Was this a members boat? What Happened?

[ROBERTH]

onoahimahi, yes it was a Rule Heavy Duty switch. Got it replaced under warranty from WM so good to go. I hope they are not going to start failing like this. If one more goes, I will look to replace all 3 on board with another brand. I have had great success over the 30 years of boating with the Rule pumps. I have had a few float switches go bad, even the mercury one's. Mostly in the past was due to corrosion from electrolysis. I see no signs of this on the Grady. The wiring was clean and looked new. Connections were high and dry and I use the heat shrink butt connectors with the glue that oozes out to seal them. I think this was just a bad switch internally somehow.

 

[The_Chain]

I would also strongly recommend long lines with spring clips in your ditch bag. If the boat turtles you can wrap one around a pipel or rail onto itself and then to your PFD. You'll at least be able to stay with the boat easily.

I threw a few of these rigs in my ditch bag as well..I have personally tried them when I jumped overboard for a swim last year..work great!! Rated for 100lbs but I weigh over 200 by a tad and I reefed on it hard.

http://m.uline.com/mt/www.uline.com/Pro ... 7AodW3YARw

Great tip. Available for a bit less on Amazon, and eligible for Prime shipping. Just ordered two.

Brian

great I think there well worth the small cost

 

[Spawn Bag]

Back onto those deck plates. In an earlier post I mentioned a few leaks that I repaired on my 226. The largest of the leaks was from the 2 deck plates in the motor well. As Enough Already mentioned the covers were leaking more from the outer ring then they were from the pop out cover with O-ring. When I pulled the old ones off it looked like someone put silicone over silicone rather than cleaning off all of the old when attempting to fix leak. I cleaned silicone for what seemed like days. I replaced them with two clear ones which allow me to look into the bilge without removing the covers. They haven't leaked a drop since.

 

[mboyatt]

What do you use to seal that outer ring before you screw it down? Can you use a silicone caulking or do you need to use 3M 4200? I love the 4200, but it is so hard for me to work with. I always seem to make a huge mess with that stuff and never seem to get a good bead on it. Thoughts on this??

 

[ROBERTH]

I have used silicone for last 2 years, but continued to get the seals broken to allow water in my bracket. I resealed this year with 4200 and no issue so far. I think that in my case, my cover plates are the starboard and not a pop out or screw in plate, so 4200 bonds much better with the starboard. For normal deck plates, I think Silicone has a chance to work well enough and will bond to the plastic better that those are made of.

 

[Spawn Bag]

I was told to use regular silicone and so far so good. I used the GEII Almond color I think the key is to get the area as clean as possible so your working on a good surface. I ran a bead connecting each hole and paused for a second over each hole to provide a little extra silicone to the holes. I then used 6 tooth picks, stood them straight up in the screw holes, lined them up with the holes on the outer ring and let it slide down. Lined up perfectly and I didn't have to move the cover around looking for the holes. I then rolled each screw in a dab of silicone before tightening down.

 

[HMBJack]

Couple years ago, I replaced all my pop outs with the screw in types sealed with 4200 Quick Cure.

However, it seems no one here knows the cause of this mishap. Anyone truly know?

 

[Meanwhile]

HMBJack, here are a couple followup messages from Bloody Decks at http://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/thread ... ez.540618/
Post #50
"Ok, just saw this one. This boat was one of 3 Grady's out on hien bank that day. It was a good friend of mine's boat. He has a 33 and that was his 30. It was skippered by my fishing partner. There were 2 gals and one guy from my office on board. Speculation is pretty much right. Sounds like 3 of the pie plates popped off on the euro transom. Took on water fast. No one on board could tell where the water was coming from. Skipper was un familiar with the boat. Everyone got off ok. A boat fishing near them pulled them off. Nice to know Grady's float. We showed up after they were safe . Owner showed in the 33 and took everyone back to port.I have a 25 foot sailfish and always wondered if all that foam would keep it floating if shit hit the fan. That boat that sunk has been a great boat. Yes it went on the rocks up in tahass last year in the middle of the night in a storm anchored in a cove. But she made it back on her own power. Skippers not too old just uses the hell out of his boats. It's sad to see any boat in that shape. But she kept everyone safe.It was 18 k to float her and tow her in. I am sure she will be out again to fish another day. With screw in deck plates this time. I think it is a 2000 or 2001. So all you Grady owners with the euro transoms may want to check your deck plates and swap them out to screw in ones."

