Love the Tsunami/ Hate the scuppers.

bigeasy1 · #1 08-30-2011, 11:04 AM

I love my Tsunami,everything about it,the ride,the looks,the big cockpit,But,,,,I HATE THE SCUPPERS.

Even with the vortex gadgets they still are a pia.The problem is when one person is in the back fighting a fish and another guy netting it.
Water will pour in.Sometimes the vortex thingys work and sometimes they don't.

Even worse is when a fish bleeds all over the deck and I have to use the wash down.
They just don't drain quickly and it takes forever to get the blood and slime out.

I'm trying to come up with a relatively easy way to somehow improve the drainage capability without major backbreaking retrofitting.
Trying to run them out the back to the transom is out of the question at this point,and it probably wouldn't be any more affective anyway,as I have a lot of weight in the stern from the kicker motor and the four downriggers with 15lb weights on them.
The boat sits fairly low in the water,and the scupper that is the most troublesome is the starboard side one where the kicker(105 pounds)is hanging.

My thought for a fix(a bit rube goldberg)is to either drill a hole next to the scupper, or behind it(on the inner panel).I could then insall a flush fitting in the hole and route them to a livewell pump below the deck and out to a thru hull far above the waterline.I could do this on both sides of the boat.

When it came time to run the washdown iI could turn the pumps on for that short period to get the water and blood out quickly.

I would leave the original thru deck scuppers as they are, but could keep the plugs in them while out on the water,and would only take them out if it was raining while on the water,or when the boat is in the slip.
The scuppers work fine while the boat is sitting in the slip,any rain drains out ok,but the minute anyone stands in the rear they stop working.
I've already tried to move as much weight forward as possible,to no avail.

Any Thoughts?

Fr. Frank · #2 08-30-2011, 11:37 AM

That sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I like the idea of being able to wash the blood and slime off the deck and pump it overboard without flooding the deck 3" deep. If you plumbed both new drains together and added a catchment, you could put in an auto pump.

bigeasy1 · #3 08-30-2011, 02:49 PM

Quote:

That sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I like the idea of being able to wash the blood and slime off the deck and pump it overboard without flooding the deck 3" deep. If you plumbed both new drains together and added a catchment, you could put in an auto pump.

Excellent idea. thanks Fr.Frank.Actually it would be a better choice,as I would only need one pump.I should have ample room in the bilge for a retention/catchment container.Gravity would do the work to get it there.
This could also be a safety factor as well when large amounts of water needs to be removed from the deck.

zendora · #4 09-02-2011, 12:38 PM

John, I have the same issue, especially with full tanks. I have two plugs that I keep in while underway. Without them I've got 2 geysers back there. Let me know how you make out with this. I was reading the post about retrofitting those Vortex thingy's - would you reccommend I give it a shot?

bigeasy1 · #5 09-02-2011, 03:42 PM

ZEN,
Absolutely,give the Vortex things a shot.They are way better than having to put the plugs in.
I didn't make them exactly like the original design that we have to thank Fellowship for.
I just used some cpvc tubing with the fingers of some latex gloves on the end of them.At times they work perfectly and at times they don't work very well(it may be my design).

Either way they are a pia.Having them in eats up the drainage capacity in an already much too small scupper,and not having them, or the plugs, in gets you water all over the deck.
This was a poor design no matter how you feel about it,but even today there are some highly rated boats with similar scupper problems.
I keep a 5 gallon bucket in the cuddy in case I (god forbid)ever have to move an excessively large amount of water from the boat in an emergency situation.There is no way these tiny scuppers would be able to handle it.

I hope to get up to the boat to at least design something but it won't be for a month or more,as it's 6.5 hours away from home.
If I do I'll take some pics and post them.

abl1111 · #6 09-02-2011, 05:30 PM

Awhile ago I was cleaning the garage and came upon my old divers snorkel.

I was just about to toss it when I looked at the mechanism on the very bottom of the purger.

Instantly, I thought of my Tsunami's scupper problem ( currently I use nothing, or the Vortex ).

The way the purge of a snorkel works is very effective as a one way valve ! I don't have the time to design something, ( this and my DIY (2) stroke gas trimmer / drink mixer are back-burner items ) but maybe someone can take the idea and make it work. The flexible scuba material makes a perfect seal. And, if a larger pc of that material could be had, then a larger scupper hole could be installed ( which these boats desperately need )

Just an idea...

zendora · #7 09-06-2011, 06:14 PM

Thanks John, I may give them a shot.

alb, I was thinking the same thing - theoretically a recessed one way flap valve at the top of the scupper may work OK, although it may drain way too slow, and it would inevitably let some water back in. I might try something like this before I take 3 months off of work to try to build the vortex gadgets.

How could Potter get everything else right but these damn scuppers?!

abl1111 · #8 09-06-2011, 06:26 PM

The scuba valve idea would still be mounted toward the bottom of the scupper.

I envision it used with a pc of nice, wide pc. of 1.25" PVC tube epoxied into the floor ( obviously the present scupper would be history... )

The problem with any of these ideas is fouling. Thru transoms w/ Rabuds would work great too - if you dry stored your boat or cleaned them incessantly.

The Scuba Scupper needs someone to think about it...