Tired of my wet deck !

[Raider Ronnie]

I've been saying my scuppers are way too low since I bought this boat !
I've been in a few other harbors and noticed the difference in the scupper & deck height of a few other 28 BHMs, mine being much lower.
I've had the boat in Plymouth harbor on a mooring for a bit and Hammer Slammer kindly offered to let me raft up & compare.
5 inches difference.
This past week my kid & I were out anchored tuna fishing.
It was rough enough had to keep the plugs in the scuppers, then it started raining hard off & on for a few hrs, next thing we had 6 inches of standing water on the deck & when it stopped raining had to drop the anchor ball to go for a ride with the scuppers open to get the water out !
Had enough of this !!!
As soon as the boat gets hauled I'm ripping up the deck & raising it and the scuppers , probably 5 inches.


My question.
I've got 6ft5 head room in wheel house (a bit less at the helm since the side door hinges up inside, more than enough for me @ 5ft10) Hammer Slammer has 6ft 1
Is headrood height a personal preference thing or there is there a minimum height standard ?

 

[F/V First Team]

Personal preference, no minimum standard height. Only time height becomes a requirement is on an inspected vessel that has life jackets stored overhead, they must be within reach for certain individuals or have some system that allows access to them (like a rope that unlatches them).

 

[Raider Ronnie]

Ronnie, The external exhaust type flaps you currently have, pump water into the boat as it rocks on the hook. That type flap will close tight when your backing down hard, but opens as you roll and bob on the hook. If you configure a internal flap you may find that less water enters. It would be a shame to raise the deck before exhausting all the possible resolutions. I have the same type flaps and have done some trials with internal flaps and was pleased with the results. My scupper tubes are long so the internal flaps work. Your transom may not permit that option.

I've tried 2 other different sets of scuppers since I bought this boat.
Original set was just some glass laid up with a rubber gasket & small piece of piano hinge.
Replaced those with a set same as the ones on Endorfin.
The current set I made, have 4 inch pvc nipples glassed in and I thread plugs in from inside the boat. The exhaust flaps on the outside.
Something like tubes not an option. Transom 1/2 think of glass and thats it. Not like a sport fish that has compartments to hide tubes.
Bottom line, scuppers & deck are way too low to water line !
Having a big livewell in the transom doesn't help also with 40-50 gallons weight (aprox 400lbs)
I'm going to cut that out and loose it also, not the greatest shape (rectangular) for my live baits (pic was taken with livewell empty)
Round barrel or oval tank shape work best.

 

[WoundUpMarine]

Ronnie, why did you get away from the scuppers that Endorfin has? Those are the ones i wanted to put on this winter. My scuppers are about where yours are. The picture shows them looking a little high but i had no fuel onboard, and then add ice and gear and a couple guys, and i have green water coming in those holes when im on the hook. I cant raise my deck, as i only have 6'1 head room over the helm now. Im hoping the scuppers like Endorfin's will work a lot better than open holes anyway!!

 

[Tunascapes]

Ronnie I know the day you were talking about, I think we were right next to each other. Such a pain in the a**. We had the same problem. Add in an outboard cutout to get an occasional splash over from and it's brutal. I was ankle deep in the back corner when we got lucky and were off doing circles. A new deck eight makes complete sense.

 

[yanmar]

I've got the same problem on my sisu 26 so i'm gonna do the same thing ( about 5 " ) but i will be redoing my wheelhouse and will raise that ( 7 " ) as i am hitting my head constantly now ( 6' 2 " )

 

[Blitzen]

Ronnie,
I understand your pain and would not like a wet deck either, just a couple thoughts before you raise your deck. Just like head room height in the wheelhouse it is personal preference, is the height that the washrail contacts your leg. If you raise the deck 5 inches will you still feel comfortable leaning against it in rough seas without the fear of the feeling like you are going to fall over? I know that some tall guys may feel like it can be very hard to fish a boat if the rail is too low on their leg. It maybe a non issue but something to think about as it could be a deal buster if you ever try to sell the boat. A 6'-4" guy in a 6' wheel house just isn't going to work for long. I know because most of my friends are 6ft+ and had to make sure that things would work for them too.:grin: Sometimes it is good to be short.:grin:

 

[BillD]

John you raise a good point.
I'm a short guy, thd top of the washrails on the blackfin are 25" from the deck. Hits my legs perfect.

If Ronnie "drops" the washrail height by 5" with a 5" raise in the deck he could install a taller trim board around the inside of the cockpit washrails.

