Cooler drain plug upgrade - 242

[NautiWeasel]

Ever since we purchased this '14 242, I've always wondered why the drain plug for the cooler seemed to be an extreme afterthought. The area where the plug should have been (we never received an actual plug, but there was a threaded hole where a plug should be) never seemed very sturdy or of a quality build. The plug wasn't universal, and I had a heck of a time making things work. Last season, I was able to buy some universal bilge plugs that were of different sizes, and they were made of plastic with a rubber exterior. That worked, but it wasn't a clean install, and apparently they weren't as straight forward to remove as I had assumed, as my 14 yo daughter at the time of our last trip out last season "removed" the plug for me, by unscrewing it. Well, that meant the part of the plug that sealed the drain, was now dropped into the depths of the bilge. Try as I may, I couldn't find that part back in our bilge, and of course, I couldn't find those parts to purchase again. Early this year, I made things work by using an adjustable bilge plug that I had to insert, then screw tighter to expand the plug. This worked okay, but it was hard on my fingers (especially to remove when full of icy water) and it wasn't perfectly water tight. The cooler would drain down over time, and leave you with barely cool beverages.
This had to be changed, and luckily I had an idea while browsing the net a few weeks ago. I purchased a stainless steel bilge plug kit, which included the bung, screws, and plug, that were all made of highly polished stainless steel. This was a $25 purchase, and with a simple $5 tube of white silicone caulking, the install took maybe 10 minutes.
This plug is what the boat should have come with. I mean, this isn't a Bayliner or Rinker... (no offense, I've had those boats) and why did Cobalt cheap out with some raggedy plastic plug bung and plug? This new plug, although it will frequently under ice and beverages, I will be proud to show off! The best part... the plug it takes is the same size as the bilge plug on the bottom of the boat, so I have several spares, and it's easily obtainable.
On to the pictures. Hopefully this helps others with this generation of boat to upgrade their onboard cooler plug.

[jhnmdahl]

Nice upgrade. I've done a few little things like this on my boat too, but in different places. I suspect it's not so much Cobalt "cheaping out" as not wanting to put money where it won't be seen or used by a lot of people. The stereo's a good example - it was fine, but there's no way I was leaving it as-is on my boat unless they knocked it out of the park using exactly the products I liked best.

[NautiWeasel]

Good point.