Drain plug leaking

[Underwaterwelder]

Our boat lives on a trailer. I had water in my bilge the last few times we spent more than a few hours on the water. I noticed last time I put the boat in the whole drain plug plate (the female part of the drain plug that’s screwed into the hull) moved a tiny bit when I tightened the drain plug. I tried tightening the screws and they turned a tiny bit and got snug and tight. It appears to have stopped the leak.

How did I go about fixing this correctly. My thought is, and please correct me if I’m wrong,

Remove the screws and drain plug plate.
Remove any old sealant.
Apply new sealant to the holes where the screws came from and around the drain plug plate.
Reinstall drain plug plate and screws and allow sealant to cure.

Is there anything else I should look out for or that I am missing? Is it that simple?

Finally what sealant should I use? I have a tube of Boatlife Lifeseal. It says it’s good above and below the water line. Would this stuff work? Or should I get a tube of 3M 5200??

Thanks a lot for the help!

 

[sugilbert]

Your Boatlife should be fine. Don't forget to seal the insides of that transom hole before inserting the fitting. If you can possibly get to the inside of the transom where the drain plug fitting comes through, seal that surrounding area also.
I hate 5200 as it is 'for ever'! Nothing is forever!

 

[Golfman25]

you have the procedure down. I’ll just add look at the hole when you remove the fitting. If it’s wood core, and hopefully dry, wouldn’t hurt to seal with epoxy resin. You could put some in the screw holes too, to get some bite back. Your life seal should be good, or 4200. Good luck.