Stock Brass Drain Tube

[Snekbit]

Hey all,

Does anyone know, off of the top of their head, what the stock sizing for the brass drain tube is for a 1989 Mako 19?

Thanks,

[Rudedude150]

I believe the deck drains are 1 and the lower middle drain is 3/4. I will double check for you when i get home this evening as i still have the pressing tools to make the flange

[Snekbit]

I should have specified bilge. My bad.

But I should probably also do the deck drains while I am at it.

[Rudedude150]

Sorry snekbit I forgot about you had a busy afternoon yesterday. Anyway I checked and the bilge is a 1 OD and deck drains are 1-1/4 OD. Hope this helps

[Snekbit]

Thanks for getting back to me RudeDude. I've been letting the transom air out some before going back with the tube. I think I read somewhere on here that some people put a coating of epoxy on the bare wood side. I can't seem to find an install thread again.

[mymako231]

Snekbit,

Hi, not the bilge drain, but I just modified my deck drain scuppers.

They were the copper 1.25" drain holes, two on each side, and two had cracked copper lips.

I was afraid they could let water into the transom so I actually knocked them out this weekend, and found solid dry plywood in the transom.

I drilled the holes out, and glassed in pieces of PVC pipe, very happy with the results.

And I did coat the would with epoxy resin and let that cure before glassing in the new PVC tubes. Here are a couple pictures of the process.





Mymako231

[cgmiller]

After I spun the original brass drain tube out of my 17 Mako, I let the hole dry out and epoxied the interior of the hole and installed a garboard drain plug on the outside of the transom. No more leaking plug for me.

[Sailor]

You can sleeve it with PVC and never have to worry about it again. Install a garboard plug and you are good to go.

[Snekbit]

After sifting through many threads, I am definitely going to PVC route. Which Epoxy should I be using? West system 105-205? Should I thicken it with some cabisol?

I'm sure there is another brand that is less expensive, not sold by West Marine.

Also, I think I remember reading somewhere that the Attwood garboard plug has a large enough flange, that it shouldn't buttup against the PVC awkwardly.

[mymako231]

Snekbit,

I did use West system epoxy resin. It is a little more expensive, but a quart kit with the pumps goes a long way and has a long shelf life.

I coated the wood first as shown, and after that dried I coated it again, and then wrapped the tubes in a piece of old school 4 oz woven cloth. I then taped up across the holes to keep the resin from flowing out.

After cleaning it up and sanding off the excess cured resin I filled a couple of voids with thickened epoxy.

Hope that helps,

mymako231

[Snekbit]

MyMako,

I reckon that drilling out and coating the bare hole will be a good jumping off point. I'll swing by the local West Marine and take a look at the epoxy.

I really do appreciate everyone's input. I'm going to get the hang of this fiberglass/hull work. It's just going to take getting a few projects under my belt.

[Justin]

If you dont want to go through US Composites (shipping can be a killer), check out Sea Hawk's epoxy -- identical system to West, way cheaper.

https://www.seahawkpaints.com/hawk-epoxy/

[Sailor]

Coat the inside of the hole with unthickened epoxy as the wood will soak up some (this step isn't completely necessary).

Thicken your epoxy to between a syrup so that it will stay in place. Coat the inside of the hole. Take your pvc and insert into position. Using a popsicle stick, push the epoxy around the pvc as it squeezes out so that you can make sure there is a solid waterproof seal around the pvc and the transom. You can do this with a gloved finger as well. Make sure you rough up the pvc with some 30 or 60 grit so the epoxy can bite into it real well. It's critical to get it flush on the outside transom. The inside can be trimmed if needed. I would also tape around the outside of the hole to keep your boat clean. You can clean it up easily after it hardens but BEFORE it cures.