Raising deck height

[Raider Ronnie]

Anyone ever raised the height of their deck & scuppers ?
I've been considering doing it to my BHM for the past 3 years.
Problem.
My scuppers are low to the water and add in passengers, a 50 gal livewell in the transom, full fuel tanks ect... my deck is wet, especially when rough out and drift fishing.
Was told by the builder (Steve Law, Seaworthy Marine) the guy he built the boat for (I'm the 2nd owner, but the boat was still brand new with 140 hrs when I bought it in 2008) requested lowering the deck because he was 6ft3 and didn't want issues with head room in the wheel house.
Me, starting with a new build I would have cut the house and raise the roof (stupid lowering the deck)
I experimented with a few different sets of scuppers and a few years ago the best solution I came up with was I glassed in 3in pvc nipples with a faceplate on the transom & rubber exhaust flappers and when I need to (most of the time drift fishing) I thread the 3in plugs from the inside of the boat.
Works good for the most part till either the livewell spills over into the deck when small baits get caught in the overflows or the deck is bloody from gaffing fish then we have to pull the plugs and take a quick rid getting the bow up while hosing down.
Been tied up many times next to the exact same boat and the other boats scuppers are 3 inches higher out of the water than mine.
Any thoughts or opinions ?
Worth doing ?
Would most likely pull up the deck up to the dash and go with a composit to lighten up at the same time and also build a much lighter weight engine box for the next time I drop it on my foot !

 

[steveinak]

How about a raised deck like they use on crab boats. The water would run through the top deck and then run out the scuppers. There are some nice no skid fiberglass grids you could use and at the end of the day just tilt them up to clean up the deck. I've got a piece of the gird outside somewhere and will try and get you a picture of it. Be worth a try before you commit to a big job of a new deck.

 

[BillD]

Do you have the headroom?

Ronnie, knowing you already measured it, will you have 6'7"-6'8" of headroom under the helm area hardtop if you raise the deck?

If so and you have the time, money and skills to do the project, why not?

You have one p-i-t-a dicking around with removable scuppers, a wet sloshy deck etc.

You have a beautiful boat, nice tower, fix the deck and call it an almost "perfect boat", none are LOL!!

Bill

 

[Bill]

Here is my $.02..2 ideas or combine them..

.What if you kept the PVC nipple deal or however you can plug the scuppers.. put some 2" thru hulls in and route them to the bilge with some bilge hose...glass some small pieces of plywood to the insdie of the bilge to faster the hose to.. and maybe install a spare ( thirsty) bilge pump.. not sure how much water you are talking but the thought of tearing up that deck and then plugging and drilling new scuppers seems like a huge pain in the ass...after seeing your foot and your pretty toe nails it might be a good idea to build a lighter engine box though

2nd idea..keep the scuppers open and build a 3" high trough around the scuppers that runs the enitre length of the stern..install a pump with a float that discharges into the livewell inlet..drill some drain plugs/scuppers in the forward side of the trough that you can take in and out depending on your load...once again.. a crack pot idea but easier than ripping up the deck..view my shitty drawings below

 

[Eastporter]

I have a much smaller boat, but I did raise my sole (floor) and scuppers by about 2 inches by replacing my stringers with taller lumber, and increased the thickness of my floor. I drilled the scupper holes in the transom from the floor out using a carbide hole saw, epoxy coated the plywood core (transom) with 4 coats. I bought 2" pvc scuppers from TH Marine with the rubber flaps and sealed them in with 5200. They work well, and are about and inch and a half above the natural water line. However, with two guys in the stern the water will come in at anchor; underway the water flows out quickly. The BHM is a beast, but this water is bothering you- I would fix it the right way by going back to the original design from the builder. Plug the holes, add height to the existing stringers, and put a new sole in. Drill the holes in the transom using the new sole after it is fiberglassed in to make sure it is self-bailing. You will also need to increase the height of the pilothouse if you need the headroom. Good luck- you can do this work yourself and save money if you have the time, materials, and knowledge. Some scuppers have the rectangular cut out and have the plastic flaps- that might work well for your boat if you have a lot of debris clogging your scuppers now.

 

[El Mar]

I would plug the scuppers like you do and add a bilge pump/ sump kind of like Bill suggested. Dedicated to just clearing the deck if thats possible for your setup.

How is the knee height in the pit?? Would you have and issue with the deck being too tall??

 

[CEShawn]

Yes, but if you do that install isn't it going to run all the time while in that condition? I couldn't be wrong?

Plugging scuppers scare me, especially running a charter boat. Read many stories about this failing in the PAC NW. I did once having a boarding officer kick open my scuppers once too, thought that was interesting.

I have a small problem with water on the deck if I have six large passengers and full of fuel while anchoring. Was thinking about adding a 30 gallon diesel tank to the bow. So in the spring when its the only time I fish six people, I can keep the 90 gallons in the stern empty. I can still run two or three trips on the bow tank alone. Still thinking about this...

Thinking I am going to keep my boat instead of selling it, to efficient. The other thing is that 30 gallons would give me my two day canyon trip range. I know alot of smaller downeast boats do this, some just with fuel and some with just water for riding better, etc.

I'd replace the deck, move it to the height and make sure you vent under the new deck.

 

[El Mar]

Yes, but if you do that install isn't it going to run all the time while in that condition? I couldn't be wrong?

Hard to say without knowing his boat. You would have to run scuppers or pump, not both at the same time. Assuming the scupper plugs are reasonably water tight.

 

[Raider Ronnie]

If I do this it will be a winter project and ripping up the deck, extend height of the 4 stringers and bring deck height up the 3 inches where it should have been. Head room is not an issue.
A few obstacles are ripping out or removing part of some built ins That Steve Law built into the boat.(tackle station and a few storage compartments) The port side of the winterback also, the bi fold doors on the center to stb side of the winterback are easily enough to remove and reinstall later.
Another benefit of doing this I would glass up the inside drain at the bottom of the livewell and I would install one outside the transom to let it drain outside the boat instead of inside, which is a pain in the butt now.

 

[Eastporter]

Looking forward to some photos this winter. Keep us posted!

 

[BillD]

Ronnie, do it right, increase the height of the deck and use "free reliable" gravity.

Any other way is a bandaid fix.

IMO,

Bill

 

[tunaorlater]

What I did was cut the deck all the way around the boat leaving 4 inches. Used the old deck as a deck flange and glassed a 2x4 of mahagany to that piece then installed the new deck. I had to add supports to the old deck all the way around so nothing cracked. In the transome I left about 10 inches and left a 4 inch gutter along the transome so I didn't have to mess with the scuppers. That gutter would stay wet but the deck would be dry.