Keel Drain

Marshall Wright · Post by **Marshall Wright** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:35 pm

Greetings,

After pulling my boat, I discovered a "keel drain" at the stern foot of my keel. Its bronze and has a square female slot for removal. I'm going next weekend to drain the water I took on when I holed my hull.

It's been cold. Wasn't able to get to it until next weekend. Hope I haven't done any harm......

I'm going to spray the fixture with WD-40 to soften. Oh, and I"ll check to see if it has "pinked out". I'm taking a 3/8" and 1/2" rachet. I'm hoping one of them is the correct size.

Some questions. Should I carefully heat the bronze before spraying the WD-40? I'd use my 12A Milwaulkee reciprocating saw, no just kidding, a paint remover heat gun.

I went to a hardware store and HomeDepot and neither had any advice regarding square "hex" bits should my rachets not work. Any suggestions where I might find other square bits that might work should the two I have not fit? Also, I will probably have to hammer this some to break it free. Is that a bad idea?

Marshall

W

Tim Mertinooke · Post by **Tim Mertinooke** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:19 pm

Marshall Wright wrote:I'm going to spray the fixture with WD-40 to soften.

WD40 is not a good penetrating spray as it is mostly a lubricant and water displacer. You may be able to just give it a moderate crank. If that doesn't work then you could use PB Blaster. I have had a lot of luck with that stuff. This is designed to pentrate and help free up stuck bolts and things. The only word of caution I would have is that it has a pretty tough solvent base and may affect whatever caulking was used to seal the garboard plug base.

I'm taking a 3/8" and 1/2" rachet. I'm hoping one of them is the correct size.

The bronze is much softer of a metal than the socket fitting at the end of the wrench. If it does not fit perfect then I would not use it as you could wreck the plug making it very difficult to remove. You may be able to buy a handle to match perfectly or you can make one with some copper, bronze, or brass stock that is filed down to fit.

Should I carefully heat the bronze before spraying the WD-40?

I would try penetrating spray first before going down the heating road. If you apply too much heat (aside from the fire potential) you may compromise the caulking material.

Also, I will probably have to hammer this some to break it free. Is that a bad idea?

Depends if you're swinging for the fences or not. Bronze is soft so whatever hammer you use should preferably be of a softer material. Get a plastic hammer.

Good luck and post pictures.

Hirilondë · Post by **Hirilondë** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:24 am

I have the same drain, (installed it 2 years ago) and it comes with its own tool. Looks like a square allen wrench. Whatever you use, make sure it fits well to avoid stripping out the indent. You may even want an extension bar.

Next year before you replace the plug, paint the threads of it with water pump grease or similar. Then tighten it to "quite snug". I gauge this by giving one good "ooomph" with the tool without an extension. I know it seems rather ominous to grease the insert instead of using loctite, but as you can attest, getting it out is the usual problem.

Post by **Tim** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:17 am

If it looks like this, try and find the dedicated tool, if it's stowed on the boat somewhere. Otherwise, a 1/2" ratchet head should fit. Just be careful no matter what not to round out the opening. It probably won't be as bad as you think to get it out.

Quetzalsailor · Post by **Quetzalsailor** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:10 am

Every time I see one of these things and think about the times I've found water in my hollow keel I wish I had one! Then I look at those four cheesy little screws and I think about how big a hole that would be down where I could never reach with a plug and hammer!

It's likely to be easier to remove those four screws and worry the bedding loose than to sweat unduly with a corroded plug. Remove the fitting, dissassemble in the comfort of your basement, reinstall, put the plug in with Teflon pipe dope.

bcooke · Post by **bcooke** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:56 am

...Then I look at those four cheesy little screws...

... with the whole unit bedded in 5200 ...

Marshall Wright · Post by **Marshall Wright** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:50 pm

1/2" rachet did the trick. Didn't even take some persuation. If the water in the keel hadn't been frozen, it might have flowed. Saw the suggestion regarding some env. friendly anti-freeze. So in it went. Will try again tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice. Worked like a charm.

Marshall

PS. Can I post photos on Picasa and post them here? Or is there another, better site?

Plastic Classic Forum

Keel Drain

Keel Drain

Re: Keel Drain

Keel Drain