Arkansas traveler

enginerd said:

I don't know about removing a bilge plug on plane to pull water out; that seems like a risky proposition.

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I don't remember who actually showed me that trick, but all my friends and I use it quite often. It does make you worry a bit the first time or two that you do it but you soon realize that you can slow down pretty slow before the water actually stops flowing out and starts flowing in. But as long as you keep the plug in one hand and don't have a lot of crap in the way of putting the plug back in, it's really hard to screw up the process. And if you don't have a bilge pump, or want to get every last bit of water out, it's pretty slick. I'll actually slow down enough that my bow rises pretty good so every last bit of water runs to the back of the boat to get sucked out.

I had an old 50's Cadillac aluminum boat back on the Columbia River in Tri-Cities WA, and tried that out once.
I had trouble getting the plug back in properly and took on quite a bit of water. Don't recommend trying it out too far from shore. I'll never forget that day

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I think the technique of draining the water while underway
was meant for when two people are on board . . . . not alone.
Personally, I would never try it (alone) . . . my boats are remote steer
meaning that I would have to get up and go to the stern with
nobody driving the boat - - - could turn out bad.
I can see how it may be cumbersome for the tiller steer if the boater
does not have experience doing it.

Yea, no way I'd ever try it with remote steer, but with tiller, I do it all the time and have never had a problem with it. When I'm at the lake where I've got plenty of room, I'll even do wide right hand turns so the water runs to the side the plug is on, but in the rivers, it's straight only. But, to each his own.

Hi All,
New here but have been lucking for a bit on/off. Finally landed a 13' 8" AT (believe she is a 55 or 56 and will go perfect with my restored 1955 5.5hp Evinrude) and trying to apply a bit of love to get her worthy for the water in a hurry to use in a bit of work I need to do. Well underway on replacing the bench wood which was gone for the most part. Will deal with foam and critter issues later but my big short term issue is exactly what burrman's 3rd pic of his boat with the 4 offset hole drain is... Mine was about gone. Can't find a replacement of course and the easy 3 hole replacement is actually too small leaving previous rivet holes half exposed so that is not an option because even if i rivet those holes, the new drain won't seal properly...

So at this point I BELIEVE my best option is to just patch the existing hole and put a new drain in the transom nice and low... or? I know everyone loves pics so... nite pic of the boat and the hole until i can take decent ones!

@I hope this thread isn't dead-dead... I think i can put in a new plug in the transom (gotta think about height and sealer etc. but should manage.) but patching that old hole... not sure. 1/8 aluminum square plate with sealant and... ? rivets?

Anton said:

@I hope this thread isn't dead-dead... I think i can put in a new plug in the transom (gotta think about height and sealer etc. but should manage.) but patching that old hole... not sure. 1/8 aluminum square plate with sealant and... ? rivets?



boat.jpeg
hole.jpeg

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Wondering how you fixed this? I've got a similar hole I'm thinking of J-B Weld Steel Stick epoxy putty from both sides then rivet some thin sheet aluminum over top? Did you find a good solution for filling larger than rivet holes?

I have not completed it yet... snow lol. I did however get a small bit of thicker aluminum plate. I plan to use a combination of sealant AND use the original rivet holes with my "patch" on the outside. I have spoken with a few folks who has success with this method.

JMichael said:

enginerd said:

I don't know about removing a bilge plug on plane to pull water out; that seems like a risky proposition.

Click to expand...

I don't remember who actually showed me that trick, but all my friends and I use it quite often. It does make you worry a bit the first time or two that you do it but you soon realize that you can slow down pretty slow before the water actually stops flowing out and starts flowing in.

Click to expand...

Have a story about that. When I was growing up we actually did this frequently with our old leaky Jon boat. My dad would have me take the tiller while he pulled the plug.
One day he dropped and couldn’t locate it. I was probably 12 years old and freaking out a little asking what to do?[emoji51] He calmly directed me to run us up on a sand bar as far as I could, then jumped out and pulled us onto dry land. Crises averted.
I thought my dad was Superman that day.


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Hi,
You might find that the gunnels bend enough for your purposes without steaming. Try clamping them in place "dry" first. If needed, the "foodsaver" bags from Walmart are perfect for this application. Cut a piece long enough for the wood, and tie one end in a knot. Try boiling water first, and you'll probably find that steam isn't necessary.
The grain orientation when you saw the wood will also affect the flexibility. Try to get the grain vertical. Parallel to the sides of the boat.
I've restored canoes and other small wooden boats, and have found that milling for grain direction is half the battle.
Good luck.
Ron

Burrman said:

Hello everyone , new guy here, just bought my first boat.
Its a 1955 13ft 8inch Arkansas traveler.
I have searched all over for some info on this particular boat but i am not having much luck, I ran across this place
during my search to try to find out the things I would like to try to find out.
This old boat seems to be really sturdy other than I am going to have to put a new gunwale on it.
I would like to possibly use the same kind wood they used on it but I have no idea what it was since its so deteriorated
then at the bottom of the boat there is just a round hole with 4 holes drilled around another hole in which I am sure was a flange for the boat drain. Does anybody know if these parts are still obtainable and where could I purchase it or will i have to find another route ? I`m also in wonder as to how to bend the gunwale when installing it without breaking, there has to be a trick to it that`s a pretty long bend for a 1/2" piece of wood and there will be 3 of them 2 inside the boat and one on the outside of the boat "per side" and where in the word can I find wood that long. Thanks in advance.

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The drain went through the bottom with a flange or cover on the outside to let it drain while moving. I did that a few times! I do have some photos of mine if you want them. Mine is 14 foot flat bottom.

I have an AT and it is 13' plus Looks exactly like yours. I am in the process of replacing the wood gunnels I have white oak Very hard to find long enough here in Vermont. I could only get 3/4" instead of 1/2'. I am using it as 3/4 since buying enough to cut it down to 1/2" was very costly. I made a steamer set up with a propane turkey fryer and lengths of 4" PVC for the tube to put the wood in. Still working on them. stopped for the Vermont winter. I also have the bottom drain works good on plane. I have tiller steering. However, the 1/2" pipe plug threads are worn. I am not sure what I am going to do yet. I like that form of drain and would like to keep it original if I can.
Good Luck

Those clam shell type drains work awesome !! As a 73 yr old, I have owned a number of them in past years. Once underway, pop out the plug and a vacuum sucks the water out very fast !! As long as you are underway, none will come in!! Not sure why something that worked so well was discontinued.....

Have a new boat so I wanted to follow up and close this out. We went ahead and cut a square of aluminum then bolted it on the outside and sealed. It held all year and we ran the boat weekly. We upgraded the motor to a whopping 10hp from 1956 that STILL runs like a top... my 13 year old daughter can start it once it has run 1x at season start. Thanks for those that reached out-we got her on the water and got bit by the boat bug for sure. Kids growing fast (18 and 14 now) so we upgraded... will post that in a separate thread but thanks again for the words of encouragement and assistance to all!