Fish Box Drain Fitting

[jbowie]

Hi all,

I broke the fishbox drain (the one inside the box) while undertaking the fabulously entertaining task of changing the thru hulls on my '88 Offshore. Does anyone know where I can get a new one?. It is a grey plastic fitting with 1" threaded post, has a flush flange and has a sort of cross strainer at the bottom. It is not in the 1000+ page marine catalogue I have (western marine - Canada), but maybe some of y'all in cyberspace might have sourced this bit before...

A bit more info:

Outside Diameter of Flange = 1 3/4"
Diameter of Thread = 1"
Height of fitting = approx 1 3/8"

There is partial writing on the underside of the Flange. What I can read says: "KLEIN BKLYN. 7,..."

Thanks much,

-- James

 

[timo14]

I just went through the exact same thing. Might as well stop looking... the company that made those is out of business. Here's what i did and it works great.

Buy a Perko Acetal thru-hull fitting, this one...

http://gator49.hostgator.com/~zeromyst/ ... cts_id=415

Put it on some wood blocks so you can chop the top off with a miter saw. Saw it in increments. There are 2 indentations on the inside of the throat of the thru-hull that you would use to hold it steady while spinning the nut on... you can cut down right till they disappear. There may be a few small air pockets in the casting that will be exposed, but they're not a big deal. Take a fine file to it to ease off the edges.

Drop the thru-hull in the hole, install the nut (loose), the elbow and the hose. Pull the thru-hull up, squirt some 5200 under the flange, press it down and let it cure. Put a little extra 5200 on it... it will level out in the recession in the fish box and give you a nice smooth transition. You can stack small stuff on it, then a brick or something to weigh it down. When it's done curing, spin the nut on tight from underneath. I tried putting the nut on while the 5200 was wet... I highly advise you dont try it. You'll just end up really, really annoyed. If you dont put all the extra stuff on first, you'll put alot of strain on the 5200 trying to install it. Trust me on this one. Let's just say I installed the same drain several times.

My boats an 86 Overnighter so you might not have the same access problems to the nut... so you may be able to do it all in one shot. There was alot of insulation under my fishbox, which made it difficult as well. It is not a fun task but it does turn out very nice.

Good Luck... let me know how you make out.

 

[timo14]

By the way... here was my thread on this one

http://www.greatgrady.com/forum/viewtop ... sc&start=0

Have fun

 

[timo14]

James,
I looked at my drains today... you actually want to cut the top of the fitting off down to the point where you still have a little of the 2 indentations remaining. If you cut further than that, you'll have no shoulder left on the thru-hull at all. Basically, you're shooting for the shoulder to be as thin as possible while still maintaining a little stiffness. Mine are 100% flush with the bottom of the fishbox... they drain the box 100% too.

Tim

 

[jbowie]

Tim, thanks a million. You probably saved me half a dozen aggravating phone calls and a weeks' worth of waiting. I'll learn from your experience and buy the through hull.

-- James

 

[timo14]

No problem. That's what this site is for.
Good Luck

 

[Grog]

Does the drain empty by the waterline or well above? If it's close to the waterline, get a second clamp on the hose.

 

[jbowie]

Tim, am I safe in assuming that you chose the Perko fitting with the 1 7/8 flange OD (requiring 1 5/16 mounting hole)? Where did you get the elbow that you show in your post?

Thanks again,

-- James

 

[timo14]

James,
Yes, it's the fitting you mentioned... just need to cut the shoulder down in height and cut off the hose barbs. The only elbow i used was the existing grey one that you showed in your photo's. In the old post i showed a photo of a new drain i was consicering... I think that's what you're referring to. I bought an elbow/drain combo at West Marine. It was for a marine sink drain. After i really studied it, I decided that it was too flimsy. The perko fitting is much more stout... and you can put a regular plug in it.

If you have decent access to the bottom of the well, you might be able to cut the threads down enough on the drain to thread the old elbow on to it to pull it drain down tight. This is instead of using the thru-hull nut like I did. That is probably a better way, I just couldnt make it happen with the limited access.

Tim

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

I have used this before and it works.

 

[jbowie]

Roger that. Thanks again Tim!

 

[BobP]

Timo, did you look at the Forespar ones with the screens in them?

