---

1999- 19' Justice

While washing the boat yesterday after a day on the water, I noticed that the PVC drain tube from the bow hatch compartment was loose. I turned the end of the tube and it came completely loose and I was able to pull it out of the hull. I got the boat home and inspected the opening today. The foam was very wet to the touch and I put the bow in a down position in the driveway and had water dripping from the foam and out of the drain tube hole. Not a lot of water, but enough for me to worry that the whole bow section might be filled with water.
I have read most of the threads regarding water intrusion in the hull, and most say to patch the leak and go boating. I will do that eventually , but need a little piece of mind knowing I have done everything to get as much water out of the foam as possible.
Are there any tricks??
I have read about people drilling holes in the hull to drain the water. I am very resistant to doing that at this time, but would like to hear anyone's suggestions.
Thanks in advance-

---

If it is anything like my 1979 Revenge, the foam will be soaking wet the first day, damp for a couple days and then dry to the touch. Stick a fan in the front compartment and let her dry out. She'll be alright.

---

Been down that road. Read my personal page on what I discovered with mine. Let it dry for a couple of days or possibly the off season if that applies, when the iimmediate area is dry to the touch, seal it up with new drains and go boating.

---

Huck, I checked your personal page, great work!. Sorry to take this topic on a slight diversion, but what was your first indication of a rotten transom? I'm assuming the motor bolts were not sealed correctly?

Also you mentioned digging down through the transom wood to the rubber bands. What were they there for? I'm guessing they are used in the molding process.

Thanks

John

---

I have had some moisture in a few areas but none didn't go deeper than 1 inch, then the foam was dry.
At the drain tube in the bow hatch it was only 1/2 inch wet foam. I simply removed the wet foam and refilled with polyester and glas mix.
Try to remove some wet foam max 1/2-1 inch first. If still wet you can drill a hole in the keel righ below the drain tube. If it doesn't come out any water from that hole I wouldn't worry at all. If it does, go with the fan in the hatch and let dry for as long as you can. Repair the drilled hole with epoxy.

---

Va Whaler, I noticed the water when I was removing the old transducer to install the new one. Also, the transom would "pop" when I would plane off and while running. The biggest thing that I want you to get from my experience is that even though the drains were hardly sealed in the hull, the water intrusion was very local. All drilling holes does is gives you practice in the art of fiberglass repair techniques.

---

Thanks for the advice/ support. I will rest a little easier knowing that the water migration may not be that far. My worries were that the whole keel area below the drain tube was filled with water, and the only way to drain it out was to drill the hull. I do not plan on doing that after reading everyone's posts. My next job is to evaluate all 8 drain tubes, and hopefully it was just the one that is bad,
Thanks

---

Wouldn't the drain tube be brass tubing instead of plastic? If so, that area has been repaired once before. Check the size of the hole that the plastic tube was in to order the correct size tubing. You may have to go with the larger sized brass if over 1-1/16" diameter.

Garris

---

Garris, in 1996 or so Boston Whaler started using PVC drain tubes.

---

Something that worked well for me was elevating the bow and rigging a 7watt night light fixture in the drain tube hole with the foam. It was warm enough to evaporate the moisture but cool enough so as not to start a fire. My thoughts on water intrusion is that if it is forced into the foam by the extreme pressure of the water because the boat is planed and hitting waves at an area where there is a crack or a hole. Also, I believe that freeze thaw cycles will spread water throughout the foam. One thing about the drain tube is once planed off, usually the plug can be pulled and water will drain out of the boat meaning, there is little to no water pressure back there while at speed.