- Joined
- Feb 28, 2005
- Messages
- 1,331
- Reaction score
- 294
- Points
- 83
- Location
- West Palm Beach, FL
- Model
- Sailfish
From factory, rear cup holders on Sailfish have a tube that allows rain water to drain into the bilge. It appears that the tubing is meant to get the rain water safely past batteries, switches, etc., and into the bilge.
I typically take a quick look in the bilge each time out. Prefer to see it bone dry so I don't have to assure myself it's just rain water or some wash-down water. Especially true on long boat trips when boat is in the water for weeks, far from home. A dry bilge is reassuring. So I connected the two lengths of tubing.
My boat sits on an outside covered rack, but we get enough hard, sideways rain that the cup holders can fill with water. The bilge would be dry, but the cup holders would get rather nasty if they held water for too long.
I found some really small 'Mini-Thru-Hull' fittings, (SKU 260-2778-CP) at
www.boatoutfitters.com
.
Ordered "QuQuyi 5/16" ID x 1/2" OD Soft Braided PVC Tubing, Clear Flexible PVC Tube Vinyl Hose Water Oil Winter antifreeze & Soft for Four Seasons (3.3Ft length)" from Amazon to fit the Mini-Thru-Hull. Then needed the "1/8 in NPT" from Home Depot to connect the Mini-Thru-Hull tubing to Grady's cup holder tubing.
Used a grinding stone to start the hole in the gelcoat just behind the rear fold-down seat. Made a mess making sure the hole was well coated with adhesive sealant and then took some pics, obviously before cleanup.
Hopefully, the boat will now have a dry bilge and clean cup holders. One annoyance taken care of.
Mini-Thru-Hull from BoatOutfitters.com. Did not use rubber bushing:
What served as a tubing connector from Home Depot:
What I believe is factory cup holder tubing now cut shorter and connected to 5/16"ID tubing from Amazon:
Thru-hull in place, inside of hole is covered with sealant, before clean-up:
Drain is not obvious with seat up or down.
I typically take a quick look in the bilge each time out. Prefer to see it bone dry so I don't have to assure myself it's just rain water or some wash-down water. Especially true on long boat trips when boat is in the water for weeks, far from home. A dry bilge is reassuring. So I connected the two lengths of tubing.
My boat sits on an outside covered rack, but we get enough hard, sideways rain that the cup holders can fill with water. The bilge would be dry, but the cup holders would get rather nasty if they held water for too long.
I found some really small 'Mini-Thru-Hull' fittings, (SKU 260-2778-CP) at
Mini Thru Hull
Marine Town Mini Thru Hull fittings provide a compact drain outlet solution for cup holders, rod holders, cleats, deck drains, ice chest drains, and other marine applications.
www.boatoutfitters.com
Ordered "QuQuyi 5/16" ID x 1/2" OD Soft Braided PVC Tubing, Clear Flexible PVC Tube Vinyl Hose Water Oil Winter antifreeze & Soft for Four Seasons (3.3Ft length)" from Amazon to fit the Mini-Thru-Hull. Then needed the "1/8 in NPT" from Home Depot to connect the Mini-Thru-Hull tubing to Grady's cup holder tubing.
Used a grinding stone to start the hole in the gelcoat just behind the rear fold-down seat. Made a mess making sure the hole was well coated with adhesive sealant and then took some pics, obviously before cleanup.
Hopefully, the boat will now have a dry bilge and clean cup holders. One annoyance taken care of.
Mini-Thru-Hull from BoatOutfitters.com. Did not use rubber bushing:
What served as a tubing connector from Home Depot:
What I believe is factory cup holder tubing now cut shorter and connected to 5/16"ID tubing from Amazon:
Thru-hull in place, inside of hole is covered with sealant, before clean-up:
Drain is not obvious with seat up or down.
