Bilge Water

[schooner]

I have a 1985 23 Sceptre that I intended to keep in the water at a marina rather than on a trailer. I understood that these boats were stern-heavy but the concern is that water in the cockpit runs forward - away from the scuppers. The scuppers are about 2 inches above the waterline when nobody is on board. Water puddles around the steering station and bulkhead after washing or rain. Also, the aft part of the bilge where the pump is located was dry but the boat drained about 10 or 15 gallons of water from the garboard plug after a weekend in the water. Worried that the water runs forward away from the pump and there is no way to keep the bilge dry or get the water out. Since he boat will be unattended in the water a lot, don't want bad things to happen. The motor is a Johnson 200 which I think weighs about 425 lbs. The batteries are aft and the tank is about half full. Any opinions on this condition? Suggestions? Also, would this much water enter the bilge through the deck?
Thanks.

[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.

[schooner]

Thanks for the reply. Cut an access hole for a deck plate in the cabin. Pretty dry (<2 gal) so the water is standing somewhere forward of the outboard well and aft of the cabin. Any ideas how to access this and where a pump would go if the fuel tank occupies the space? Is there bilge space under the fuel tank? Also, does everyone make do with primary bilge access from the outboard well? Thanks