Limber holes in stringers necessary?

[speedwagon]

Are they necessary between stringers at the transom? I'm about to put the deck on and really don't want to drill and seal holes in the stringers. This is a 25' GM. There are limber holes forward at the midship bulkhead and also the forward bulkhead. The boats not level and I can't level it right now otherwise I'd test. It sure looks like the water will fall forward but Im not certain.

 

[Cool Boat]

I would definitely put limber holes in any area that could retain water. You could end up with condendsation or seepage in there and create a problem. As you noted sealing them is important too.

 

[ThePartsGuy]

In the shop right now is a 38ft Rampage that another shop glassed over the holes during a repair. Complete disaster with soaked stringers and bulkheads, The retention of water rotted out the fuel tank and we built a new one. OMG the $$$$ the owner has into this repair is outstanding.

 

[jweir]

On my Holland, there are only limber holes up near the main steering bulkhead. The hull is deeper here at rest and water flows downhill to there. Nothing can puddle in the stern. Deep V outboard boats I’ve owned sat with the stern lowest and needed the limber holes there. Can’t hurt to have more though.

 

[Old Mud]

Another vote for necessary. Even the Navy ships use Limber holes / Rat holes. Even in the inner bottoms and peak tanks.

 

[Alext123]

My 26gm has them on the stringers at transom and at forward bulkhead. I would recommend them. Easy enough to do drill a hole pack it full of thickens resin and drill smaller hole. Done

 

[leaky]

Consider not just where the water sits at rest but also where the water sits when running.

If you have water sub deck and you are trying to get home - is that water just going to pile up in some corner or against the transom? How much will that area hold?

I don't think you can do anything such that every bit of water finds it's way to the lowest point in any situation w/ a DE - but at a minimum you want it so that you can't end up w/ 500 lbs of water that is only emptied by drifting around and waiting for it to drain into the keel either.

A pump in the area between the stringers within a few feet of the transom, maybe a high water alarm too, limber holes so that water back there can make it down to center, is warranted IMO.

 

[southshore30]

They are a great idea to keep water from sitting in places it shouldn’t. I have them down low to drain water in current boat so the compartment doesn’t become a unauthorized live well. I had them low and mid height in old boat to promote air flow throughout the compartments because I had air vents in the corners of the transom and hull sides so my engine drew some of its air through those, below decks through the limber holes and to the engine. No dampness or mold below deck at all!

 

[leaky]

Two other things worth a mention.

You can use a bronze through hull as a way to quickly add some draining, that also generally will seal water from entering the stringers if you install it well. It will of course not allow every bit of water to find it's way out of a compartment but will assure nothing more than an inch or so can be there.

A bilge pump in a compartment that cannot drain well also addresses 90% of problems if you have an area that can't drain right for whatever reason - that's what they are for

 

[Bill]

I don’t think they are absolutely necessary because the water will most likely run forward but they won’t hurt. I learned a quick way of doing them on here just for peace of mind . Just drill out 1 7/8-2” hole and cut a paint roller a little larger than the thickness of the stringer. Make a slit in it , dip it in resin and stick it in the hole, let it cure and grind it a bit and you’ll never know it’s there.. takes no time at all.

 

[speedwagon]

Thanks guys for all the great info. I drilled what I hope is the last of the holes in the boat. Sealed with epoxy and bonded PVC with a fillet around.

Every compartment has at least 2 limber holes.

 

[Old Mud]

That looks good. one thing i forgot to mention is if you have a watertite lazzerett you obviously would not want them in there. That is the one place you would want to isolate any water.

 

[Genius]

That looks good. one thing i forgot to mention is if you have a watertite lazzerett you obviously would not want them in there. That is the one place you would want to isolate any water.

mines a 5 compartment boat! forepeak, cabin, engine, shaft alley, lazerette. Definitely different ways to do it.

Edit: leaky may have me beat though....IDK how many compartments he has

 

[Old Mud]

mines a 5 compartment boat! forepeak, cabin, engine, shaft alley, lazerette. Definitely different ways to do it.

Edit: leaky may have me beat though....IDK how many compartments he has

I was thinking of the percentage of boats that sink because of rudder brgn. leakage, unstepped. Clean out failure etc. I always isolate the lazarette.

 

[leaky]

mines a 5 compartment boat! forepeak, cabin, engine, shaft alley, lazerette. Definitely different ways to do it.

Edit: leaky may have me beat though....IDK how many compartments he has

3, a 4th I might run sealed depending how the generator exhaust sits. But I still made 1 inch limber holes as if I wasn't, to fit 1 inch bilge plugs, used that strategy all around - if I decide anchor locker is more ideally a striper cooler I can isolate the spooge that way.

Already came in handy when I discovered a mouse got into an area and had a shit party . Was able to seal it off, scrub it out, rinse with water then vacuum it out multiple times, without having all that run across the boat.

 

[Bill]

Thanks guys for all the great info. I drilled what I hope is the last of the holes in the boat. Sealed with epoxy and bonded PVC with a fillet around.

Every compartment has at least 2 limber holes.

View attachment 151103

Came out nice !