help with inner hull drain

[rudderhinge]

If water is coming out, then water can get in.
The water that you are seeing is coming out of two voids, one on each side of the keel supports. When water gets in your bilge it is seeping into the voids through the glob that you are talking about. This water does not drain out through the inner hull drains. Their is not any foam in the voids.
I drilled two holes into the top of the voids just aft of the gas tank and vacuumed out the water that was in them, then resealed the holes with spin welds. I then removed all of the old elastomeric from the golb area, cleaned the area with denatured alcohol and then resealed the area with new elastomeric. I made two dams with cardboard and taped them onto the keel support and filled the area up with elastomeric. This makes a much better seal than just trying to seal around the bolt in the keel stringer. I havent had any more water getting into the voids after doing this. The next time that I have to drain water out of this area I will install some kind of removable water tight access port so that I can vacuum out the water with out installing spin weld plugs. This area can hold more than 30 gallons of water when full. This my not be something you want to do yourself unless you understand how the boat is made. Good luck, Bob

[Codfish]

Hey Rudderhinge,

Any chance you could give us some photos of your work so we can see exactly where you drilled? I have done the inner hull drain myself but am now seeing some rusty water coming from around the keel stringer glob. Your info tells me I need to do some more searching for water collection areas.


Codfish

[rudderhinge]

Codfish,
I do not have any pictures of this area at this time. The next time I pull the aft deck plate up I will be sure to take some and post them.
Between now and then if you remove your deck plate and look aft of the gas tank you will see the raised area that the tank is setting on. This raised area is split by the keel stringers and is wide as the tank and it runs foward all the way to the front of the the tank. This area is hollow and can get water in it through the keel stringer, stringer bolts ,(glob area) and any hole that has been drilled into it. Boats with 70 gallon tanks have about 10 to 12 inches of the top of the void area exposed and boats with 80 gallon tanks have little if any of the area exposed. I hope that this helps you understand where the ares is. This is the area that I drilled my holes. One on each side of the keel and about 2 inches to the outside of the keel stringer. The void area is deeper at the keel and this let me get to the deepest part of the void to suck the water out.
You said: but am now seeing some rusty water coming from around the keel stringer glob.
Are you just seeing rust stains around the glob or are you seeing water squirting out of it? Rust stains and a little rusty water is normal. The rust is coming from the bolts that are in the keel stringer and low grade stainless steel. If you have water squirting up out of the glob when the bow of the boat is raised then you have water in the void area.
Please do not go drilling holes in your boat unless you understand where to drill and that you have a way to seal them back up. Good luck, Bob

[Codfish]

Bob,

I am winterizing this week so will do some more detailed checking and post. I do not have water in any quantity coming from the blob area, just rust stains. It may be from bilge water only, don't kinow. That is why I asked the question. Bad description on my part.

I was most interested in the void area you found and why it is even there. Seems it should have been filled when the boat was foam filled. Just very interested in that void and the possibility of more water retention.

Could you elaborate on the plugs you used to close the clean out holes you drilled (spin welds)? What is the diameter of the hole you use for vacumming? I feel confident in the install, just not sure where you can get the plugs. I assume they are similar to the plugs used by the factory to close the foam injection holes. Is that correct?

Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Thanks for the info, Dave

[rudderhinge]

Codfish, you are correct.
Spin Weld plugs are the plugs that Triumph uses to seal any access hole that are uesd to install foam in the transom of are boats. A 1 3/8" hole saw is used to drill the hole. You use a router with a spin weld arbor to install the plugs. The router spins the plug fast enough to create enough friction to melt the plug and base area together. The base area and plug need to be cleaned with primer or acidtone before spinning them together. Spin then long enough to see melted poly pro and some smoke befor stopping the router, and do not remove the router and arbor before the melted poly pro has hardened.
After drilling the holes I used duct tape and a 1" hose and hooked it to my wet/dry vac and removed the water from the void areas. Like I told you before if I have to do it again I will look for some kind of a removable water tight plug. I also think that you can use elastomeric sealent to install the plugs with out spin welding them. I have not tried that yet, and I don't recommend doing that untill I try it.
You can get the spin weld plugs from your dealer. If they dont have them in stock then they can order them from Triumph. They may be able to get the arbor also but they are hard to come by.
I hope that this clears up things. Good Luck, Bob

[Codfish]

Thanks RH. That is just what I needed to understand the process. I will look for some type of resealable plug also. Makes sense. If the water is there once, it will be back.

Codfish

[gddaven]

Rudderhinge:

Could you please describe where exactly you are talking about ?

I have attached a pic of my 2001 210CC with the 85 gallon tank removed.

I have the tank back in now but haven't got that much further lately so if I HAD to I could remove again and wet vac H2O out.

I am thinking about using a smaller drill bit and duct taping a piece of flexiable hose to my wet vac then welding the drill bit hole shut therefore eliminating the need for a plug.

http://www.triumphowners.net/photos/...php/photo/2343

What do you think?

Thank you in advance ...

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

Why Couldnt You Put A Removable Drain Plug Close To The Bottom Of The Tank Base Near The Bottom Of The Bilge That Could Be Opened And Then Closed Once The Trapped Water Drains Into The Bilge???

[rudderhinge]

gddaven,
The area where I drilled the holes in my boat is just aft of the support bar and the two notches and about two inches out from the keel brace, one on each sider Remember the void is two sections. That will let you have access to the deepest part of the voids. Also remember that my boat is not like yours. Not much differance but some.
In your case it would be best to drill the holes in any area aft of the gas tank, if their is any of the area left with the tank in place. That way you would not have to remove the tank the next time you had to remove any water.
By the way your bilge area cleaned up nice and you seal job on the keel brace looks good. Nice work.
ILLOGICAL,
I was at the Triumph factory today and your question is what a rep and I talked about. He didn't see any problem with doing that as long as you keep the hole just a little off of the bottom of the boat. The areas where the through the hull fitting are installed is the bottom of the boat. Also remember that the pocket that the bilge pump is mounted holds about an inch or more of water all the time. I still thank that a removable plug installed on the top of the void areas will be the best.

Look guys, Not all Triumph boats have the problem of getting water in this area, in fact most don't. A lot of people have done modifications to their boat and caused even more problems for themselves. If I do something to my boat and mess things up I can't expect Triumph to straighten it out. They have been and are very good at handling problems with their product, so give them a chance first. Please don't cause problems for yourselves, think about what your doing and ask yourself if this needs to be done and is it really a problem.
I have seen people do things to their boats and cause a lot of problems and then blame it on Triumph. Then they want to get on the computer and tell everyone what a bad product we have and how they where done wrong. Thats just not right. So be cautious.
Ok, Ill get off the box now. Good Luck. Hope I have helped. Bob

[k9reno]

That last paragraph of yours should be printed in bold and pasted where everyone can see it.
jmho