cockpit drain removal or HOLES IN YOUR BOAT!

Wow. We were really dreading the whole cockpit drain removal. I guess it's because it's a hole in the bottom of the boat. And holes just don't seem like things you'd want to find in your boat. But indeed, they have their place and purpose. I think the scariest thing about removing the cockpit drain was just not knowing exactly how you remove something like a cockpit drain. Trust me, there are no instructions on the internet. The best you can find is something along the lines of "....and then remove the cockpit drain. Now that the cockpit drain is removed you can begin....." That's about it.


So, here it is....the cockpit drain that we want to remove. Having no clues, we had to up and figure it out on our own.





We figured out this much: it would take some kind of wrench on the top part, from inside the boat, and some kind of wrench or tool on the bottom part, from underneath the boat.


The bottom looks like this.





A standard plumber's wrench would work on the top part, but with those weird keyholes in the bottom I was not sure how we'd be able to unscrew the whole contraption.





Old bike tool to the rescue! I found an old Park bicycle tool that I'm not even able to indentify. It must have been for some old, obscure parts, because I've been working on bikes for years and have never had a need for it. It was one of those that came with a bunch of tools a friend gave me. Well, now it's the official "cockpit drain removal tool." Hell to the yeah! :)


So, the next question is would it come loose easily, or would we tear up the boat trying to get it apart?





No worries....came out easily.





And I know exactly why it came out so easily....one word...one dreaded word for boat owners....





It was sealed with SILICONE.


Who in this world actually thinks silicone is for a below-the-waterline seal? The previous owner of my boat, that's who.


Once it came out, the last bit of keelson could be removed. Nasty, eh?





And all the fiberglass around the thru-hull (hole) was just perfect.


Nice job, Pam (inside the boat).





Nice job, Karen (underneath the boat).

sometimes beating things with a hammer works

The removal of Wahoo's rotten, or semi-rotten keelson has been a tough task. It's only rotten from the cockpit drain thru-hull about halfway up to the transom. The rotten stuff came out easily, naturally. The not-so-rotten wood? Well, not so easy. First, it's encased in fiberglass and polyester resin, and that stuff is hard. Had to cut the glass out first with the dremel.


Then....





Yeah, that did it. Beating the crap out of it with a hammer actually worked. Took about 3 hours total to get it all out and sanded down.


Here's what it looks like sans keelson.





VICTORY! :D It's a wonderful feeling to have it all out finally.


Boat work is in full swing now. It's warming up, and I'm motivated like never before.