As Bushwacker remarked here is a photo of a dam for my 20’ Seafari after replacing a 1985 Merc 150 with a 2013 ETEC 150 HO (about 43 lbs heavier). The ETEC has been raised twice (probably needs to go up once more) and it seems higher than my Merc; hence the idea of the dam. I did not intend the dam to be water tight, but primarily avoid waves when folks are sitting or standing in the stern. I glued PVC house trim together to get the final height. A left and a right half enable them to interlock under and be installed without engine removal.
As for the splash well drain hole the jury is still out on a slit, nitrile glove finger attached to a short piece of stainless tube. Didn’t notice much water in the splash well yesterday, but maybe just didn’t have any heavy-weights with me!
I have been a boater over 50 years and never heard as much chatter as the last couple years about engine height. And it’s usually raising, not lowering them. It makes one wonder what has changed and about raising transoms to provide more freeboard. I added a Potter-built SeaMark splashwell a few years after the boat purchase. So I don’t sweat it too much. But, with the engine shutdown and in certain sea and wind conditions have had water lapping over the transom and wondered if this might have been the situation for the two Jupiter boys. My ’76 Seafari with a Merc (eventually replaced with an ‘85 Merc) were all purchased from and rigged by Frank Brown (Moesly’s former race mechanic), so guess it was no surprise Frank did it properly. My ETEC dealer, who mostly deals with bass boats and pontoons, had never seen a SeaCraft.
In the photo you may also notice a wooden contraption I made to tilt the engine higher when towing with my low-slung Hitchhiker trailer.
