DaySailer.org Forum

Looking for guidance from the group. I'm working on replacing the drain, FO fiberglassed over the drain.

I have cut out fiberglass, and the old top, I'm thinking the remaining stub should just push out the bottom

My plan is to buy a short pipe nipple sized match the drain stub, and cap, and hammer it out, but I don't want to damage the boat.

Thoughts?

Looks like we have no DS2 owners who feel like chipping in.

If this is a place where there's a double hull, it might depend on whether the separation is supported. If so, it should behave like a single piece and you might be able to knock out the drain. If no, the cockpit might simply flex with the blow, if you support the hull, and vice versa.

This is one of the cases where, unless you've done this on exactly the same boat, it's effectively impossible to give guidance from afar. You are in a much better place to observe what happens when you tap on it. And to come up with alternatives. For example if you place two lengthwise cuts in the tube walls with a sawzall or hacksaw blade, you might be able to pop out the two halves one by one.

If you decide you need to cut out the tube by sawing on the outside, you can replace the missing materials in different ways to fit your new tube. The same applies if a bit of laminate comes off. I would work with 3M High Strength Repair Filler (which is Vinylester based with fiberglass strands mixed in). That one is can be molded a bit like modeling clay and is strong enough to be used free-standing (adding to an edge, for example, where it is unsupported). Unlike epoxy, this one cures much faster and allows you multiple applications on the same day if needed.

That's what I would turn to when in need to rebuild something where it's not just a matter of filling a crack or void, but to actually have strength. If you have an uneven hole after removal, you could rebuild it and then drill to size, or embed a PVC tube as a sleeve into which you fit your new part. Which of these approaches makes sense, again, is probably easier for you to see.

If this is for a self-bailer, you could search for that term here on the forum or use some search engine with a filter to limit results from this forum. There's a good chance that similar repairs have been discussed here, but from what I recall, there are a number of different models of bailers and they all differ. Unfortunately not a topic I'm too familiar with.

I took my self-bailer off to re-seal it. My DSII is solid there. I don't know what is sandwiched between the deck and hull but it kind of looks like particle board. The stem on my self bailer looks longer than yours. Once I got the nut loose in the cockpit mine just fell out, so hopefully there isn't much holding yours in.