Deck plate?

I have the idea to cut a hole in my deck and install a six inch deck plate with a clear cover.

I would like to look down there and see if water is collecting as I motor around. Also, I think I could take the cover off and dry things out more easily when the boat is stored.

I have a feeling that this is not common practice.

If I go ahead and do it anyway, where would be the most useful place to locate the opening? I was thinking of the stern maybe four feet forward from the transom.

[bham-rick]

Drain Plug

Does your boat not have a drain plug ? If not it would be better to install that then cut a 6" hole in your deck so you can look at any water. Check the bottom and try to find out where the water is coming in from. I just jacked my boat up on blocks and ran three fresh strips of fiberglass on the keel and getting ready to install a keel guard to make sure there are no weak spots and when I beach it I won't have to worry ?

When I first got my boat I spent a lot of time patching the hull and keel. Believe it or not the former owner used jeans and glue to patch holes. Now that I've got all the holes found it's time to do the floor. The water I took on stayed mainly at the bow of the boat. Under power it made it's way to the stern and the auto-bilge.

It is frustrating spending a day on the water wondering if your taking on water. I find and automatic bilge pump works great.

[BrianVic]

Hi Mike,
Answer: I don't know...

…but I just dismantled my boat and learned a lot from that. One hundred percent of the area below the plywood floor was poured foam, so there wasn't an empty cavity to access or view the inside surface of the hull, or see if there was water below the foam. I'm assuming your boat is the same. The bilge is fully sealed via the fiberglass coated plywood deck, which is common for the small fiberglass boats. My 16' boat had approximately 1 quart of water between the poured foam and the hull. It did not soak into the foam, nor was the foam waterlogged anywhere (built in 1972). There is a boxed-in area at the base of the transom that collects deck water for bilge pump or drain plug removal, but the water trapped below the floor had no way to get out, or into the box. The foam does adhere to the hull, but there are small open spaces from staging the pour, and wave pounding and age cause the foam to come loose from the hull (my theory). Enough airspace that water will flow to the lowest point.

You might consider installing a deck plate in the center over the keel, as far back as possible. What about the area below the splash-well? If there is foam below the plywood floor, remove the circle core (plate diameter) to expose the inside surface of the hull, then tip the boat up while on the trailer and see if any water flows to the back from under the poured foam. If so, sponge it out. At least you will have an indication of water intrusion, or not. I don’t think it matters if the hatch is clear or not. I’d be more concerned that it is properly installed, water tight, and not under-foot.

two cents from Brian

Rick, to answer your question, I have a drain plug in the well and install it before launching.

I installed a small Rule bilge bump that is manually activated via a switch that I mounted at the helm. Because of engine noise masking the whir of the pump I've decided to install an amber "Power On" indicator light just above the helm switch. I will be able to tell if the pump was left on. It sits in the well and pumps up through a fitting I installed in the spashwell.

The wood I can reach under the bow hatch is always wet. A tri-hull, the boat seems to have been landed a lot; there are numerous beaching scratches, and a couple of small patches in the bow area.

For now, I would like to be able to look through the plate occasionally when underway and see what is going on down there. When stored, a small electric blower set in the opening with the plate removed would help to dry the bilge area, something to do now and then I think. If I really like the boat I can take it apart properly sometime and do all that is needed in the hull.

Believe it or not the former owner used jeans and glue to patch holes.

Bad practice.

Jeans and Fiberglass resin would probably work fairly well, however unsightly.

[Lootas1]

Careful with the keel guard

Does your boat not have a drain plug ? If not it would be better to install that then cut a 6" hole in your deck so you can look at any water. Check the bottom and try to find out where the water is coming in from. I just jacked my boat up on blocks and ran three fresh strips of fiberglass on the keel and getting ready to install a keel guard to make sure there are no weak spots and when I beach it I won't have to worry ?

Rick have you installed a keel guard before? I tried putting one on Rosario. Followed all the instructions carefully and it didn't attach well. Keelguard asked me to send pictures and they concluded the hull wasn't shaped right for its use on the Skagit Express. They sent me instructions for removing and even sent another Keelguard (if the first wouldn't fit and the second was the same, why do that?). I got the first one off and sold the new one on eBay. This year, I will either use the dinghy that I repaired or will beach carefully with the Anchor Buddy which will pull the boat off the beach.