I think Hamilton Marine sells them. They have a flat top, but V undertop, can file down the V thickness, but at least the top is flat.

 

[pvanpuff]

fish box drain repairs

Thanks guys for all of the useful info. I have the same problem on my 89 fisherman 20. Same bad drains too.
Georgio can you tell me where to find the fittings in your pictures?
Any suggestions on how to get the hard to reach drains back in?

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Re: fish box drain repairs

Thanks guys for all of the useful info. I have the same problem on my 89 fisherman 20. Same bad drains too.
Georgio can you tell me where to find the fittings in your pictures?
Any suggestions on how to get the hard to reach drains back in?

I got them from a local marine supply, PM me if you want and i'll give you their phone number.

 

[BobP]

The Nothing Esle's post photo is by Marine East (as I recall), West (and others) sell them in different sizes, not cheap though, but it does have a screen. They also come in straight, not with 90 deg. The flange is slightly wider, have to trim it a bit (hand file) to match 1 7/8 inch diameter.

Timo - the flange diameter on the Perko one is not 1 7/8 inch, it's narrower (?), and it doesn't have a screen. At least the Perko acetal one I found in West didn't.

The gray 90 deg PVC fittings someone else asked about are sold at Ace, the Depot, etc., It's a 1 in. threaded female to 1 inch hose, marked on fitting, Grady uses this fitting sometimes with a 1 1/8 inch bilge type hose clear with black spiral rib (sold at West and others), other times a 1 inch hose. Grady uses the 1/2 size on sink drains but uses 5/8 inch clear reinfroced hose to connect. Strange how sizes of hoses and fittings mean different things. Have to try them out. All the sizes I refer to are ID.

 

[BobP]

I think I'm going to order Forespar ones with the screen in mushroom head and flat head, pick the better one and grind it down, or in the case of the flat one, grind the V down from the underside, or send them both back if neither is suitable, or go with the Marine East one, already bought it, unless I can figure out the Perko acetal one recommended.

I need a screen on mine, keep the fish puke from plugging up the drain.

 

[timo14]

I'd rather not have the screen. It just gets clogged with scales and other junk. I'd prefer all that stuff goes overboard. The old fitting had an X in the bottom of it... I was constantly pulling all kinds of nasty crap out of there. Also, I like to plug the hole to hold water in the well... I'll be honest... my fish-boxes usually have more beers in them than fish.

The Perko fitting fits perfectly once the hose barbs are cut off and the top is trimmed down to make it flush in the box. I did have one of the sink drains, but i thought it was way to flimsy. The nut wasn't really even a nut, more of a collar with one diameter of threads.

pvanpuff -- as far as tips for getting to them... unless you're lucky enough to have 3 elbows on each arm, it's going to be a chore. I think this is a valid blanket statement for any model, any year from what I've read on this board.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

The Nothing Esle's post photo is by Marine East (as I recall), West (and others) sell them in different sizes, not cheap though, but it does have a screen. They also come in straight, not with 90 deg. The flange is slightly wider, have to trim it a bit (hand file) to match 1 7/8 inch diameter.

Timo - the flange diameter on the Perko one is not 1 7/8 inch, it's narrower (?), and it doesn't have a screen. At least the Perko acetal one I found in West didn't.

The gray 90 deg PVC fittings someone else asked about are sold at Ace, the Depot, etc., It's a 1 in. threaded female to 1 inch hose, marked on fitting, Grady uses this fitting sometimes with a 1 1/8 inch bilge type hose clear with black spiral rib (sold at West and others), other times a 1 inch hose. Grady uses the 1/2 size on sink drains but uses 5/8 inch clear reinfroced hose to connect. Strange how sizes of hoses and fittings mean different things. Have to try them out. All the sizes I refer to are ID.

I have not seen them anywhere but Fred Chall Marine supply. They were 12 or 15 bucks. They are not made by Marine East, but i can't recall the name.

 

[BobP]

The original fitting has the cross bars way down, can still use the plug to seal it for filling the water.

I need one for the head floor drain, it's the same as the others on my boat, all the fishwells and live wells, I'd rather stop anything but soapy water from going down the drain in the head.
Anything else would never make it out.