CONTINUOUSWAVE

[The transom drain for the live well in my 2004 NANTUCKET UNSPECIFIED MODEL LENGTH] has a leak that seeps, drop after drop, onto the top of the fuel tank and thence to the sump space. The hoses that connect between the livewell and the drain fitting are old and most likely have never been replaced.

Not long ago, I replaced [several] through-hulls. I cut the hose going from the livewell to the transom drain fitting. I changed the hose going to the transom through hull [from the point of the cut, leaving the old hose in place to the live well]. I now have a 1.5-inch PVC connector at the most accessible location adjacent to the deck hatch where I connect the old and new hoses.

I think the leak was created by my work in moving the hoses.

I had planned to replace the livewell hoses and drain, but access is so tough [I changed my plant as described above]; for access there is only a one-handed blind reach through a hatch.

Right now. I just want to fix the leak at the drain--and leave the old hoses alone. View the illustrations below to understand the situation.

I am not sure if there was a seal on the top side of the drain or just silicon that dried into gasket; the bottom side where nut is had a bead of silicon without any seal. The first thing I tried is buy a red 2-inch seal as used for a toilet flash, and I was able to install that seal on the top side with the nut loose on bottom. (See Figure 1.)







However, after tightening the nut alone the leak was not fixed.

Q1: [based on what I have already done as described in my narrative] what next step should I take?

[Ideas for a next step are laid out in more questions below.]

Q2: do I install a seal on top?

Q3: do I add silicon on top?

Q4: do I use 3M4200 on top?

Q5: do I add silicon or 3M4200 or both silicon and 3m4200 on the bottom nut (because I cannot remove that nut and install a seal

Q6: is the white piece on top of the drain supposed to twist and come out?

To me the white piece on the top of the drain looks threaded on the black PVC90 elbow. (See Figure 2.)

Q7: could the leak come from the threads on the black PVC elbow?

Q8: are seals needed on top and bottom or just top?

The drain part [description and part number is] ELBOW 90 DEG 1.5 W/FLANGE/NUT 1041961

I may decide to take everything apart and replace all.

Q9: where can I buy the OEM parts if I decide to take everything apart?

--Ivan

islavov wrote:Q1: [based on what I have already done as described in my narrative] what next step should I take?

I suggest you take the following next step.

If the drain at the bottom of the livewell drains by gravity into the transom through-hull, you can test for the location of the leak as follows:

1. temporarily block outlet of the through-transom drain;
2. add water into the livel well drain slowly and carefully so the water level in the drain begins to rise slowly as it reaches the blocked outlet;
3. stop adding water at various levels so as to partially fill the fitting, connections, and hoses incrementally, and as more water is added more of the drain path will have water retained in it;
4. observe when the leak begins.

This procedure will allow you to isolate which part of the total drain path and its fittings are causing the leak.

If you test with the boat on the trailer, you can adjust the angle of the drain path by raising the trailer tongue with the trailer tongue jack.

jimh--thanks for the summary.


Leak source is shown above in Figure 4. The leak starts at the area indicated by blue lines, and the water seeps down and forms drops at bottom of the drain fitting.

The boat is on its trailer. I test [for the leak] with a hose. The moment I fill the livewell tank, i can see a drop forming at bottom.

I think when I barely moved those old hoses (that are now more like plastic than rubber and have no flexibility at all) then I put pressure on the drain fitting and the seal broke loose; tha basically lets water seep.

I need the livewell tank for an upcoming trip in three weeks

If I do not get any further advise on how to stop the leak, I may use 3M4200 to seal the livewell fitting and hope for the best outcome.

If I understand your comments correctly and your annotations in Figure 4, the leak actually begins at the joint between the bottom of the livewell and the drain fitting (which I think in your narrative you use the indicator "top" to refer to), as indicated by the thickest of the blue lines producing the most volume of water leaking.

But I don't understand if the two other locations shown with thinner blue lines are also sources of the leak, or they just are being wetted from the leak above them. Perhaps you can clarify that, as it will really identify the joint that is leaking.

islavov wrote:... I may use 3M4200 to seal the livewell fitting and hope for the best outcome.

If you slather 3M4200 onto the fitting, you may stop the leak, but you may also create a future problem if ever the need arises to disassemble the drain fitting from the livewell tank and the 90-degree elbow. 3M4200 is a sealant but it is also a strong adhesive. At this point, you do not really need to augment the adhesion between the fitting and the bottom on the laminated livewell. You just need a sealant. For your first attempt to stop the leak, you may want to use a caulk-sealant that won't be so difficult to remove in the future. You just really want to stop a slow leak, not adhere the drain and fitting together for all time.

I understand that access to that area is limited. Apparently in building the 2004 NANTUCKET [whose length is still unspecified in this thread] the cockpit deck laminated part is not part of the Unibond hull, and this deck section could have had the livewell drain fitting, the 90-degree elbow, and the hoses installed before this third large laminated part was adhesively bonded to the hull bottom and hull liner laminated parts that created the Unibond hull. Now that the deck laminated part is no longer separate, reaching the area where these fittings are located is much more difficult than during the original assembly.

islavov wrote:Q6: is the white piece on top of the drain supposed to twist and come out?

The white locknut is supposed to thread off, but they get stuck. I ended up breaking mine, so I am also looking for a flange lock nut replacement. Cf.: Q9.

For help with obtaining obscure OEM replacement parts for older Boston Whaler boats, I recommend the two dealers listed at:

Best Source for OEM Replacement Parts
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... f=6&t=9380