Need a smaller version of these drain hole tubes

[markfitz]

Because of the design of our weekender, I need something like this to go thru the side of the top rub rail in the back to let the water out. We basically were thinking we'd run a string of 3 on each side, (kinda like the ports on an old buick! ) but the smallest ones I can find are for 1" holes. We have maybe an inch of room, so we would need something that was a 3/4" inch hole, with a 1" overall size, including the flange. Here's a link to what we're looking for:

http://www.thechandleryonline.com/product.asp?dept_id=2605&pf_id=135_AH2251

If anyone knows where we can get a smaller version of this, or has an idea of something else we could use that would do the same thing, I'm all ears. As always, thanks. You guys are the best.

[Craig]

You might try 3/4" copper tubing and epoxy it in. Or, just drill the holes you need and soak the wood inside with epoxy. 3 or more coats and then redrill the hole.

[Barry Pyeatt]

We had fabricated some oval scuppers from Black ABS pipe. We cut a thin section of pipe to get a piece the same thickness as the thickness of the wall we were going thru.

In the case of the Weekender, the side is only 1/4" thick so I would cut them just a little oversized, say 5/16" or 3/8".

You now have a circle of pipe that is that thickness. But it is round and we wanted it to be oval. So we took two short pieces of dowel the diameter we wanted, say 1/2" and we took two 1/2" wedges that we could insert between the dowels to spread them apart. Then we heated the ABS pipe in an oven until it became a bit softer and then placed the dowels and the wedges inside the cut section of pipe and spread it apart until it became an oval. We clamped the outside flats in a vise for a couple minutes and it cooled. We released the wedges and took out the dowels and we had an oval section that we could epoxy in place. They were clean, neat and easy to do. Once epoxied in place, there was no chance of them leaking or having water seep into the surrounding wood.

How big you might ask? Well, depends upon how wide a drain you would like. Obviously, the wider you would like, the larger diameter pipe you would start with. But we made up some that were from 8" ABS pipe and 1" dowels. Nice sized for a larger scupper.

For a Weekender, I would think 2" pipe with 1/2" dowels would give you nicely sized scuppers.

To install, just drill two holes in the side at deck level and elongate the holes until you have it just a little larger than the scupper, then rough up the outside of the scupper with say 40 grit sandpaper, and epoxy inplace.

[markfitz]

So what you essentially ended up with is an oval ring that you epoxied into the hole. There was no flange on the inside and outside? You're just relying on the epoxy (and fiberglass?) to prevent water from getting at the wood?

[Barry Pyeatt]

Essentially yes. If you have a good epoxy bond, there shouldn't be a problem. Been doing this for over 20 years and the boats may have any number of other maintence issues and problems but I've not had an issue come up with these little scuppers.

Most of them extend about an eighth of an inch beyond the outer hull surface so they drip off of the scupper rather than running down the side. You could caulk around that if you wanted extra insurance.

They are generally installed so that the inside surface of the scupper is flush with the finished surface of the deck rather than just a little higher than the deck surface. No standing water to worry about then.

One epoxy techinique that may help a lot on thru-hull fittings. Heat the epoxy to about 110 degrees before adding the hardner. This thins it out and allows it to soak into any open pores of the wood.

We also placed a plastic "dam" on the outside surface to contain the epoxy and keep it from running out. Then slipped the scupper in the hole coated with epoxy and with the inner surfaces coated with vaseline so epoxy wouln't stick to it. We then capped the entire assembly with an additional "dam" on the inner side so the epoxy stayed inplace and cured.

We usually had a small amount that created a raised area around the scupper and that was in itself a type of flange. That was usually sanded off flush on the inside and just sanded to clean it up on the outside. Then the hull was painted.

I would also install one on either side even with the main bulkhead. That allows any water that comes over the rail or splashes up to drain out at the low point.

If you wanted a flange, I suppose one could be fabricated out of flat stock and bonded to the surface with epoxy and caulk.

[markfitz]

I found some brass tubing, and was thinking about the flaring route. There is a brass tube with an inside diameter of .87, and another one with an outside diameter of .875 - I don't really have a good grasp of what .005 is material wise -- my thought was to take a piece of each, flare one end of each, and slide them into each other. The only issue is I would have to take .005 off the outside of one piece. Think that's doable?

[Guest]

We use a improvised mechanism made out of a threaded rod, with flare nuts from copper tubing and place fender washers behind the nuts to compress evenly to flare them out a bit for sealing and holding in place. We use a litle bit of caulk, but in wood applications, we coat the raw hole with epoxy to seal it and let it dry. This way, if you get any water behind the tube, you will not have as much of a chance for the wood to go bad. In transom tubes and deck drains, we actually counterbore the holes, and glass over the tops to seal it and then fair it in place.

In lieu of drain plugs, on decks or rub rails, we also will oblong the holes, then take small pieces of glass, at least three layers, and wet it out, sparenly set in place, letting the edges and pieces run wild a little, then grind off the wild edges smoothe the surface of the woods. Be carefull not to make the wet pieces too wild. As this will pull down the whole pieces while wet with resin. This makes a nice and clean job, as long as you protect the working areas around it, to minimize the resin cleanup. Use vinegar to clean your work area before it sets up.