Transom scuppers - musings

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JMC

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
23
Fluid Motion Model
R-23 (Sterndrive)
Hull Identification Number
FMLC3051D818
Vessel Name
My Thai
MMSI Number
338238825
I am curious why transom scuppers are not designed for the Cutwater 30S vs. the drains?
Is this something that makes sense to do after market or is it not recommended?
What's the thickness of the transom?
 
mine seal almost shut and were getting clogged with stuff from the boat deck. So I cut holes in them to help with drainage.....
 
the cockpit drains are the worst designed component on the boat!
 
Also agree - whenever we swim, I open the flap and remove the accumulated crud - very hard to do from atop the swim platform or any other way - would love a suggestion for how else to open and remove...

Have considered just removing the flap (our slip is near trees, a constant source of debris), but not convinced that this would be safe in heavy seas...

Like others, had to remove the strainer disks, or cockpit/bilge would be constantly wet, as they clog very quickly...
 
between the flap getting blocked on the stern and the small drain holes in the cockpit - I have to clean these out every week.

I use a bent coat hanger to get the crud out
 
My plastic drain screens just lifted out.. I suppose now I am susceptible to getting something large lodged in the drain pipe but I have found it drains better.. We have an enclosure on the back so it does not get as much in the back. But the plastic strainers still seemed to get clogged.
 
JMC":w500ykc5 said:
I am curious why transom scuppers are not designed for the Cutwater 30S vs. the drains?
Is this something that makes sense to do after market or is it not recommended?
What's the thickness of the transom?
Click to expand...

We actually remove the plastic screens at the drains as they do get clogged with very minimal debris, even seen fish blood cause them tho slow the draining down a bit. I would however recommending to flush them out when your at the dock and washing down the boat/deck, easy way to make sure they are clear of any debris.

Thank you,
Kevin Lamont
 
I an able to get my hand between the swim platform and bow and have used a bent paper clip and worked it in behind the flap and pulled it out. Just a thought and thinking out loud here, but maybe a 3/4 inch 8-32 stainless machine screw with washer and nut on either side will give you the ability to grab it and hold it open so it clears out.
 
On our R27 Classic, as delivered the throughput of the cockpit drains was pitiful, even with the plastic strainers removed. We made a drain cleaning setup using a hose ball valve, jet stream nozzle and 2 feet of vinyl tubing pushed over the end of the nozzle. Attach to a garden hose or wash down hose, insert vinyl tubing into drain around the corner and turn on the water. By plugging the hole with a rag and the other drain hole on the same side with a rubber stopper, the force of the water pushes all of the debris to the hole in the transom and most of it out. We also bent the plastic flaps out a bit to make it easier for the draining water to exit at the transom. IMO, the flap hinges are too stiff.
 
I used the live well, beneath the grill, and when it drained it overwhelmed the drainage and back drained into the port side cockpit compartment; beware.
 
We Had issues with the deck drains over flowing on the starboard side when we purchased our boat. We have a full enclosure and still had water over flowing in the starboard aft compartment and filling the starboard side of prop tunnel bilge. Things I do and did to improve this.
Clean screens and drain troughs once a week ( I didn't remove screens because all the crud I clean from screens would eventually plug drain hoses)
Cleaned the limber tubes to get water to drain to engine compartment. Limber tubes were plugged with fiberglass strands and close cell foam.
Removed deck drain hoses port and starboard side from each deck drain, and from the thru hull transom scuppers. There were several low spots that had fiberglass dust combined with dirt forming a hard buildup partially plugging the hose and a split hose where a clamp was installed on the hose and not on the barb fitting causing the hose to split and leak near the scupper thru hull fitting. The drain hose was lower then the thru hull fitting (scupper) so in order for water to drain the hose had to fill up to get the water level high enough and, some of the water would drain the rest eventually leaked into the bilge area because of the split hose. I rerouted all the hoses taking out low spots added two 90 degree plastic fitting to remove the tight bends in the hose and made the hose fall proper so the water would drain properly.

I moved batteries to starboard side so the boat would float level. The starboard aft drain is in the far starboard aft corner. of the compartment. When water would drain off the deck and drip into the deck drain trough. It would flow to the opposite side of the trough and fill up then spill over into the compartment. If we were on board it didn't do this because the boat is always moving up and down with us moving about in the boat and it drained ok. It took me a while to figure this one out.

This is a boat with a full enclosure. I can't imagine what happens with a open cockpit! I am also very particular about having dry storage compartments and a good working self bailing cockpit. The only area in our boat that has water in it now is the log area of the bilge. I cleaned all the limber holes which were not plugged completely but every one of them had crud in them.

I am not posting this or any of my other post to down grade the quality of the brand. I try to explain my findings and my ways of remedying the issues. I will admit that I get frustrated at some of the sub standard quality but I don't believe that is what Cutwater or Ranger is all about. It only takes one or two less qualified technicians to change the standard of quality and that may only be on a few boats. I believe the over all quality of Fluid motion is good.
 
