scupper water line

catman115 · #1 07-18-2002, 03:14 PM

Hi everyone. I'm the owner of a vintage 1971 seafari 20' and new to the site. I know this topic has been discussed B4. When my boat is in the slip I notice that the waterline on the transom is right at the scupper hole. kinda of 9 oclock, 3 oclock. Are the scuppers supposed to be out of the water ??. I have a merc 135 and i usually keep 12 gallons of fuel in the tank, so I don't think I have a weight problem.Except my own. I believe the transom to be solid, no excess water. Any ideas ??

Reel Smoker · #2 07-18-2002, 06:33 PM

Catman, Rabud makes a cone ball scupper that should work for you. I cant answer your question, I really dont know where the water line on the 20 is supposed to be. My neighbor put a 225 on his 20 after I warned him not to, now he's got to plug his bail holes cause hes about 2 inches lower than the water line.I recently put on the cone scuppers and they work great.RS.

catman115 · #3 07-18-2002, 09:11 PM

Reel Smoker
Thanks for the input. The ID plaque on my boat says maximum H.P. 175. If your
neighbors boat is an oldie I think he might have been taking a little latitude with that
monster power plant. Would those scupper balls fit over my drain holes ?. Right now the boat has the rubber pieces that are supposed to close over the hole. I guess i would have to remove the old brass plates etc. and drill new holes. The boat has a boot stripe running around the hull so I assume that is the water line.

catman115 · #4 07-18-2002, 09:11 PM

Reel Smoker
Thanks for the input. The ID plaque on my boat says maximum H.P. 175. If your
neighbors boat is an oldie I think he might have been taking a little latitude with that
monster power plant. Would those scupper balls fit over my drain holes ?. Right now the boat has the rubber pieces that are supposed to close over the hole. I guess i would have to remove the old brass plates etc. and drill new holes. The boat has a boot stripe running around the hull so I assume that is the water line.

Reel Smoker · #5 07-18-2002, 11:52 PM

Catman, I believe Rabud has a web site someone posted it here a while ago. They make two sizes, the smaller one would probably be the one for you. As far as drilling a bigger hole you might not need to wife the smaller ones.RS

PressureDrop · #6 07-21-2002, 11:53 PM

catman - i am restoring the same boat, a 1970 to be exact. my boat sat on the bottom at least once, maybe twice. and i suspect both times to be becuase of the scuppers. the origional ones were sealed and then another pair was put in and also eventualy sealed. SCUPPERS AT THE WATERLINE!?!?! that sounds wayyyyyy wayyyy to close for comfort. if any of the water speeps into the bilge you will start to get that sinking feeling, and for good reason. if a boat is going to be self bailing the scuppers should be a minimum of 4 inches above the waterline, for common saftey reasons. this would mean the deck would also need to be rasied 4 inches resulting in a very low gunnale height. so a compromise must be made somewhere, on my boat, there will be no holes in the transom (not self bailing). we always hear storys of self bailing boats sinking, and for good reason, they let water in. if you dont let water in, you dont have to worry about getting it out. so with adiquate bilge pump cap. keeping a boat afloat should not be a problem. however if i were you i would get the boat out and seal those holes, especally if your boat is kept in a slip.if it rains and just a few gallons make it into the bilge the scuppers will be underwater and backflow into the boat and youll be on the bottom in no time. i did not mean to scare you with this post, just want you to do the right thing with that wonderfull boat of yours!, lets see some pics and we can compair notes on rebuilding!

Ben