Leaking Dinghy Transom Drain

[F51]

The original self bailing drain on my Zodiac Zoom 10' folding transom dinghy was constantly fouling with debris, so I replaced it with a bronze tube and an expanding plug. I epoxied the tube in place and all was fine for about a year. Then it started leaking. I ground away the epoxy on the outside of the transom and found that the epoxy had not bonded well with the pvc. There is apparently some flexing in this area and over time the weak bond failed. Next I decided to caulk with Boat Life. I thought I had it but as you can see in the picture, a crack appeared at the edge of the pvc. I am thinking now that I should remove the Boat Life and really load it up with 5200. Have any of you found a better solution?

I can't get the picture to appear in the post, but it is in the gallery at:
Drain In Folding Transom - Cruisers & Sailing Photo Gallery

[David M]

Use 4200, it bonds without permanently gluing it in place like 5200 does.

[sparrowhawk1]

I would take out the tube and use a standard thru hull.

[F51]

Originally Posted by David M

Use 4200, it bonds without permanently gluing it in place like 5200 does.

Yeah, but I think I need the stronger bond. The reason it is leaking now is the failure of the epoxy/pvc bond. How does 4200/5200 do at bonding to PVC? Will it remain flexible? There must be some flexing in this area that caused the first bond to fail. Anyway thanks for the suggestions & keep them coming! All of us together are smarter than any one of us individually.

[sparrowhawk1]

Originally Posted by F51

Yeah, but I think I need the stronger bond. The reason it is leaking now is the failure of the epoxy/pvc bond. How does 4200/5200 do at bonding to PVC? Will it remain flexible? There must be some flexing in this area that caused the first bond to fail. Anyway thanks for the suggestions & keep them coming! All of us together are smarter than any one of us individually.

That's why you use a through hull. It has a flange on one side and wide nut on the other to bed w 4200