Post #54
"Yes, thru hulls in tact according to the guys at capt sante. They said they refloated her with no sign of failure. I didn't see it for my self. My question was that there had to be water in the bilge to pop the plates. Boat ran up from lake Washington on Thursday and the bilge was bone dry Friday morning when she left the dock at Friday harbor. "

 

[bfloyd4445]

Here is an observation...an optimist point of view. The crew made it off alive and the boat did not sink. If it sunk on the bottom she would be. I am not sure why it happened or how it could have been prevented. What I know is she was still afloat even after the cause of flooding happened. What I know is some other brands of boats worth a ton of jack are built with zero flotation and they truly would have sunk. This photo is a testament to how Grady builds them. They recovered the boat and the crew which in the end is what truly matters here.

exactly! I was thinking the same thing when i saw the pix. Grady's float when the others sink. Sorta like a Westail in the sailing world. raise

 

[bfloyd4445]

HMBJack, here are a couple followup messages from Bloody Decks at http://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/thread ... ez.540618/
Post #50
"

I am about to buy a used 282 or 270 and would like someone to explain what a pie plate is or post a picture. I've been sold on Grady's since a year ago when i emailed the factory for info on a fifteen year old model and they bent over backwards to help me even sending me the brochuire and engine test data. Trouble is out here in the west there are not alot of Grady's to choose from so I'm still looking

 

[Another Distraction]

What's keeping that boat afloat? It's floating very high and it "ain't no whaler"!

 

[Fishtales]

Here are the pie plates; aka pop in deck port plates: http://www.beckson.com/prydp.html
As you can see on the clear one, the center plate has a black O-ring that is around a lip on it. The center plate snaps into the base. You can see the pry point (flat area) that a pry tool or flat screw driver is installed to pop out the center plate.

Here are the screw in deck plates. The center plate has about 1.5" of threads and you screw the center plate into the base. It also has the black O-ring to seal. You can tighten them down fairly well. http://www.beckson.com/screwout.html

Beckson sells replacement O-rings as well.

For some of the newbees, some advice.
The screw-ins are direct replacements. You unscrew the bases and remove. Cut out old caulk and clean well. Then either use the silicone or 4200. Personally this is a no brainer in my opinion - especially if you are off shore in any weather. The euro transoms are prone to wash over, especially on the drift in rough weather. Why Grady and people with boats wouldn't change is a mystery to me. Pretty inexpensive and easy to do.

I recommend getting yourself a bag of wooden thru hole plugs, a few containers of "stay afloat" and put on the top of your ditch bag.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=888wQhRcmjQ

It is also wise to keep all seacocks closed when not in use and check periodically for proper operation. Sometimes these can freeze or become difficult to move. A little preventative maintenance goes a long way.

 

[Hotchief]

It is also wise to keep all seacocks closed when not in use and check periodically for proper operation. Sometimes these can freeze or become difficult to move. A little preventative maintenance goes a long way.

Agreed on the closed seacocks especially now we're in winter.
As another reminder it is important to keep the seacocks lubricated (I use WD40 and make sure it doesn't overspray).
An older cruiser in my marina just had to be emergency hauled because the owner tried to force a seacock shut - it broke off completely at the hull base - and water started gushing in.
Of course he had dead batteries too... :-|

 

[Another Distraction]

Wow, it broke right off....not good. :jaw

 

[trapper]

I have been using the Armstrong plates for some time. I have two 10 inch plates in the splash well of my 208. Easy access to bilge and totally water proof. Every few month I plug up the splash well drains and fill it with water and let it sit overnight to check for leaks. Never had an issue. http://www.armstrongnautical.com/pdf/deckplates.pdf
Do not have to crank them down hard just tight enough to compress the sealing ring. Cheers, trapper

 

[suzukidave]

do the armstrong plates have a liner for the hole you make or do they fit flush over the gelcoat? i saw plates that looked like them on an aluminum boat this summer but they fit flush against the aluminum.

 

[jimintheair3]

And to answer the original question after many hi-jacks, he is a member ! :goodjob :goodjob

 

[Meanwhile]

Jimintheair3, I live in Scappoose, moor in Garibaldi. Not too far from Vantucky. Feel free to PM during tuna.

Do you know if the cause was ever established?

Randy

 

[trapper]

Sometimes a hijack or two brings a much needed solution to a potentially dangerous problem needing some modification insight. Can we excuse the highjacks under these conditions? Cheers, trapper P.S.To answer your question SDave, they fit flush with gelcoat compressing a rubber seal.

 

[fishbust]

Sometimes a hijack or two brings a much needed solution to a potentially dangerous problem needing some modification insight. Can we excuse the highjacks under these conditions? Cheers, trapper P.S.To answer your question SDave, they fit flush with gelcoat compressing a rubber seal.

Don't apologize to him about "hijacks" after he chimes in on page 3 of a very slow moving board. There are no "hijacks" as these forums are not strictly question and one line answers, they are discussions that sometimes evolve into a lot of good conversation, input and things to learn about the hobby we are all so into.