Ballast Thru Hull Idea- Need Advice

[Kevin_B]

I have been toying with the idea of a plumbed in ballast for years. Drilling a thru-hull into the bottom of my boat scares the heck out of me. So I started thinking and came up with an entry level system (1 jabsco pump, for now), why couldn't I try to utilize my drain plug hole. Which brings me to the obvious hard part, finding a fitting which would be a hollow, male threaded piece which would fit the drain plug hole. Am I dreaming or does a fitting like this probably exist out there?

In an ideal world I'm hoping to rig a system where I could disconnect my hose and then unscrew the drain plug fitting in order to drain bilge when boat is on trailer or hoist.

All thoughts, ideas, or advice welcome. If someone knows where to find this mythical fitting please let me know. Thanks!

[Batman]

Drilling a hole is not really a big deal. I put in holes for ballast and Perfect Pass. Figure out where you want hole. Double check the spot. Put masking tape on spot. Drill a small pilot hole, then take hole saw and drill in reverse for a smooth cut. Just make sure you are not drilling into wires, hoses. etc. Remember measure twice, drill once! Good luck! p.s. Tape a shop vac hose near where you are drilling to pull the dust / fiberglass away as it's messy and itchy!

[Chexi]

Use 1 magnet on the outside of the hull and another on the inside of the hull to locate your spot before taping and drilling.

[obd666]

i agree with going ahead and drilling a hole ... find the perfect spot for it with the best access to it, measure several times, then go for it i would prolly wait until you have your thru hull in hand however. with your plug hole idea, you wouldnt get much water to flow through due to its small size

[Chexi]

Kevin, you will not be happy with your idea of using the drain hole. You would end up having to load your boat on the trailer with the ballast still full, which is a bad idea. Second, your would either be spending too much time at the launch (annoying other people) or would then have to trailer your boat away from the launch and drain there... getting water all over the place. Just drill a hole. Thousands of people do it every year. Use the magnets to locate your spot. Check, double check, triple check for obstructions, flat surface inside and out, and clearance for all of the additional plumbing (like elbows... remember they have to rotate 360 degrees when screwing them on, and ball valves). Wear gloves and a long sleave shirt and safety goggles when drilling. Fiberglass is itchy.

[wake_fun]

Drill the hole..........use magnets.......look at my PP install thread.

[nboard10]

Another suggestion:
if you are deathly afraid of drilling holes (I was for two years with my old boat) I used the Jabsco pump and got a large hose connected to it and would toss the end into the water over the edge. Worked great, but ISN'T worth the hassle....

I gathered the courage and drilled a hole in the hull to fill and one in the side to drain. One of the best things I could have done as I was filling 3000 lbs ballast and it took forever at standstill.

I did add an on/off valve on top of the hole in the hull, just in case something failed, I could manually shut off the 'hole' to the water.
You can get all the parts you need at West Marine. This is similar to the valve I used.
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...classNum=10638

Don't forget this for the hull.... Use the best sealer when you attach everything. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...classNum=10637