Scuppers? Ball? Duck Bill? Whats best?

[wingtime]

OK with the addition of a live well and a large friend to my boat I found my scuppers were letting water in on the decks.  This coupled with two rectangular hatches in my splash well that leak into the bilge resulted in my bilge pump getting a workout in the Gulf on Sunday.  Besides rigging the live well to hold less water, I believe some sorta scuppers are in order.  Rabud and TH marine make ball scuppers that look like they will solve the problem.  I like the idea that the TH marine units can be easily removed to clean them out.  Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about these?  I heard that they can be noisy as the ball rattles around.  I found these duckbill units: http://www.wholesalemarine.com/pc/T-H-D ... upper.html  They look good to me but I wonder how well they drain.     Does anyone have any idea or experience in this area?

Thanks!

[slvrlng]

The duck bill ones are a pain. They only work if you have just water going through them. Any speck of trash (fishscales, leaves,you name it) get stuck in them and hold them open so it kind of defeats the purpose. The pingpong ball ones work well.

[GoneFission]

Agree wit d above.  Go with the ping-pong ball type.  

But get some 4200UV or 5200 and re-caulk those seams in the spashwell!  You will be amazed how much water comes in if you don't keep the spashwell tight.  The bilge pump really should not work very much.  You need to chase down the source if it runs often - don't rely on the pump to keep the boat afloat - they are not flawless...  

See ya on the water!

[Aswaff400]

i got pingpong ball ones on my boat and they are awesome

[MarshMarlowe196]

I have ping-pong scuppers and I'm happy with them.  I would have water on my aft deck constantly without them.

I guess they could be noisy- I don't know because mine are always underwater     Seems like they would be noisy if your waterline is right at the scuppers.  

They do have a few downsides - they get clogged sometimes, but not as easily as the duckbill style, and the casing seems to break easily.  One of mine broke and I'm not even sure why- replaced it with a drain plug.  On the plus side, they're cheap.

[wingtime]

Well Ball scuppers have the majority vote!  So ball scuppers it is!  I just have to decide on which brand now  

Thanks for all the quick replies!

But get some 4200UV or 5200 and re-caulk those seams in the spashwell!  You will be amazed how much water comes in if you don't keep the spashwell tight.  The bilge pump really should not work very much.  You need to chase down the source if it runs often - don't rely on the pump to keep the boat afloat - they are not flawless...    

Yeah that thought crossed my mind when I saw what was going on.  If my pump crapped out I would be in big trouble.  The leaks in my splash well is the 7" x 11" Rabud hatches that are in there.  A PO had installed them and did a real bad hack job of it.  The hatches were old and nasty so I bought the same type as a replacements.  Bad idea.  I had to refill all the holes and redrill them anyways so I should have gotten the Offshore versions.  The ones I have now you can see right through the hinge area into the bilge.       So they have to go too.

[gran398]

Agree wit d above.  Go with the ping-pong ball type.  

But get some 4200UV or 5200 and re-caulk those seams in the spashwell!  You will be amazed how much water comes in if you don't keep the spashwell tight.  The bilge pump really should not work very much.  You need to chase down the source if it runs often - don't rely on the pump to keep the boat afloat - they are not flawless...  

See ya on the water!

Good points....an addendum here based on experience. You'll see pumps cycle on-off when offshore, especially when jumping on plane.  Always note the duration, and frequency. If its more than ten or twenty seconds every thirty minutes, time for some sleuthing. Nothing wrong with a slight plumbing drip to the bilge, but stick your head down there with a good flashlight (always onboard) if things don't seem right.

Also be aware that twigs/flotsam etc. can hang-up the float-switch, even the "protected" ones. Two things can occur in general: The float stays up (hung-up)  in a torrential rain/heavy incursion, continues to run the pump(s) when the bilge drains dry... but because the switch keeps running, kills the batts.  (All bilge float switches are wired hot straight from the batts.)  Next downpour/incursion occurs, no juice, (batts dead) and the hull fills,  boat sinks. Have seen it happen.

Second scenario, float switch is hung from above, or, corrosion knocks out the connections. Either way, float switch disabled. Float disabled/pump disabled. Boys, ALWAYS REMEMBER that Murphy's Law rules on the high seas, but at the dock too. Take it from there.

Always run cable (vinyl wrapped double wire) as a bilge pump/float switch connection. Always keep the connections as high as possible and forward tight to the underside of the deck, but still accessible in an emergency. Use shrink or melted butt-splice, or both.

Either scenario, KEEP THE BILGE CLEAN.