I had the same problem. My solution which seems to be working was to remove the scupper screens completely. Then prior to washing down our decks I take the hose nozzle and stick it in each of the scupper openings and use the water pressure to clean out the drain lines. First time I tried it we had all sorts of leaves and crude come out the back. I've not had a problem since and I just consider it part of my wash down maintenance when we get to the boat.
Al
"True Blue"
25SC
 
I just gave this drainage some thought. There are two drainage openings about 1.5 inches in diameter, probably less than that. The drop from the cockpit is about 12 inches. Water will run at abiut 0.14 cubic feet per second which is about 540 cubic feet per hour for both pipes. If we can believe the cockpit space of about 50 square ft (r27) that would mean we can empty about 12 inches per hour, most likely much less due to restrictions in pipes and corners.

This would mean if we had 10 inches of rain per hour the cockpit drainage would be insufficient and the boat would sink due to gaps between cockpit, cabin, and locker covers. The bilge pumps are rated at 500+ gph which is about 66cf per hour

These are just ball park figures, but if one where to be in such a rainy area, we would be in trouble. Luckily, in the us there is no such place with that rainfall, however some places had such rainfall for brief moments. Just don’t use a water hose that exceeds such rates and stay out of following seas
 
stwendl":2389t7vw said:
I just gave this drainage some thought. There are two drainage openings about 1.5 inches in diameter, probably less than that. The drop from the cockpit is about 12 inches. Water will run at abiut 0.14 cubic feet per second which is about 540 cubic feet per hour for both pipes. If we can believe the cockpit space of about 50 square ft (r27) that would mean we can empty about 12 inches per hour, most likely much less due to restrictions in pipes and corners.

This would mean if we had 10 inches of rain per hour the cockpit drainage would be insufficient and the boat would sink due to gaps between cockpit, cabin, and locker covers. The bilge pumps are rated at 500+ gph which is about 66cf per hour

These are just ball park figures, but if one where to be in such a rainy area, we would be in trouble. Luckily, in the us there is no such place with that rainfall, however some places had such rainfall for brief moments. Just don’t use a water hose that exceeds such rates and stay out of following seas
Click to expand...

stwendl, this is good information. I can't comment on the reason that some Tug and Cut owners are concerned about the self bailing cockpits drain inefficiencies. I can comment on mine. I was never concerned that the boat would sink. I maintain the bilge areas and storage areas the same as the rest of my boat. I like to keep them clean and dry. Our boats are small with electronic equipment stored in theses areas. I also store gear in the compartments. I like it as dry as possible. Its a boat and there is going to be moisture under the deck but I feel the drier the better. The deck area or floor in the compartments is plywood sealed on the top with gelcoat but not the bottom ( some have experienced rotten wood in just a few years). I found that improving the installation and maintaining the drains I am able to keep a dry area below the decks. If the biggest concern of the deck drains is the boat sinking. We should be in good shape between the deck drains and the bilge pumps as you have stated. I think that Ranger and Cutwater design is sufficient if the installation is done right.
 
Open the transom door. Just sayin'....
 
tlkenyon":1gm341n9 said:
Open the transom door. Just sayin'....
Click to expand...
Some time back while musing this same topic I looked into the ABYC and USCG standards for cockpit drains/scuppers. USCG only applies to commercial vessels. ABYC has a sizing standard based on draining (as I recall?) 75 percent of the cockpit volume in 90 seconds or less. The volume is calculated based on the area and depth to the sill of the cockpit. The only way that the size of the cockpit drains on Ranger boats could possible comply with the standard is that they consider the bottom sill of the cockpit door to be the sill of the cockpit. So I guess if anyone is concerned about whether the drains will remove water fast enough, just keep the door open all the time or take it off the hinges 😉
 
Keeping the door open "all the time" is unnecessary. Maybe just when the realistic possibility of cockpit flooding exists would this be both necessary and warranted. In following seas, the door will serve more to keep water out, than to let it out after a flooding. After just shy of 1,000 hours underway in a very diverse set of conditions (from protected rivers to the Atlantic), I have never encountered these conditions, and never hope to. Not saying that it could not happen, but pretty unlikely, and possibly the result of some not-so-good planning. Keep the Bimini up, plan ahead, and have a 5-gallon bucket handy.

Remember also that your engine is a very good bilge pump. Close the seacock and take the top off the strainer. Run the engine and at the same time, run the wash down hose over the side. Kinda extreme actions, but if needed, kinda extreme conditions.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

  • Tugnuts.com is the community hub for Ranger Tug, Cutwater, and Solara owners. Since its inception in 2008, the Tugnuts forum has grown into an active and thriving community of more than 9,000 members. It serves as both a meeting place for the best boating community online, and an invaluable archive of information.

  • User menu
Back
Top