Bilge Water

[ScottM]

schooner,
Sceptres are bow heavy due to the cabin superstructure. My father had the same issues with his '82. He's got a '97 225 Yamaha on his so the engine weight is similar to yours. He installed a forward bilge pump just beneath the cabin sole, but the water would still pool on deck around the helm area. Before the Yamaha, he had a '89 225 Evinrude mounted to the transom. When he installed the Yamaha, he added a manual jack plate (long story). By placing the engine another 6" behind the boat, it altered the angle of the hull at rest enough to do away with the pooling problem for the most part. A couple years later, he cut out the floor bait well and turned that area into storage. The addition of an anchor & line plus a tool box was enough to change the attitude to the point that the scuppers now touch the water, do their job, and he no longer has standing water in the bow area.

If you're not interested in making similar changes to your boat, I suggest at least installing a forward bilge pump to keep that water out.

And to answer your question, if the deck isn't sealed properly, you will get rain water in the bilge very easily.