Dorade Boxes & Seatbacks | New Drain Holes

It is of course very important that the enclosed spaces in the hull have drain holes so that water which will inevitably enter the spaces can easily exit them also.

I made the drain holes exactly as the build manual directs, which was through the sides of the Dorade boxes above the fillets which join the sides to the deck, and through the sides of the seatback lockers again above the stringer which joins the sides to the deck.

They looked fine and I thought no more about it, until we put the boat on its trailer for the first time about eighteen months ago.

This being the UK, it promptly poured with rain. Because the drain holes were effectively 30 to 40mm above the deck, the bottom of the boxes and lockers were then under water to that depth.

This, incidentally, was when I first discovered that the paint blistered when in contact with standing water. But the immediate problem was that it would do the boat no good at all to have all that water sitting around, not draining out.

I resolved to redrill the drain holes much closer to the deck, so this would not happen.

First I had to fill the original holes in the Dorade boxes. I sealed the holes from the inside with plastic tape. Then I filled the holes with thickened epoxy and sealed the inner hole with tape and the outer hole with a piece of plastic card taped in place.

This is the starboard outer hole, plugged.

And this is the starboard inner hole.

Then I drilled new holes. This was the result on the starboard outer side.

You can see that the new drain hole is much lower down, nearer the deck, and actually passes through the fillet.

Drilling the inner holes was a bit trickier. The holes are 12mm in diameter, so have to be made with a drill with a standard sized chuck. This limits how close to the deck the holes can be made.

This is a test with a 3mm bit which I did to see how close to the deck I could get.

Very little improvement could be made on the original hole's location. So that is the best we can do here.

This is the inner hole on the port side, with its first coat of clear resin to seal it.

And this is the starboard outer drain hole with its second coat of clear resin.

This is much improved and hopefully will prevent lots of water from lying inside the Dorade boxes.

The seatback lockers were a different problem.

Like the inner Dorade box holes it was impossible to drill a new hole level with the deck, so I simply enlarged them down to the bottom of the locker.

They do not look very elegant, but I think they will have to suffice.

This is the starboard drain hole with its second coat of clear resin.

And this is the port side.

Not very aesthetically pleasing but they will drain the lockers completely, which is the main requirement.

They should look better when painted... I hope!