I'm heavy on safety, hope that's OK.

Be safe, tight lines, come home safely.

[MarshMarlowe196]

Always run cable (vinyl wrapped double wire) as a bilge pump/float switch connection. Always keep the connections as high as possible and forward tight to the underside of the deck, but still accessible in an emergency. Use shrink or melted butt-splice, or both.

Either scenario, KEEP THE BILGE CLEAN.

I'm heavy on safety, hope that's OK.

I have to agree with Gran on this point, and to add to this, keep plenty of fuses on board for the bilge pump circuits (if you don't have it fused, you really really should).  If debris gets in the pump, it will blow the fuse easily.  No fuse, no pump.  As far as the wiring, I used heat shrink butt splices, coated in 5200, then wrapped in even more heat shrink and secured above the floor of the bilge.  

One thing I do after I use the boat (especially in saltwater), I rinse the bilge and the pumps well with fresh water, and spray them down with WD40.  Even so, you can take excellent care of your bilge pumps, and they will still go out.  They seem to be some of the most unreliable things I've ever used - most likely because of the environment they operate in.  I check mine as soon as I get the boat in the water.

[gran398]

Jessie, that fresh water rinse is a super idea. After you flush the engine, pop the plate, rinse the pumps....

Good 'un.

[seabob4]

From what I have seen over the years, it's not the pumps that crap out, but the float switches.  Here's a couple of pics of the one I just removed from a '92 Hydra-Sports, the original pump.  First, it's location, which was a joke, as you not see it, feel it, nor service it with the baitwell module in place...


After removing and cleaning, the damn thing worked!  18 years later!  Lots of corrosion in the wire and the motor windings, owner is getting a new one (same model, Rule 1500).  But the float (Rule-a-matic) had long ago bit the dust...

Sorry, only one pic, thought I had taken one of the cleaned up pump...

BTW, this is what that same area looks like now...

[John Jones]

Murphy is always hiding somewhere.  My buddy nearly sank his Grady last weekend.  Thirty miles out and he noticed the boat's response was really sluggish.  Checked the bilge and water was up even with the deck.  That pesky dribble from his livewell plumbing he had been procrastinating fixing had become a flood.  The 1100 gph pump was pumping straight into the bilge.  Murphy, being the johnny-on-the-spot he is, took this opportunity to burn out the three month old bilge pump.  If he had not had a cheap West Marine hand pump on board no telling what would have happened.  It only took two hours to pump the water down with the hand pump.  I have been after him for five years to put in a second pump and hi water alarm.  Maybe now he will.  I know I'm not going out with him until he does.

People, Murphy is always riding with you.  Just when you think you outsmarted him is when he will grab you by the throat.

[seabob4]

FOR SALE!  18 YEAR OLD RULE 1500 WITH BLACKENED LEADS/BLACKENED MOTOR WINDINGS.  RUNS LIKE A TOP!  MAKE OFFER!!!

[wingtime]

I've never had the bilge pump come on while out on the Aquasport before.  I don't trust the float switch either so I just turn on the pump now and then to see if any water is down there.  When I saw the water in the splash well and the pump came on I started to run some scenarios through my head.  The thought of the bilge pump failing came to mind.  I do have a hand pump but that would mean opening up the hatches in the splash well which would not be good with water in the well!       So I would have to either dump the live well or move it forward to get the scuppers higher up.  Then open the hatches to the bilge.  Since my live well pump is on a removable transom bracket I could stick it in the bilge to pump it out. Second option is the hand pump.  Third option was haul butt for the nearest beach!  LOL

Either way I didn't like the situation and some changes are in order.  Some replacement Offshore hatches and Ball type scuppers should do the trick.

[Skoot]

Those ball scupper work great, I couldn't be happier with them. i got a set of Seachoice ball scuppers from Cost Plus Marine.  There located in Madeira beach. Its a small place but crams in tons of products and great prices.

[seabob4]

Those ball scupper work great, I couldn't be happier with them. i got a set of Seachoice ball scuppers from Cost Plus Marine.  There located in Madeira beach. Its a small place but crams in tons of products and great prices.

Scott, from what I hear, they do a pretty good job, even on wire and cable prices.  Mahoney's at 50th and Adamo in Tampa is where I get my stuff locally.  WM (the one in Holiday) is about useless.  I needed 2 5A push-button breakers to finish a switch panel, $4.29 ea. at sailboatowners.com (Defender is out of stock).  WMs price?  $12.49 ea!!!  I'll order and wait, thank you very effin' much!