Splash Guards

[Strike Zone]

Ill start by saying I recently bought a 93 23' A.S. Osprey. It is a outboard with a open trandsom. So far been very happy with it. I have never owned a open tradnsom boat before so I dont know if im worring to much but I dont like the idea of water being able to come in the back. I have had it out a few times and not much water comes in at all, my concern is if I were ever  to break down in a big sea and not able to give it gas to push the water out the scuppers what might happen. I thought about building a splash guard the same height of the sides out of starboard and putting it in some alum. channel just forward of the battery boxes. I would loose about 18" of deck space but it would prevent water from coming in and a person or gear going out.

I was just cirious what others my have done or what other modifications people may have come up with for a open tradsom.  

YOUR THOUGHTS??

[gran398]

Welcome!!

If you were to break down in a seaway, you can always make a sea anchor with a 5 gal bucket or two and cleat off on the bow, keeping the bow into the sea.

I'd run her some more before you make a decision on the wave gates. There was a very recent thread here on the topic.

Welcome aboard

[RickK]

Welcome aboard SZ.
If you have a 93 it is probably the 230 model - a totally different osprey then what most others have here.  I have the same hull but with the Explorer cap on it.  Here is a pic of the transom on mine.  The hull is very safe and it would take quite a sea to get water in over the aft.  Also, it drains right out anyway.


Where are you located? I think you mentioned during registration that your's has a pilot house on it.  Got any pics?  We have one member in Calif that put a custom pilot house on his 230 Osprey.  Look for Fishhead in the photo gallery.

[GoneFission]

See Gran's comment above...  You should always have something you can use as a sea anchor when offshore!  Of course, a real sea anchor/drift sock works best, but you can use a bucket or a cooler to hold the bow into the wind.  The boat can withstand a LOT of weather with the bow into the wind.  Keep the scuppers clear so water can drain out!  

If it gets really snotty, you can tie a can of oil with a hole in the top to the anchor/bucket and put it out with about 100' of line and the oil leaking out will help break up the waves a bit.  Technically this is a USCG violation, but if it's that or sinking...

[gran398]

Drift socks are cool gidgets. All boats need a drift sock.

Everyone likes to drift fish. Use them for any kind of fishing. Slows the boat, more natural presentation.

On the East Coast of Fl., they tie them midships, and drift side-to for kings, spinner sharks, etc.  Allows them to spread the lines better, bow to stern.

But most importantly, as John said, safety. The nicer ones have a tail rope, so when you pull it in, grab the tail rope. It empties quickly, throw it on the deck.

[Strike Zone]

Rick,

yes my transom looks the same as yours but your transom looks alittle higher, did you customize something or was that stock, its kinda hard to tell from the picture. Yes my boat is the 230 and it is the same one that has pictures on this site. I bought it from a member here a couple months ago.

[RickK]

This is the boat you bought?
http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1083&title=boat-bradys-field-trip-soccer-261&cat=500

The transoms/hulls are the same, they do appear low but are actually pretty high or normal as open transoms go.  You'll get used to it and start trusting it.  If you were to take a big wave over the aft the way these are designed the water will go right back out over the transom and the rest will go out the scuppers.  I haven't been in anything that scary to test it out though  
The 230 Osprey is a rare bird - your's is one of a kind. Wonder what toy fishhead got to replace this?

[Capt. Bob]

As Rick stated, it's an acquired sense of security gained over time and use.

Aqua did make an enclosed version of the EX and please note the "Hardware and Equipment", last item in the link below.

http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery ... 561/page/1

Also as stated earlier, these (the EX and Osprey) are the same hulls with different caps. I'd bet that if one had wanted an Osprey enclosed with bracket or with the transom splash guard, it would have been only a matter of the additional costs at that time.

The smaller EX (210) came with the same splash guard option but the opening is not as wide by any means.

[kraw2]

Welcome aboard SZ.
If you have a 93 it is probably the 230 model - a totally different osprey then what most others have here.  I have the same hull but with the Explorer cap on it.  Here is a pic of the transom on mine.  The hull is very safe and it would take quite a sea to get water in over the aft.  Also, it drains right out anyway.


Where are you located? I think you mentioned during registration that your's has a pilot house on it.  Got any pics?  We have one member in Calif that put a custom pilot house on his 230 Osprey.  Look for Fishhead in the photo gallery.

I'm not an Aquasport expert like most of you on here but that looks scary to me. Either the hull side are very high or I can't see the picture correctly. That's a huge gap at the transom.

I carry a sea anchor on my 31' Ocean Master and on a boat like shown I would definately keep one on board.

[RickK]

You're seeing the transom correctly - there is enough opening for twins.  The sides are almost thigh high at the back. Here is a pic of the transom from the rear.  You can see the waterline based on the old paint.  There is quite a bit of freeboard above the waterline and this boat doesn't budge if you move to the back by the engine.

There is a mis-perception that a closed transom boat is safer than an open one.  If a huge wave comes over the back or side of this boat with the open transom it will flow right out the back.  On a closed in transom, if you don't have a way to evacuate the water quickly, which most rebuilds don't have a 1x4 slot on each side of the boat for instance, what will you do with the water?  You certainly aren't going to evacuate it quicklyt through a 1.5" scupper or two. Look at some of the big boats that back down on big game fish - they have 4x8 or larger deck high "holes" in the boats to evacuate that water that comes in.
This has been discussed here before, you can do a search and find all the info we found as we discussed it.

[kraw2]

I can clearly see now that the height is not as low as I thought. I can see where you could get the water out quickly if needed.

 I still recommend a sea anchor for offshore bluewater fishing for emergency use. We use our's allot for drift fishing while deep dropping in 500 to 1000 feet of water. I tie the retrieval line off to the bow rail for quick emptying and retrieval.

[gran398]

A drift sock is a handy item for any size boat.