1986 Outrage 18 Drain Plugs

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
MIKE.WALSH
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Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:48 am

1986 Outrage 18 Drain Plugs

Postby MIKE.WALSH » Tue Jul 05, 2022 11:01 am

The transom splashwell drains on a 1986 OUTRAGE 18 at static trim sit about one-inch below the waterline.

Should the following drain plugs be removed:
  • Q1: the aft cockpit starboard sump drain?
  • Q2: the three engine splashwell drains?

Should I keep all drains plugged and:
  • Q3: install an electrically operated sump pump in the aft cockpit sump?
  • Q4: install an electrically operated sump pump in the engine splash well?

Q5: what approach to closing or leaving open these four drains is the safest approach?


BACKSTORY: I I purchased my 1986 OUTRAGE 18 in Fall 2021. Now the boat is finally on the water. The 1986 OUTRAGE has a 1996 Johnson 150-HP engine. The boat sits low. The boat swim ladder is 1-inch above the water line. There is a single battery in the engine splash well. The boat is kept at dock on a lake three hours north of me so I won’t be able to check-in regularly.

ASIDE: My understanding of the OUTRAGE 18 specifications is that 150-HP is the maximum rated power.

grizzly
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Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2015 12:42 am

Re: 1986 Outrage 18 Drain Plugs when docked?

Postby grizzly » Wed Jul 06, 2022 11:02 pm

I have the same boat. If you leave the boat in the water unattended for long periods, you need an [electric] pump in the sump, and maybe a second one in the transom. Otherwise the rainwater will fill up inside the hull and possibly get into the under deck fuel tank.

Consider a solar charger to keep the battery topped up.

jimh
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Re: 1986 Outrage 18 Drain Plugs

Postby jimh » Thu Jul 07, 2022 7:37 am

The owner's manual for an OUTRAGE 18 gives advice on the drains and whether to close them or leave them open.

If you do not have the owner's manual, I have published a copy of the owner's manual in HTML. You are welcome to read the advice in the owner's manual about drains for an OUTRAGE 18 at

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... elfBailing

Rather than try to answer your five questions individually, I will offer some general advice.

As a general rule, in order for the openings in the transom to be drains, their outlets should not be below the waterline of the hull at static trim. In you case, if the drains are below the waterline, then the drains will let the sea flood the engine splash well up to the waterline. If the drains are only one-inch below the waterline then the splashwell will fill with one-inch of water. This is not a particularly worrisome problem. An inch of water in the bottom of the engine splash well is not something to be concerned about.

The aft cockpit sump on Starboard will fill with water if not kept plugged. The height that water will rise in the sump depends on the static trim on the boat. To discover how high the water will rise, unplug the drain and observe what happens.Of course, you should get off the boat so that your weight does not change the boat's trim. If the water rises only to flood just the sump, there is not a particular problem with that--that is how the sump was designed.

If the static trim on the boat permits water to flood the sump and begin to flood the rigging tunnel, more concern is appropriate. The rigging tunnel has a passageway to the fuel tank cavity. If the water rises too high in the rigging tunnel, it will begin to flood the fuel tank cavity. Of course, as more water comes aboard, the boat will begin to sit lower in the water. At some point the process should stop before the cockpit is entirely flooded, as the hull design tends to create more buoyancy as it is pushed deeper into the water.

In some instances, the static trim on the boat can be changed by adding weight at the bow. For example, a cooler close to the bow could be filled with water. A cooler with a capacity of 86-quarts that was filled near to the brim with water will add about 2-lbs per quart, or about 160-lbs. If the cooler is placed as close as possible to the bow, it could raise the static trim at the transom. Another option may be to put some lead weights in the anchor locker when the boat is left unattended. Perhaps 100-lbs of lead in the anchor locker will raise the stern enough to keep the splash well dry and to limit water rise in the sump to just the sump.

If the outcome of the test for an open cockpit sump aft Starboard drain to be left open is good, that is, if only a small volume of water flows and is contained in the sump, then the simplest approach to long-term unattended mooring of the boat will be to leave out all four drain plugs.

If the cockpit sum drain when open begins to flood the rigging tunnel and cockpit, then the leaving that drain open is not a good approach. The drain should be kept closed, and an electrically operating pump should be installed to evacuate water from the cockpit sump.

Test the boat's response to the cockpit drain being open and report the outcome. If the outcome of the test suggests installing a sump pump. you should consider that option. If you decide on a sump pump, its installation has some details about which you may not be particularly aware. The basics of a properly designed automatic sump pump system are laid out in an article in REFERENCE called Cockpit Sump Pump.

If the boat is kept at a dock and there is electrical power available, the battery that is operating the electrical sump pump can be maintained by a 120-VAC charger, as long as the charger is properly designed and only maintains the battery at the battery manufacturer's recommended float voltage, and as long as the electrical system is not leaking any current into the water.

jimh
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Re: 1986 Outrage 18 Drain Plugs

Postby jimh » Thu Jul 07, 2022 8:01 am

ASIDE:

MIKE.WALSH wrote:ASIDE: My understanding of the OUTRAGE 18 specifications is that 150-HP is the maximum rated power.
The capacity plate will indicate the factory specified maximum power for your boat. Notwithstanding your understanding, whatever the capacity plate says is the maximum rated horsepower, that is the maximum rated horsepower.

Don SSDD
Posts: 313
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: 1986 Outrage 18 Drain Plugs

Postby Don SSDD » Fri Jul 08, 2022 7:35 am

I also have a 1986 Outrage 18, I have a 1999 Honda 4 stroke 130hp, and had 2 batteries in the splashwell. My 2 splashwell drains were under water. My Honda weighs 468 lbs so a heavy outboard. I moved my 2 batteries to my console this spring, the splashwell drains are now barely touched by water on my mooring and the splashwell is dry while on the mooring. I have never used drain plugs in the splashwell, I do use a plug in the starboard sump all the time while on my mooring.

Your 2 stroke would weigh less in the stern than my 4 stroke and with one battery in the splashwell, I’d say your outboard and battery weigh less than my Honda and no splashwell battery. I have no rear seats or other sources of stern weight, what sources of extra stern weight do you have? I checked and your 1996 Johnson 150 would weigh about 375lbs versus my Honda at 468lbs, a battery typically weighs about 50lbs.
1986 Outrage 18 with 2001 Honda 130 HP
Former Owner 1991 Guardian 19 with 1994 Evinrude V4 140HP
Former owner 1987 Montauk with 1998 Mercury 90HP
Nova Scotia