1997 17 Outrage II: Water; Plug Size

[isaacbf]

I have a 1997 17 Outrage II. When I open the aft deck locker to check the for water, sometimes I see water dripping from a hole in the locker on the starboard side.

Fig. 1. View of aft deck locker of 1997 17 OUTRAGE II. The water ingress is occurring in the approximate location of the red circle, but on the other side, as indicated by the red arrow.

waterIngressSite.jpg (43.88 KiB) Viewed 1888 times

Q1: from where is this water coming?

Q2: what size plug is needed to plug an aft cockpit scupper on a 1997 17 OUTRAGE II?

Q3: is there a concern if the aft cockpit scuppers are below the waterline most of the time?

BACKSTORY
I plan to follow advice from this forum and leave the aft cockpit scuppers on my 1997 17 OUTRAGE II boat plugged while underway. I installed a 150-HP four-stroke-power-cycle engine, and the boat is no somewhat stern heavy. More often than not the aft cockpit scuppers are below the water line.

[jimh]

Q3: is there a concern if the aft cockpit scuppers are below the waterline most of the time?

The intent of a scupper is be able to drain water from the deck to the sea. If the scupper is below the waterline, it drains the sea onto the deck.

The best remedy for this may be to reduce weight in the stern as much as possible. A possible remedy may be to move any large batteries now in the stern to be under the console. This will require a substantial and expensive re-wiring of the battery primary power distribution wiring, so before actually making that change, I recommend you just temporarily move the battery or batteries to the console area to test if that shift in weight distribution will be enough to get the scuppers out of the sea.

[Jefecinco]

Also consider experimenting with adding weight to the anchor locker. A five gallon bucket or two on the locker cover can simulate the effect by adding water a gallon at a time and checking the result. Nominally, the total possible weight added would be 80 pounds. If the effect produced is desirable, diving weights can be used up to the weight desired.

[isaacbf]

Jefecinco that's a great idea and I'll explore some weight distribution tactics. Reducing weight was obvious, but reallocating weight hadn't hit me yet.

Jimh, thanks as always for the replies - no batteries or really any other unnecessary items stored aft of the helm seat (battery is in the console).

I am considering installing a transom bracket to get some additional flotation aft. Of course that's a $2,000 solution.

Give me an idea on the source of the draining water. It's intermittent but I'd still like to know.

[jimh]

I am considering installing a transom bracket to get some additional flotation aft.

You will need an engine set-back bracket with a floatation box. Getting the right amount of added floatation in the floatation box will be tricky. You have to compensate for the weight of the engine being farther aft, and for the weight of the engine setback bracket with floatation box.

If the floatation box does not come out of the water when the boat reaches planing speed, then the floatation box will be adding some drag. The added weight of the engine set back bracket and the drag from the floatation box will reduce boat speed.

[Phil T]

Drain tube - 1" twist

https://thmarinesupplies.com/products/twist-drain-plug-1

Replace the scupper flaps with the duckbill style. More effective and less prone to clog.

https://thmarinesupplies.com/products/duck-bill-scupper

[Phil T]

If there is water wanting to come out I would encourage it. Is there a hole from a drain that has been blocked or damage?

Is it coming from the hull or another compartment?

You want to prevent water from entering the hole while you investigate and are using the boat.

[vtvfr]

The hole in the starboard side of the locker connects to the rigging tunnel. If you look under the starboard quarter seat in the stern you can see the aft opening of the rigging tunnel. If the boat is sitting low in the stern it is likely that water is entering the compartment under the quarter seat and making its way into the rigging tunnel. The compartment drain can be plugged, but then will likely fill with rainwater over time.

[Phil T]

Inspect and possibly replace the sealant for the fuel tank cover. Deck water should not enter the tank cavity. Use a marine sealant like Life Caulk or Sikaflex, not adhesive

Also , adding a floatation bracket will not help given it is adding significant weight aft of the transom.

If reducing a bias for stern-trim, consider plugging the deck drains all the time. They have been a problem for hundreds of owners for many years.