[bham-rick]

Skagit Keel Guard

Yes : I had one on the Skagit Convertable. Trick was to have it laid flat for a few days then have it warm. I had a small room that I turned the heater on and left it overnight. Then you have to have the keel very clean (Alcohol) scuffed and I used a heat gun to warm the hull up. Get the boat jacked up so you have room then get a couple people to help hold it in place . Stick the middle first then pull up the edges starting from the middle and working to the ends??? Heat is the helper to help it stick and make it pliable. My hull is the same as the express. Did you get the paint off the area where you tried to attach the guard ? It says that you have to get it down to Gel coat ? Did you use the primer that comes with it ?

[Lootas1]

Thanks Rick. I did everything the printed directions, as well as the DVD said and showed to do. As I recall, the DVD showed one person doing it alone. Anyway, I had only Becky for help and she is a bit low in the muscle department. I was on the low side of the minimum temperature recommended but I did get all the paint off the hull, scrubbed it very good with the pad that came with it, rolled the keel guard out in the 70 degree house for a day or two before applying and used the primer. Got it in place and it looked pretty good. put three C clamps backed with some bent oak to hold the bow area in place. Then I left for two weeks. When I got home and released the clamps, the keel guard sprung away from the hull in several places. I contacted the manufacturers and they suggested using some slow drying 2 part epoxy. Bought some of that System 3 stuff (kind of pricey) and cut a few small V's where the bend was too great for the rubber to lay flat on the hull. Then back with the C clamps for 2 or 3 days. When released, everything was together. A few days later, still on trailer, it began to come loose again. I think warmer weather might have made a difference but I've lived on Lummi for 32 years and can't recall ever having warm weather. Anyway, the Keel Guard people told me, belatedly after seeing pictures of the problem, that it was the shape of the hull that killed the whole thing. I see it worked great on your boat which does, in fact, have the same shaped keel. Guessing the heat you added made a big part in its success plus the help of another perhaps stronger person. BTW, it stuck real good most of the way. Some fun getting it off!

[bham-rick]

Bummer - hope you don't jinx me

I remember reading about your adventure , Hope I don't run into any problems because it is a "one time go for broke deal " :! I don't have the bent oak or the two weeks to leave it - Sounds like you did everything you could to get it right. Thanks for making me second guess myself ! :donttouch:

[bham-rick]

Thanks Rick. I did everything the printed directions, as well as the DVD said and showed to do. As I recall, the DVD showed one person doing it alone. Anyway, I had only Becky for help and she is a bit low in the muscle department. I was on the low side of the minimum temperature recommended but I did get all the paint off the hull, scrubbed it very good with the pad that came with it, rolled the keel guard out in the 70 degree house for a day or two before applying and used the primer. Got it in place and it looked pretty good. put three C clamps backed with some bent oak to hold the bow area in place. Then I left for two weeks. When I got home and released the clamps, the keel guard sprung away from the hull in several places. I contacted the manufacturers and they suggested using some slow drying 2 part epoxy. Bought some of that System 3 stuff (kind of pricey) and cut a few small V's where the bend was too great for the rubber to lay flat on the hull. Then back with the C clamps for 2 or 3 days. When released, everything was together. A few days later, still on trailer, it began to come loose again. I think warmer weather might have made a difference but I've lived on Lummi for 32 years and can't recall ever having warm weather. Anyway, the Keel Guard people told me, belatedly after seeing pictures of the problem, that it was the shape of the hull that killed the whole thing. I see it worked great on your boat which does, in fact, have the same shaped keel. Guessing the heat you added made a big part in its success plus the help of another perhaps stronger person. BTW, it stuck real good most of the way. Some fun getting it off!

I would probably put $10.00 on Becky in wrist wrestling ?? Don't sell her short !

[Lootas1]

Why I wouldn't even trade Becky for a brand new 2011 Skagit with an EFI motor, power tilt and trim and a new King trailer under it all!