Bow to stern drain pipe brittle & crushed - How to replace??

[tohotim]

84 Sailfish - in process of re-doing tanks & hoses and have now found the pvc pipe that runs from bow to stern bildges is crushed. Pipe runs under tank coffins and allows bilge water to flow all throughout the tank coffins...

Has anyone replaced this pipe on an 84 Sailfish?
Is it possible to just cap it at either end, keeping the tank coffins dry, and let the forward and rear bildges work separately??
Should the second pipe that drains the coffin boxes to the rear bilge be plugged or open once the tanks are replaced?
:uhm
Thanks for any/all help - links to previous -

Tim

 

[suzukidave]

Re: Bow to stern drain pipe brittle & crushed - How to repla

i read here a while ago that the reason grady stopped installing large hatches into the forward coffin to use that coffin space is concern about water getting in there.

anything is possible but i think it would be pretty crazy not to fix that when you have all the tanks pulled. any alternate safety system would be costlier and less reliable.

 

[DennisG01]

Re: Bow to stern drain pipe brittle & crushed - How to repla

I agree - I wouldn't want to rely solely on pumps. Gravity requires no electricity. It shouldn't be too hard to fix it - just cut out the bad section and glass back in a good piece. I would, however, do my best at making sure the new PVC (if I didn't replace the whole section, that is) fits snugly to the old sections, in order to avoid a "snag point" for any debris to get caught.

 

[tohotim]

Re: Bow to stern drain pipe brittle & crushed - How to repla

Thank you for your comments and thoughts - If anyone has pictures or links to previous posts, that would be great. I tried the FAQ's but did not turn up much. Definitely going to address, just looking for best way to tackle.

Best fishes,

TT

 

[DennisG01]

Re: Bow to stern drain pipe brittle & crushed - How to repla

There's probably any number of ways to accomplish this, but personally I would use an oscillating tool. Easy to control and minimal dust. Cut out the bad, replace and re-glass. Don't think too hard on this one - there's nothing too difficult - easy peasy.

 

[suzukidave]

Re: Bow to stern drain pipe brittle & crushed - How to repla

this all assumes the tank is in the rear coffin.

build a series of rigid foam frames/cradles to support the tank and with a generously sized notch in each for the pipe to fit through and a separate drain notch. i don't think you want to glass the pipe in. just install new pvc and use pvc fittings and caulk to seal it from the bilge and from the front coffin where it passes through the bulkhead. if it ever fails you may be able to remove those seals, pull the pipe out and thread a new pipe in without removing the tank.

so long as there is a simple open drain from the rear coffin to the bilge, the worst case scenario if the pvc breaks is that water from the front coffin gets into the fuel tank coffin before draining into the bilge. not ideal for the fuel tank but better than sealing the rear coffin.

 

[tohotim]

Re: Bow to stern drain pipe brittle & crushed - How to repla

Dennis and Dave - Thank You - great tool suggestion and agree, no glass after looking at it more - the original lays in the hull below the tank supports.

Best,

TT

 

[DennisG01]

Re: Bow to stern drain pipe brittle & crushed - How to repla

Hmmm. That's interesting your isn't glassed in. Mine is. I wonder why the change? I suppose it's easier to change it out down the road, but then with it glassed in it's a whole lot more sturdier and probably will never break. Could a previous owner have already made this change?

 

[tohotim]

Re: Bow to stern drain pipe brittle & crushed - How to repla

After further inspection and dissection...the pvc was glassed at the entrance to the forward bildge and again at the rear. It was not glassed inbetween or in the middle at the separation between the two boxes. Used a cut-off tool to remove but ran into a problem as it was brittle and cracked all the way into the glass. Looks like a full cut-out and re-glass.

The next challenge is running the pvc under the glass support for the tanks...will likely cut those too and re-glass. Another option might be to use flexible pvc hose.