Discovered today that the drain plug fitting on the 1983 5.0 I'm restoring is riveted in.



I've never seen this method of attachment before for a drain plug fitting. All of my previous Hobies used SS screws for this. Also note that the rivets are aluminum with plain carbon steel (I assume since they're rusty) mandrels. Is this typical? It seems to me that corrosion would be a real issue using Aluminum especially if sailing regularly in salt water.

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Hobie 16 (3 formerly)
MacGregor 25 (formerly)
Chrysler Dagger 14 (formerly)
NACRA 5.0 (currently)
High Point, NC
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That is the way mine are attached. They haven't corroded but I'm about as far from salt water as you can get. nothing says you couldn't replace them and bed the new ones with 4200 and screws.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Thanks Dave. This boat hasn't been in the water in years so there's no telling whether they will leak or not short of taking a look upon the first test rig and float. To my mind the SS screws are a superior way to go.

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Hobie 16 (3 formerly)
MacGregor 25 (formerly)
Chrysler Dagger 14 (formerly)
NACRA 5.0 (currently)
High Point, NC
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when i bought my 5.8 one of the drain plugs (riveted in) was basically just hanging there, it had come completely out. (boat obviously hadn't been sailed in years, 2 according to seller). I simply replaced the whole bulkhead and plug and used SS screws. I also drilled out the other one (which was still in tact) but figured better safe than sorry and for the cost of a new plug and some sealant it's cheap piece of mind.

Yours actually looks good, and that "rust" doesn't look like steel corrosion, i'll bet you could clean it up a bit with a pick and the mandrel would still be there and in tact.

my wife's family has a 40 yr old hobie cat that spent all it's life tied to a tree on the beach in the sun, through multiple hurricanes summer and winter always with the plugs in. They still are so air tight (hulls and plugs) that you can hear the inrush of air when you open them. So while a part of me says, replace them they are cheap, the other part says, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If they feel tight and you can see no actual signs of decay (surface discoloration excluded), spend your time elsewhere.

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1987 Nacra 5.8
1978 Isotope (sold)
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Thanks icon149. My main curiosity was to determine if aluminum rivets were from the OEM. Just seems odd, aluminum soaked in salt water all the time?????? As I'm trying to get some late summer sailing in, I'm going to leave well enough alone for now. The first splash will tell the tale.

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Hobie 16 (3 formerly)
MacGregor 25 (formerly)
Chrysler Dagger 14 (formerly)
NACRA 5.0 (currently)
High Point, NC
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Basically the same drain plugs Hobie uses just riveted in. I have had many boats that I was not that sure about the integrity of the plug and housing. I just put the back end of the boat up and put some water in the hull, put the plug in, drop the back end then lift the front so the water goes back to the plug, then I just look for drips. If it lets water out it will let water in.

Get that thing on the water, your gonna love it.

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NACRA 5.0 (current)
Hobie 16 90945 (current) Rehabbed and sold to many to count.
Hobie 18 (formerly)
Hobie 17 (formerly)
Hobie 14 (formerly)
Goshen, IN
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Quote

If they feel tight and you can see no actual signs of decay (surface discoloration excluded), spend your time elsewhere.

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Just seems odd, aluminum soaked in salt water all the time??????

Years ago, in the days of the diamond rush in the NWT we used to joke that there were two options;
Lever A
Lever B
In your case, go with he latter.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ALUMINUM IN SALT WATER.
Do you see your rudder castings evaporating?
No
Lever B.
Apply a little logic here...if that little 1/16" mandrel,(30 years old) has not rusted to naught, what makes you think it is common steel? It would have dissolved years ago.
Go back to your grade 12 chemistry. Aluminum oxidizes,(rusts), almost instantaneously, far quicker than iron based parts, BUT, the result,(aluminum oxide) is nearly impervious to oxygen, which prevents any further oxidation.
Honestly Lee, stop worrying about "parsley", put that boat in the water & drive the snot out of it. We drive both 30 year old boats into 6' seas, with a list of "things I think I'll change/fix but other sh*t gets in the way".
Spend your $$ on a new forestay & shrouds, otherwise, short of driving it onto the rocks, it will not break. The thing has survived 30 years, do you think it is that fragile?
There is noting wrong with those drain plugs. Put the boat in the water, & sail the hell out of it.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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