Drilling through my hull, what to use?

[Cudos]

I want to put a thru hull drain for my bilge pump. Do I use a hole saw for this? should I expect any spider cracking or other possible damage. And can I seal it with silicone.

Thanks

 

[dingbat]

Re: Drilling through my hull, what to use?

Use a hole saw but cover the area completley with masking tape. Some will say to run the drill backwards until you get through the gel coat but I never bothered.

Install the thru hull using 3m fast cure 4200

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Drilling through my hull, what to use?

A through the hull outlet for a bilge pump line is normally in a 1" opening. The tube is then connected to the pump.

Drill a small hole and work your way up in size and drill bits. A nice sharp set of metal bits will work fine. If the largest you have is 1/2 you can carefully widen the hole with it then use a file to finish the hole.

You should not get any cracking with a sharp bit if you start small.

Use 3m5200 or 3m4200 to act as a sealer for the fitting......... DO NOT use silicone (it will fail).

Be certain to drill the outlet high up on the boat. You do not want it to act as an inlet when you are fully loaded

 

[hubbard53]

Re: Drilling through my hull, what to use?

I used an Irwin Unibit from Lowes... it was a bit more expensive but it was awesome!

 

[Lrider]

Re: Drilling through my hull, what to use?

They make 1 inch unibits check McMaster Carr

To use a small bit and try to route out a larger hole may give you some problems, you might ask your local boat shop how much to put the hole in, they will have the right tools and it only should take a couple of minutes

 

[Cudos]

Re: Drilling through my hull, what to use?

Thank You all, I see there are a couple diff ways to do this. I guess what ever method I use I must make sure to use a sharp bit or saw. I will try the masking tape as well.

Thanks

Cudos