Bilge, Transom Drain & Floor Question

[WetRaider]

Making my supplies list so that I can get cracking' on this re-build.  I've got lots of trimming and sanding to do on the hull.  Driving out tomorrow to pick up some stringer material.

Before I tore everything out, I had a bilge only on the starboard side of the center stringer.  There was no hole or other means for water to pass from one side to the other.  Should I make two bilges - one on each side, or should I make a Y shape and drop the bilge center?  It wouldn't hurt me to put two drain tubes through the transom.

I need a new transom drain tube.  The boat had the brass tube, flared & flush at both ends.  PO didn't put it in, because he notched his transom over it and filled the void with liquid nails.  I've pulled it out so that I can prep the factory glass all the way down.  Should I stay with the same brass drain and have to create the flange on one side, or should I look for a two-piece threaded drain tube?  Metal or Nylon? 

For the floor ... I've got two six gallon portable fuel tanks that sit under the splash well.  If I cut my two outside stringers short, I could lay in a floor piece that fits between those first steps/strakes of the hull.  This would be exactly the width I need for the pair of fuel tanks.  This would allow the floor under the splash well to be lower than the rest of the boat (common, from all the photos and other re-builds on here).  Is there any serious issue to worry about with the stringer cut short?  I picture it now with the stringer and that rear section of floor all being glassed together.

[Rich_V174SS]

I don't see why you can't just make a mouse hole in the center stringer where it meets the transom so water can flow from one side to the other. I did that in my two outboard stringers on my boat. You can get a 1x3 inch brass drain tube from West Marine and other marine supply stores but you'll need the flanging tool to flare it once it's cut and fit into the transom. Cut the tube about an eighth to three-sixteenths longer than the face of the transom before flaring it. If someone can't lend you a flaring tool they're $30 from Amazon.com.

Drain tube:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=462998&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=50366&subdeptNum=50379&classNum=50382

Flanging tool:
http://www.amazon.com/Flanging-Tool-inch-Drain-Tube/dp/B002MJBLFK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1336953200&sr=8-3

Or you can install a flanged garboard plug in place of the brass tube:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_11151_10001_442314_-1____ProductDisplayErrorView

[WetRaider]

Rich ... I saw all those on WestMarine before I posted.  It doesn't look like the Garboard drain has a tube with it.  I'll have 2" of plywood to go through on the transom, so I'm thinking I would prefer the brass tube.  My same thought goes with putting a hole in the stringer ...

Now that I've got her all opened up, and talked with Red on the phone, I'm determined to keep her dry under the floor and not need to drain anything from underneath ... the bilge would only capture water above the floor and direct it out through the drain.

[Rich_V174SS]

Garboard plugs don't use a tube, they mount to the outside of the transom with 3 screws and cover the 1 inch hole which is sealed and protected from absorbing water, supposedly. They're are what's been used on pretty much all boats for the past 20 years or more but I still prefer the brass tube because it seals the wood from both sides of the transom and it can be glued in to keep water from creeping in between.

[MarkS]

Maybe not the best way to do it Dan, but I stopped short of the transom with my main stringer and created a box.  The box is screwed, glued, tabbed and glassed from the keel stinger all the way back to the transom.  The outboard stringers didn't seem to me to have enough "meat" in them to trim them down, so I went this route.

I agree about the garboard drain, most don't have an inner tube to protect the wood in the transom.  You could seal it with resin, but I liked the brass tube idea better as well.  I'm also using the same setup in the splash well, so the tool (purchased, but they can also be made) will be used at least twice on this project, and then maybe on the CVX-16 waiting in the back yard.



(In hindsight, really wish I'd have moved the drain to the bottom of the "V".  )

[dorelse]

I've used these drain plugs before.  I just packed it tight with 4200 to fill all the voids from the outside & inside and sealed it up.  Worked well for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Dog-Nylon-Garboard-Drain/dp/B000V1XRA8