how thick is the hull in the bilge of a cd 27?

[dennfri]

I was trying to mount a y valve for a new automatic bilge pump on my cd27. I used a very small bit to drill a starter hole on the side of the deep area of the bilge just under the cabiln sole. (just bigger than a pin hole). After about 1/4 inch, water started to leak in at a constant rate. This hole is not very far from what I percieve to be the interior side of the lightning ground plate. I was under the impression that the hull was much thicker than this, especially under the water line.

Any Ideas?

Dennis

[rtbates]

I have no idea of the thickness, BUT I do have a suggestion for future installs.

Use either 5200 or 4200 or other good adhesive/caulk and attach a piece of board to the hull, then drill into the board. For 'board' I use a man made product readily available at any lumber yard so water or moisture is no issue.

There is several underwater epoxies available to plug the hole.

best of luck

[Russell]

I was trying to mount a y valve for a new automatic bilge pump on my cd27. I used a very small bit to drill a starter hole on the side of the deep area of the bilge just under the cabiln sole. (just bigger than a pin hole). After about 1/4 inch, water started to leak in at a constant rate. This hole is not very far from what I percieve to be the interior side of the lightning ground plate. I was under the impression that the hull was much thicker than this, especially under the water line.

Any Ideas?

Dennis

Yikes! No idea how thick the hull is there, but its a big no no to ever drill into the hull below the water line while the boat is in the water. And even then holes should only be drilled when installing things like seacocks or other thru the hull hardware. As the previous poster suggested glueing a board to the hull is the ideal method, then dirlling and screwing into that board. Sand the area first, then clean with acetone, and glue on a board using epoxy or whatever your prefered glue is (things like 4200 work as well and are more removeable). I use oak for things like this as far as wood, then prime it and paint it with a polyurethane paint to keep the wood sealed so it wont rot. As suggested you can use a two part underwater curing epoxy as a temporary fix, I always keep a couple sticks of this stuff on my boat for emergencies. But its only a temporary fix, haul the boat asap and do a proper repair.

[jefff]

Maybe you drilled into the area above the keel and there was just a little water above the lead?, thru one of those access grates in the floor?

[dennfri]

Yes jeff, that is exactly where I drilled. I stopped the water quickly with a stainless steel screw, but clearly this is very temporary. I am strongly considering Russells advive to haul. If I don't I will use the underwater epoxy on the outside ans west epoxy on the inside till I do haul.

Thanks guys,
Dennis

[Ron M.]

The hull in the bilge on my CD 30 is 5/16" - 3/8 " thick. Not a good place to drill for screws, adhesive (4200 or epoxy) a better choice.
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