New drain hole and welding

At some point I'm planning on addressing a few things with my boat. It's a '96 Tracker Sportsman 1648 with a '94 Johnson 50/35 jet. The jet has allowed me to get into places I probably shouldn't be and my hull bottom has taken a bit of a beating because of it. I punched a nice hole in it last summer and had it welded up perfectly by a local TinBoats member. Also mashed up my drain plug which is situated at the end of my middle chine/keel. It's a pain in the butt to get to since it sits under my gas tank. So planning on moving it to the starboard side of my transom for easier access. At some point during this past duck season I put a nice dent in my center chine/keel that looks like it will be ready to open up the next time it even sees a rock. So what I'd like to do is cut out the bottom of my middle chine/keel from my transom up about 2'. Push the sides of the chine/keel together and run a weld down it to close it back up. I'd then like to weld in a piece of 1/8" or thicker aluminum sheet from the keels to the left and right of my now cut and closed up middle keel, and from transom up 2' or so. Will probably end up being a 2' x 2' piece of sheet. This should accomplish a few things. 1. Fix my severely dented middle keel before it opens up, 2. Beef up that portion of my hull bottom a bit that seems to take a beating, 3. Give me a nice smooth surface to help with clean water flow back to my jet pump, 4. Get rid of my drain hole that's already beat up and a pain to get to. A few questions/concerns I have though:

1. What issues will I have welding a piece of 1/8"-1/4" sheet to my hull bottom, which is only about .080"? Don't want to end up weakening my hull bottom at the welds by welding on a piece of thicker sheet.

2. What should I use for my drain plug? Aluminum, brass? I have access to a flaring tool and can easily get some 1" aluminum round tube. Just not sure what material would work best.

Been brainstorming this idea ever since I noticed the dent in my middle keel. Trying to be proactive before I end up with another hole in my hull. Have picked a few peoples brains about it, but wanted to see what everyones opinion on here was. Thanks!!

Just a couple of quick thoughts:

1) Welding 1/4" al onto 0.080" sheet will be challenging in it's own right. Beyond that, my concern would be that the heavier plate AL will transfer all of the load onto the 0.080 sheet where it meets. The heavy material won't flex much, causing all of the flex and force to be transferred to the 0.080 sheet right at the weld points. I would for see the potential for cracks to open at the welds more easily. Maybe just doubling the area with additional .080 sheet may be better in the long run.

2) DEFINITELY don't use brass for your drain plug tube. Brass and AL are on the opposite ends of the electrolytic scale and will cause galvanic corrosion. Plus, you would need to braze the brass on to the transom, as you typically can't weld differing materials. Stick with the AL material for your drain tube.

Good luck!

Thanks!!

That's my concern is weakening my hull bottom while trying to beef it up/protect it. Maybe I should just wait until the dent becomes an issue to address it. Or I could go ahead and just cut out the dented portion and weld it back together as if it did have a hole/tear in it.

Good looking out on the brass. Not sure what I was thinking there. I already have a piece of 1" I.D. round aluminum tube ready for me to pick up.

Late last summer, I hit a log under the water and damaged my drain hole. I ordered a 1" aluminum drain kit on ebay. I had to "patch" in a piece of aluminum and then install the new drain. The place I ordered from was blackfootmotorsports on ebay. It cost $13.56 + $1.93 shipping. It arrived within 3 days. I used a flaring tool and followed the directions on the package. It worked out really well.

I'll see if I can find a pic of it and send it to you. Hope this helps.

Keith
Texas

Found the pic for you.

You can pull this company up and then go to their ebay store. In the left pane, go to "boating". I just saw they have this item on sale for $14. free shipping, for the next hour.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Thanks!!

I already have a flaring tool and access to some 1" I.D. round aluminum tube. Should be good to go on the new drain tube.

BigTerp said:

Thanks!!

I already have a flaring tool and access to some 1" I.D. round aluminum tube. Should be good to go on the new drain tube.

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if you decide to remove the chine and close off the current drain plug, i'd probably just put one of these in....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MARINE-SCREW-TYPE-NYLON-BILGE-DRAIN-PLUG-FOR-BOAT-FITS-1-HOLE-FIVE-OCEANS-/271614708969?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item3f3d7f8ce9&vxp=mtr

JoshKeller said:

if you decide to remove the chine and close off the current drain plug, i'd probably just put one of these in....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MARINE-SCREW-TYPE-NYLON-BILGE-DRAIN-PLUG-FOR-BOAT-FITS-1-HOLE-FIVE-OCEANS-/271614708969?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item3f3d7f8ce9&vxp=mtr

Click to expand...

Thanks. Have been so back and forth on what I'm going to do. Afraid welding in a piece of sheet is going to weaken my hull, and gluing/riveting a piece in might be more of a headache later than what it's worth. At this point thinking I'm going to just address the dent itself and leave everything else alone. Still going to delete my drain hole though. That thing is a PITA where it is currently located!!

i think its time for a new boat. :mrgreen:

JoshKeller said:

i think its time for a new boat. :mrgreen:

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Good idea!! Think my wife will let me get one of these???

https://www.rockproofboats.com/

fished out of one of those....sum bitches flat out fly. doin 55 mph up the river, hit a rock and never even slow down :mrgreen:

Yeah, I've watched plenty of videos on those. For as hard as I am on my boat it would be perfect for me. My dream boat really. Just a tad salty at about $35,000 all said and done!!