23 Self-bailing deck history ?

[ocuyler]

Doghouse,

I have little tolerence for those types that think you can own a boat, keep it in the water and think (hope?) that it starts and runs when they show up. Unbelievable...

[Doghouse4x4]

I concur. I think it just comes from lack of knowledge, mixed with a good dose of laziness!! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[sogilmore]

I am still reading though all the replies. This issue is sadly near and dear to my heart. I have a '73 23' Tsunami, it had a '95 OMC king Cobra IO. Now I always had issue with the wt of the power pckg in the aft of the boat. When standing in the rear, water would back up and into the boat, with two or more fishing in the aft, we were in 2" of water. My fear was that the engine well lip was only 4" and that if for any reason water got high in the cockpit, it could and would spill over into the bilge and quickly start a sinking situation.

Can you convert from the verticle drains to something out the back? I suspect that the problem is that the floor sole is just too close to the waterline?

Has this discussion lead to a "best practice" for correcting the "wet floor" problem.

-Sean

[JohnB]

I have a newer sceptre (88), with an outboard. It has the same problem. I did 2 things to "help" the problem.
1. I put rabud sculper covers on the back, and they have the checkball in them that limits water coming it.
2. I installed a pump inside the top of the livewell with a float switch mounted near the top of the livewell. If water comes in much, it goes into the live well, if it gets high enough to trip the switch, it drains out.
Not a perfect solution, but the rabuds keep 90% of the water out. If I get a wave over the back or am backing down on a fish, it gets the water out pretty fast.

[Mark]

I suspect that the problem is that the floor sole is just too close to the waterline?

Has this discussion lead to a "best practice" for correcting the "wet floor" problem.

Well, you sort of answered your own question with the notion that the floor is simply too close to water level - it is.

The only thing that I can figure is that either engines were lighter in weight 25 years ago (seems to be the case), or that people were lighter 25 years ago (also seems to be the case).

[rockdoc]

So, in lieu of us all losing weight (not likely) how difficult would it be raising the floor level (stringer level) in a Sceptre? I've seen where lots of guys have done it with center consoles, mostly 20'ers, but I dont remember seeing any reference to this being done in a Sceptre.

Steve

[sogilmore]

Regarding the possibility of raising the floor. When I redid my Tsunami, I had the deck lifted off and had the stringers inspected, we looked at installing cross beams down the length of the boat to raise the floor up 2". I thought I could hide the increase and keep the beautiful sheer lines of the 23 with a wider rubrail design. It was a killer job that beat me in the end. We could not get it correct, so we just pulled the plug on the idea, Put the deck back on in original config, and put it back together again. But someone better at it than me, could pull it off. 2" is all you need, and the rubrail can easily handle that distraction. I do not like those boats with a lot of hull above the rub rail, but this 2" did not really show.

I did replace the original extruded alum, rubrail with same, expensive ($900.-Taco), but the older clean lines of the solid alum. rail looked better in my opin than the later plastic or rubber ones.

Has anyone with a 23' closed the verticle drains and ran scuppers out the aft end? Maybe that is what was desribed above, but I did not catch that from the product name mentioned? I was also thinking that if they were moved aft, that also inward would be better as there is less distance from the center of pivot, the outside always drops deeper than the center, am I making sense with this?

Need the feed back.

-sean

[rockdoc]

I see what you mean- the cap and floor, are they integral- ie one piece? I've always pictured just cutting out the floor (around the edges), raising (and probably repairing or replacing) the stringers, and then glassing the floor back on without taking the cap off. But if it's all one piece, I can see this getting complicated.

Steve

[Capt Chuck]

or that people were lighter 25 years ago (also seems to be the case).

Thanks Dude

Now I know why "I" was made to stand at your transom to test the 2.5" deck raise theory in your 20'.
Thank God I don't have that problem in my 23'