I recently bught a 89 sailfish and I noticed i have alot of water coming out a small hole on the bottom of the bracket. Is the hole there for a purpose or can I close it up.
Thanks,Wayne
Thanks,Wayne
bracket on my 25 sailfish
- Thread starter wlapradd
- Start date
Do you mean the drain holes in the bottom of the bracket? You may have 1 or 2 and they should be plugged with Aluminum plugs.
lets hope jimmy isnt lurking about :lol: serch for posts by jimmys marine service he is a boat repair guy and has given all of us a lot of help on this particular subject
If it's not the drain plug hole you have SERIOUS problems with that bracket and get it fixed (new bracket) before getting it wet.
If you just bought the bought, my guess is the previous owner removed the plug to drain it, and forgot to replace it.
You shouldn't get "a lot" of water out of the bracket. I would reseal any access, (deck) plates on top of the bracket as well as caulk, (Life-Seal, 3M 4200, etc) around the entire bracket, where it meets the transom. Standard brass threaded drain plugs are available at any boat store, or see a Grady dealer for the aluminum type.
You shouldn't get "a lot" of water out of the bracket. I would reseal any access, (deck) plates on top of the bracket as well as caulk, (Life-Seal, 3M 4200, etc) around the entire bracket, where it meets the transom. Standard brass threaded drain plugs are available at any boat store, or see a Grady dealer for the aluminum type.
Not to dump on catch22 but don't use brass, you don't want dissimilar metals. Lowes might sell Aluminum, even PVC will be better than brass.
Grog said:
Ouch.....lol. I knew that would come up.
I didn't want to get into a debate about that, but.... Like I stated before, I've been using the brass on different boats for years, (in a slip) and never saw any corrosion, or seemed to have any problems, and yes, I do use teflon tape on the threads to help with sealing. It also makes removal easier.
I realize there's a legitimate arguement about disimilar metals, but the way I see it is, you already have disimilar metals, (bronze water p/u with ss screws, lower unit is aluminum and it has plenty of ss hardware, not to mention a ss prop, bronze transducer?, ss hardware on the bracket itself, etc, etc). I really don't think it's that big of a deal, especially when it's slipped, because not only do you have the teflon tape as a barrier, but you also have the entire bracket painted.
Hey, when in doubt.... do the right thing and get the aluminum plug. Mostly, I mention the brass type because of convenience.... they're readily available at most stores. Plus, I've seen the aluminum plugs get chewed up too easily, because they're soft.
Why do I have a sense the question is not going to be answered ?
I'm sniffing out ghostwriters, again.
Two newbies in so many days with drive issues.
I'm sniffing out ghostwriters, again.
Two newbies in so many days with drive issues.
1. It's a threaded hole placed there by the manufacturer and constitutes a means of draining the bracket (it will take on water eventually, so check it occasionally). The plug is obviously not installed.
2. It's an unthreaded drain hole placed there by the manufacturer. Why a bracket would be designed to take on water is beyond me.
2. It's a hole drilled by persons unknown for reasons unknown. If you have a functional threaded drain (see #1), plug this one.
3. It's a corrosion hole and your bracket is in a heap of trouble. Get it replaced.
How'd I do, BobP?
2. It's an unthreaded drain hole placed there by the manufacturer. Why a bracket would be designed to take on water is beyond me.
2. It's a hole drilled by persons unknown for reasons unknown. If you have a functional threaded drain (see #1), plug this one.
3. It's a corrosion hole and your bracket is in a heap of trouble. Get it replaced.
How'd I do, BobP?
thanks for all the tips related to my bracket,the holes that i see are corossion caused, the local marina is going to repair it
The mechanic @ the marine shop I deal with said if the hole is not bigger than 1/4'' he can fix it. This is my first boat with a bracket so I really have no idea. Has anyone priced brackets before,just interested in case the mechanic does not have a clue.
Sure you can heliarc the hole in the bracket but I'd be seriously conserned about the structural integrety of the bracket. D&D marine probably has the least expensive brackets and can do a "V" bracket, Armstrong has them and Hermco has them too. The first 2 are Aluminum the last one is fiberglass. I don't know about the standars bracket from D&D but the 7' "V" was around $1800, the Hermco is around $3500 (but more lift and no corrosion issues).