Added a deck drain today

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richg99

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My -new-to-me- 2007 Lowe 1756 was a barebones tinny at its origin. Its prior owner added decking; a side-console; and a "coffin" for storage.

The "coffin" was the first thing that I removed. I gained a lot of foot space and didn't need all of that storage.

Last night, as I thought about a number of odd additions that had been done to this craft, I realized that I didn't see any way to drain water off of the deck. In my prior 1652 G3, when I added decking, I also added a large grill for that purpose.

On more than one occasion, while driving back home from a fishing trip, I've had major rain downpours hit me. An hour of Houston rain could fill a boat up. With a well-drained deck, the rain would normally just exit via the open drain plug.

On one occasion, I forgot to remove the drain plug. The boat and trailer felt a lot heavier as the rain poured on and on. Once I realized what I had done, I was able to pull over and remove the drain plug. Water poured out for the rest of the trip!

Today, I decided to add a drain plug to my newest Lowe craft. I "thumped" the middle of the deck until I found a hollow sounding area. The last thing that I wanted to do was cut my hole right on top of a cross-brace! Once the unsupported deck area was established, I simply drilled a 2 inch opening with a hole saw.

My drain was a simple PVC fitting from the plumbing department at Lowes. I could have purchased 2/3/4/5 inch sizes. I didn't want to weaken the deck any more than necessary. I felt that the two-inch fitting would do the job. I sprayed it gray to match the boat's carpet and dropped it in.

If your deck doesn't have any way for water to exit, you might consider adding a drain.
 

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My boat came with one installed. After reading your experiences I will appreciate it more. Drain looks good but I think you should "clock" it fore & aft and side to side. Just sayin. :|
 
Nice Rich. Rain can weigh a lot when you're towing a boat with a drain plug in.....so I hear.

BTW, to piggyback on the grate alignment from Ldubs, are all you're fastener head facing port to starboard or bow to stern? :mrgreen:
 
New River Rat said:
Nice Rich. Rain can weigh a lot when you're towing a boat with a drain plug in.....so I hear.

BTW, to piggyback on the grate alignment from Ldubs, are all you're fastener head facing port to starboard or bow to stern? :mrgreen:

Thanks a lot! Now I have no option but to grab a screwdriver and check my boat. Haha.
 
richg99 said:
You two ought to get a hobby.

Rich, do you mean to say that the screws holding the electrical wall plates in your house are not all clocked? Mine are! How can you sleep at night! Haha

Clocking or timing screws is pretty common for electricians, & gunsmiths.
 
]"BTW said:
Lol ! Do the same thing myself. I've been doing alot of electrical work in the house and always clock the switch/outlet plate screws. Can't make up my mind if they should be at 12/6 or 3/9 o'clock tho. I wish cover plate screws were phillips head so i could clock them both directions. Maybe i'm over thinking this lol.
 
oldude said:
]"BTW said:
Lol ! Do the same thing myself. I've been doing alot of electrical work in the house and always clock the switch/outlet plate screws. Can't make up my mind if they should be at 12/6 or 3/9 o'clock tho. I wish cover plate screws were phillips head so i could clock them both directions. Maybe i'm over thinking this lol.


Mine are all horizontal. Some guys make them vertical or diagonal. Some make them vertical or horizontal depending on whether a switch or plug or whether single gang, etc. All I can say for sure is mine are horizontal because that is the way Mrs Ldubs wants them and she is a bigger fusspot than I am! Haha.

Well, I think we have pretty much hi-jacked Rich's original post. Sorry Rich.
 
Actually, (if anyone other than the two of you is reading this long thread) you've given me an opportunity to add a suggestion that I received on another site.

Guy said, correctly, to smear some epoxy on the inside edges of the plywood. Sure glad I didn't glue it in on the first go-around.

Now, when I "clock" it, I can also protect it. Why didn't you guys suggest that?

Ha Ha
 
richg99 said:
Actually, (if anyone other than the two of you is reading this long thread) you've given me an opportunity to add a suggestion that I received on another site.

Guy said, correctly, to smear some epoxy on the inside edges of the plywood. Sure glad I didn't glue it in on the first go-around.

Now, when I "clock" it, I can also protect it. Why didn't you guys suggest that?

Ha Ha
I never thought of that. What color epoxy? Matching the boat or interior? The comment by LDUBS on vertical for switches and horizontal for recepticals is a great idea. Now I have to go thru the house and change them all.
 
New River Rat said:
Nice Rich. Rain can weigh a lot when you're towing a boat with a drain plug in.....so I hear.

BTW, to piggyback on the grate alignment from Ldubs, are all you're fastener head facing port to starboard or bow to stern? :mrgreen:
Bow to Stern for sure! Less wind resistance and better water channeling #-o .
 

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