the boat though, but it comes in a liquid, or paste.
Click to expand...

Ohhh... very interesting thought... I've actually been thinking about Flex Seal recently as well but have never used it.

What made it come to mind with me was the cockpit deck. If I get down on my hands and knees and look where the deck meets the bulkhead, I can see what looks like super fine cracks. They are numerous, and I don't see the techniques shown for repairing cracks in gelcoat being applicable... seems like something that would flow in and seal would be more appropriate. Flex Seal came to mind. Am I crazy for thinking about Flex Sealing the deck of my cockpit? Or at least the areas I see those cracks? Again, I don't have any personal experience with it. Does it live up to the hype? Where have you used it and what's been your experience?
 
Anyway, I Dremeled out the balsa around the hole and sealed it with epoxy/filler as per best practices and so on. I've got a 3/4" thru hull fitting in there... cut off the part beyond the nut with a Dremel and epoxied some screen in place to prevent wasps or whatever from making a home in the locker.
Click to expand...

You have balsa core on the side of the hull where the anchor locker floor is? I have never encountered a C Dory with balsa cored hull above the bottom (excluding cabin bulkheads aft, decks, roof tops etc. How thick was the hull there and how thick the core?

Most of us just drill the hole (if not already there) as close to the bottom of the floor as possible. I then filled the rest of the floor with very thickened epoxy and made sort of a trough to channel water to the hull in the hull. Then the clam shell vent over the outside.

The flex seal I believe is similar to truck bed liner. Certainly bed liner have been used for some time on decks and even coating T top tower aluminum posts etc. Some truck fenders and bodies have been coated and it is tough.

I have used both the Flex Seal spray and putty, both work well, but I would not use them to cosmetically seal any small gel coat cracks, unless I was doing the entire cockpit. In the future people are going to wonder what is hidden under the bedliner or Flex Seal. The Flex Seal sets up fairly fast, and may not be as easy to tool the surface as you think...
 
Like the sump drain at the back of the boat, I found that the factory placed the hole for the anchor locker drain too high, allowing more water than was necessary to remain at the bottom of the locker.

I drilled a hole lower down that hits the bottom corner of the bottom of the locker. I used a piece of small tubing to connect the new hole with the side of the hull. On my boat drilling the hole that low allowed a gap to exist between the bottom of the locker and the side of the hull. If this gap was not bridged, the water from the anchor locker would end up in the bottom of the inside of the hull (probably under where the porta potti sits).

The tubing is secured with either epoxy or 5200, I can't remember. I used the same cover plate on the outside of the hull. If you look close on mine you'll see that there are two holes under it.
 
thataway":mo4ysht3 said:
You have balsa core on the side of the hull where the anchor locker floor is? I have never encountered a C Dory with balsa cored hull above the bottom (excluding cabin bulkheads aft, decks, roof tops etc. How thick was the hull there and how thick the core?
Click to expand...

Honestly I don't know what it is, Bob. As I mentioned above, it was harder to get through than I expected... but I've got limited experience with these materials in the first place. Here are pictures of the hole and the core that came out of it... thickness ranges from approx 3/4 to 7/8 thick. Is that all fiberglass that thick?? A harder wood than balsa?

My boat did not have any sort of pre-existing drain for the locker.


plug.sized.jpg


hole.sized.jpg
 
Gary, you are fine, and always good to epoxy. That looks like solid glass to me. Not surprising that thickness up there. There I overlap between both sides of the hull as the bow material is laid in place. The earlier boats often have more glass and used 24Oz woven roving with mat--as this appears to have.
 
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