Save-A-Boat - The Forum for Plastic Classic Rebuilds!

I installed one of those heavy duty bronze garboard plugs discussed in the Battle of the Bilge thread. Pics to follow. Nothing out of the ordinary to report. I drilled out the main hole with a hole saw, then drilled out a small hole at the edge of the main hole for the keyway. Drilled and tapped for number 10 bronze machine screws and installed in copious quantites of 5200.

Main hole plus keyway slot.


Use lots of adhesive/sealant please.


Ready to be plugged.

This is probably a really dumb question, but should these be installed with the plug opening to the inside or outside of the hull?

From the outside, In many cases you can't reach it from inside since it's way down in the bottom of a keel.

Another good practice is to seal and corrosion protect the plug with water pump grease or something similar when screwing it in. At the boatyard we remove them immediately after hauling for the customers and tape the plug to the prop shaft. This procedure acts as an "idiot-proofing" for losing the plug and/or forgetting to put it back in the spring.