Transom heavy submerging scuppers question

[demco99]

Hey guys,

I have an 18' 1999 Boston Whaler Outrage and she is pretty stern heavy with a 200hp Suzuki 4-stroke as well as a 9.9 4-stroke kicker.. on the stern of the boat there are 2 scuppers on the starboard side and just one on the port. The lower one on the starboard sits under the water line when at trolling speed and takes in water. Should I fully seal the lower one off? When I get it up on plane it drains out so I'm wondering what options I have??? Add some ballast to the front port side of the port??

Thanks for any help!
Nick

 

[Hookin'up]

Hey Nick,
I have had the same kind of issues my scuppers, they are about 1/3 under water at rest and worry me constantly with the boat being moored and not readily visible to me,
I have had ideas of removing them and just having my deck drains dump into the bilge and letting 1 of the 3 pumps take care of it, its only going to take 1 well placed barnacle to wreak havock, my boat is butt heavy as well with the 4.3 back there
the 4 stroke hanging off the back end and a couple batteries tucked under the back too it all adds up to no good, with my deck pretty much at the waterline, there is not much else I can do
I don't really want to add a bunch of weight to the nose and then be nose heavy as well going into some of the bigger waves, you'll see what I mean as soon as we manage to get together for a troll one of these days

 

[Aces]

Hey Nick,
I have had the same kind of issues my scuppers, they are about 1/3 under water at rest and worry me constantly with the boat being moored and not readily visible to me,
I have had ideas of removing them and just having my deck drains dump into the bilge and letting 1 of the 3 pumps take care of it, its only going to take 1 well placed barnacle to wreak havock, my boat is butt heavy as well with the 4.3 back there
the 4 stroke hanging off the back end and a couple batteries tucked under the back too it all adds up to no good, with my deck pretty much at the waterline, there is not much else I can do
I don't really want to add a bunch of weight to the nose and then be nose heavy as well going into some of the bigger waves, you'll see what I mean as soon as we manage to get together for a troll one of these days

You never want to solely depend on pumps.....that's how most boats sink. It's better to reposition the scuppers for both of you and Nick

 

[wolf]

I had the same issue with my boat as well i went to the type with the rubber over a hard plastic cone and looks like a ping pong ball inside of it all so when water trys to go it it seals up 3 years now no real hassle only hassle was seaweed growth on the inside fixed that really qiuck poured some bleach down there then spray hosed it all gone.

wolf

 

[demco99]

I will look into these ping pong ball type scuppers you're using Wolf. I know she's overpowered and hope to eventually step up to something a bit larger with a buddy but am just trying to get it running as dry as possible for the next few years..

 

[dance a jig]

Wolf is right, the "ping pong ball scuppers" work well, althought the ping pong sized ball is actually hard plastic and the scupper name is "Flow Max Ball Scuppers" http://www.fisheriessupply.com/productgroupdetail.aspx?cid=161832&keywords=ball+scuppers. I have used with great success and the only problem is when you get some eelgrass or seaweed stuck in them.

At one time I owned a 19' outrage and relocated my batteries into the console, which might help offset your stern list.

Good luck. DAJ

 

[Mighty Sylvan]

I just looked online but couldn't find an image, but there is an inline one way valve you can buy. My friend had them installed on his 21 striper after he repowered with a four stroke.

 

[profisher]

My Seasport is 20 years old this year. I took the ball type scuppers off to clean them up a couple years ago and noticed hairline cracks in the plastic housings. The cracks were starting at the holes for the screws to the outer edge. I took the housings down to Crest Sheet Metal and had them copy them in Stainless. I re-used the plastic balls and the gaskets. Now I have something that not only works but will last forever...problem free. Also don't have to worry about a big log coming into the back of the boat while moored at the dock at night and busting the housing leaving the hole open to water coming in.

 

[Sculpin]

Buy a bigger boat for that 200.

 

[Mighty Sylvan]

Buy a bigger boat for that 200.

No way! Lots of quality platforms like yours out there with that same issue that can be resolved cheap and easy. For overnight mooring you could plug them at the deck until the scuppers are changed out or valves are installed.

 

[Aces]

My Seasport is 20 years old this year. I took the ball type scuppers off to clean them up a couple years ago and noticed hairline cracks in the plastic housings. The cracks were starting at the holes for the screws to the outer edge. I took the housings down to Crest Sheet Metal and had them copy them in Stainless. I re-used the plastic balls and the gaskets. Now I have something that not only works but will last forever...problem free. Also don't have to worry about a big log coming into the back of the boat while moored at the dock at night and busting the housing leaving the hole open to water coming in.

I have been using them for years and have found that the inside rubber that the ball rests against get hard and doesn't seal very good. I usually change the whole unit every 4 or 5 yrs........not a huge investment in the name of safety.

 

[Tailspin]

I find the ball valve scuppers on my Osprey to be plugged up with debree, like pine needles, fishing line, toothpicks and even dog hair. I have to rinse with a blast of the hose quite regularly, and I keep super a tidy boat. I would not trust them to prevent water coming in, one toothpick between the ball and seal and she's deep six on a boat with low scuppers. Thankfully my scuppers are 6 inches above my water line.

 

[profisher]

Mine are 2-3 inches above the water line. The only time they go under is when I'm fishing and have 3 big guys out on the back deck sitting at the stern. I too blast mine out often to make sure there is no crap stuck in them. I would say weeds (eel grass) from checking crab traps is the most common culprit. The other benefit of the SS is that the UV from the sun no longer gets to the gasket to harden them up.

 

[Tailspin]

Good Idea, who made them up for you?

 

[profisher]

Gaston down at Crest Sheet Metal on Burnside Rd. I have a business relationship with them so I got a great deal. Not sure how pricey they would be otherwise...a bit of fabrication time to make them. I have 4 scuppers on my boat. (I had the factory add a couple for faster draining)

 

[beemer]

Well , on my trophy 23 I had the same problem and tried the ball system and didn't have much luck.They started to leak as soon as they had even a film of growth on them. I didn't want my boats safety to be based on a couple of ping pong balls and a few hoseclamps so I made the decision to seal off the scuppers with rubber bungs and aluminum plate. I know many people have advised against this with good reason , but I weighed the pro's and cons. My trophy has the large low engine cut away , so if I do take a big green one the majority will go out the cut away. I have installed 2 high volume bilges connected to separate batteries , and I always have several buckets ready to bail! I am not a outside fisherman , so if I was doing Renfrew or Swiftsure on a regular basis I would definately rethink it. This works for me but may not for everyone and I definately would not do it on a boat that has a full height transom.

beemer

 

[trophywife]

sort of high jack,,, for a C on a boat does the scupper have to a ball valve? or is it only if the scupper pipe passes through the deck and under the floor thus needing a piped section,, still working on getting my C... no way i can put a valve on mine????

 

[demco99]

I will look into the ping-pong ball type scuppers and the inline one way valves and possible beemer's fully sealing suggestion with a secondary bilge pump. Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Not interested in switching into a bigger hull for a few more years when I start shopping for a bigger boat. Will also try shifting any moveable weight(cannonballs, prawn lead) forward and to the port side as much as I can.