Empty the cooler?

[ckracing]

Good evening. How do you empty the cooler in an 86 Sunsport Skier? Thanks in advance!
///cjk

[chrisk]

If it's the same cooler as my '85 Sunsport you can't take it out, it's molded in to the boat. Mine has a drain plug in the bottom.

[scottchapin]

Drink fast

[cadunkle]

^ This!

Seriously though, I don't have a plug for my cooler so can't use it. Is there something off the shelf that will fit so I can fill with ice/water or do I have to get creative?

[rludtke]

I have seen the rubber expanding "transom" type plugs in a variety of sizes in the maring section of my hardware store, Mayber one of these might fit? What diameter do you require? Live wells often use these expansion plugs.

[wotan2525]

^ This!

Seriously though, I don't have a plug for my cooler so can't use it. Is there something off the shelf that will fit so I can fill with ice/water or do I have to get creative?

What's the worst that happens? Water drains into the bilge? I built my cooler and specifically designed it this way!

[sybrmike]

Yeah, you can use a a twist-lock or lever style expanding bilge plug like outboards/io's (mine's 1") to hold a water level to help keep things cool. Although the factory insulation is woefully inadequate - hence the nickname of "ice melter" instead of "cooler" for these things. You can just let it drain into the bilge when needed. There's probably a hose nipple on the underside of the drain (mine's just a thru-hull fitting), so you could attach a section of hose to direct the flow towards the rear if desired.

Alternately, some have found soft-sided coolers that fit well & make loading & unloading easier, plus actually serve as an insulator.

[Okie Boarder]

Duct tape. Seriously, I tried a few of the plugs and nothing wanted to stay. I didn't really want the water draining because a lot of times the melting of ice produces really cold water so it helps in keeping things cold. I just taped over the hole, after removing the thru hull fitting sybrmike talked about, and I drain it by using my wet vac.

[cadunkle]

I think I still have a 1" expanding drain plug floating around from my old I/O. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll be the right size. The hole looked smaller than 1" though... I'll measure if it doesn't fit.