Reseal Garboard Drain Flange

[Sheepdog012]

Hi All,

I noticed that I have a slight drip coming from my garboard drain plug flange when my R21-EC is on land. It looks like it needs to be re-seated/sealed. Anybody have a recommendation for what product to use to reseal it? I'm thinking 5200 is probably too permanent and butyl tape is probably not solid enough. Any insights are appreciated.

 

[GaylesFaerie]

Check your fitting closely inside the boat. If it is like my 2012 R27 it is not bonded to prevent corrosion. On mine when I tried to remove the drain plug, instead of the plug unscrewing the entire fitting started to rotate slightly. I removed the 3 screws holding it with little effort and they were severely corroded. You may have a similar issue on your R21.

I ended up getting a new bronze drain and bronze bolts instead of screws. I was able to then lead a bonding wire from one bolt directly to a bolt fastening the skeg shoe to the boat which had a bonding wire to the rest of the bonding system. 5200 or 4200 will both work. I used plenty of Life Seal under the fitting. GF

 

[Capt’nKarl]

When I had my 21 I had to replace the garboard drain flange. I resealed it with Boatlife Life Seal. Never had another issue with a leak.

 

[knotflying]

I concur with both previous answers. The flange needs to be bonded to the system and use life seal. To bond to system I used one threaded bolt on the garboard plug flange through the hull and made it long enough to first use a nut to secure it to the hull and then another nut to hold the bonding wire on. Never had an issue after that.

 

[GaylesFaerie]

Yes, it was KnotFlying's advice on bolting and bonding that I followed. Here is what my drain and screws looked like after pulling them off the boat:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9M95Z84ARVhxqwD89

The screws had lost their threads and holding power. A good knock on an underwater obstruction could have ripped the drain right out. Basically, the original sealant was all that was really holding the drain in place and keeping the water out.

Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the finished installation. To complete the install I used 3 bronze bolts with one being longer than the other two to accommodate one lock washer and nut to secure the drain to the bolt and still have room for the bonding wire ring connector and another lock washer and nut. The hardest part is working upside down deep in the bilge. Not fun.

GF

 

[Sheepdog012]

Thanks All for the input, I appreciate it!

The original garboard flange is bonded to the rest of the system, so no issues there. What I found was the flange was not centered in the hole and one of the screws wasn't screwed into anything and the sealant had eroded under that side of the flange. It looked like it was butyl tape as it was completely pliable and smearable still. I cleaned out the screw holes and used some West Marine epoxy to seal them up. Tomorrow I'll give it a light sanding and drill three new holes in different spots, then seal it all up with 4200. On to the next maintenance item!