Osprey 170, is it really self bailing??

[Miguel]

I thought my Osprey 170 was supposed to be self bailing.  However, I always use it with plugs on the two transom drains.  If I remove the plugs, water starts to come in through the drains, as they sit partly below the waterline.  
My drains have rubber flappers, but they are permanently set in the open position, I guess by age.  Will replacing the flappers help?  I´ve seen scuppers with little plastic balls inside.  Are they any good?

[RickK]

Check this out.  May give you some ideas/answers.

[osprey170]

I just installed the ping pong type scuppers on my 170.  They do work better than the flapper type but still allow some water in.  I have yet to figure out a reliable way of staying dry other than rigging up some type of pump system...

[Miguel]

I´m planing on replacing the rubber flappers soon.  Maybe new ones help it a little bit.  I guess this is one of the things we have to live with.

[Argo]

I used to have lots of water in the back of my boat.  I put on new flappers and have no water when I used my boat the last 2 times.  My scuppers sit under the water when at rest and still no water.  Im in a 245.

[Miguel]

Probably I´ll install new flappers soon.  The only problem is that I have a nice teak swim platform and it needs to go off in order to get to the screws that hold the flapper to the transom.  'Til then I'll just keep using it with the transom plugs on.  
About two years ago I came up with the idea of installing two brass drains on the little space of at the aft end of the deck where the transom starts.  This effectivelly routes deck water to the bilge while we are fishing (say if its raining heavily or if seas are rough).  From there, the 1500gph rule pump with automatic switch takes over.  However, these drains are generally kept plugged.  While docked, I remove the transom plugs, and some water comes in and stays in the back of the boat, but it is still self bailing in case it rains.  That way I don't depend on the bilge pump to drain rainwater.

[Argo]

I would never open my bilge to un necessary water.  Try to keep it as dry as possible.  You never know when that pump will malfunction and then without knowing it you have a full bilge, I have had it happen but fortunately I found out after my boat was on the trailer.

[Miguel]

Argo, you are right.  It is scary to open access holes to the bilge.  
That´s why I try to keep the plugs on them all the time, and only remove them when fishing or if it is raining hard.  I forgot to mention that I also have a second pump (500gph) with a manual switch that I operate constantly just to make sure no water is in the bilge and the automatic pump has malfunctioned.
I just got tired of having water in the back of the boat and did not like the look of a bilge pump over the dec k.

[Anonymous]

i got sick of the scuppers being submerged & growing stuff on them, so I have a '89 170.  Last year I used my dremmel to cut a bunch of shallow notches in the shallow well just inside the transom & filled it in & drilled new scupper holes at the deck line.  I filled in the well at the transom by applying a 1/2" layer of Bondo (from auto supply store) & laid in a bunch of 1/2' plugs cut from lobster pots (extremely light, yet faily rigid) & then another layer of Bondo Etc until the bondo with foam plugs was flush with the desk.  I topped it off with 2 coats of Krylon Gray Primer & you could hardly tell there was ever a notch/well there.  And now the new scupper holes are just ABOVE the water line when I'm not in the boat.

The ball-type of scuppers work fairly well, but you really need to remove the cover from the outside & clean it out once a month.  The newer type of ball-scuppers have a removeable clear plastic cover which twists off, but has a small set-screw to keep it in place.