If the board is now 5", raise the height to 10"

All about the top of the knee caps

 

[duxbait]

I have been in the same situation with having a deck too low... Once on a higher deck, the entire experience on the boat is much better. I'd say go ahead and do it. As for the baitwell I will tell you as a commercial supplier of pogies that if you fish pogies alot, get an oval baitwell with minimal circular current. Hope the project works well!

 

[Raider Ronnie]

My wash rails are about 24 inches high and if you look in this attached picture I have pvc cap with the stainless trim.
Wash rails on Hammer Slammer's are about 21 high.
I'll remove those and do exactly that by glassing in taller trim.
The story I was told, the owner who I bought this boat from and had Steve build it, because he was a very tall guy wanted the head room in the wheelhouse and the deck was lowered.
This rant is in no way a knock on Steve. The guy writes him a check and he has to build it to the owner's wants & needs.
The previous owner in my opinion was a f***ing idiot !
You don't want to hit your head because your 6ft 3 +, cut the F***ing roof off and raise the height.
You can't change the F***Ing water line and lowering the deck & scupper height is only going to do 1 thing, let water in !
When I bought the boat it was 7 years old with 144 hrs, the toilet had never been sat on. The boat was basically still brand new.
That didn't make much sense to me and I questioned him many times on why so little use.
Told me he just really liked the boat so he had Steve build it and knew he would end up selling it as a 6pack charter boat.
Makes a lot of frigging sense !
Have the deck lowered because your tall and have intentions of selling it as a charter boat.
Maybe he thought he was going to sell it to someone who only does 1 person charters, never uses the livewell and only goes out on bluebird days

John you raise a good point.
I'm a short guy, thd top of the washrails on the blackfin are 25" from the deck. Hits my legs perfect.

If Ronnie "drops" the washrail height by 5" with a 5" raise in the deck he could install a taller trim board around the inside of the cockpit washrails.

If the board is now 5", raise the height to 10"

All about the top of the knee caps

 

[coddock]

Ronnie,I also looked @ that boat; as a matter of fact,I think the same day. The broker told me he also had 2 or 3 other boats and wanted to off one...go figure !

 

[Raider Ronnie]

Brokers are like politicians, will tell you any line of bullshit just to make the sale.
Me, he baited me in till the end saying the seller wanted to take my Parker as part of the deal, a line of bullshit just to get me sucked in.
Broker also told me the boat had "improved scuppers"
I bought the boat anyway, kept the Parker and the broker told me "since I made my 10% commision on this sale I will list your Parker and only take 5% for the sale"
He sent a few potential buyers to me and on the phone with him and running numbers naturally he told me a figure they were offering and then after he took his 10% commision ..............
I sold the boat on my own to someone who saw it at my house, fuck him!

Ronnie,I also looked @ that boat; as a matter of fact,I think the same day. The broker told me he also had 2 or 3 other boats and wanted to off one...go figure !

 

[coddock]

Brokers are like politicians, will tell you any line of bullshit just to make the sale.
Me, he baited me in till the end saying the seller wanted to take my Parker as part of the deal, a line of bullshit just to get me sucked in.
Broker also told me the boat had "improved scuppers"
I bought the boat anyway, kept the Parker and the broker told me "since I made my 10% commision on this sale I will list your Parker and only take 5% for the sale"
He sent a few potential buyers to me and on the phone with him and running numbers naturally he told me a figure they were offering and then after he took his 10% commision ..............
I sold the boat on my own to someone who saw it at my house, fuck him!

In the end, you got a very nice, low hr. boat. I was very close to pulling the trigger....till I heard it sold ! LOL I also looked @ the other 28;If I remember it had a canvas winterback;and not half the boat of yours.

 

[capecodder19]

Ronnie have you run this issue by Steve Law? I am curious as to why your scuppers are not the same height as other 28 Seaworthy boats I have seen on this site. I am looking to buy a downeast boat for my next boat and scupper height is high on my list since I had a boat with a wet deck also. Good luck with what ever decision you go with to correct the problem.

 

[coddock]

Ronnie have you run this issue by Steve Law? I am curious as to why your scuppers are not the same height as other 28 Seaworthy boats I have seen on this site. I am looking to buy a downeast boat for my next boat and scupper height is high on my list since I had a boat with a wet deck also. Good luck with what ever decision you go with to correct the problem.

I can answer that for Ronnie.... He stated in a previous post "Steve built the boat for a tall guy that wanted more Height in the W/H".

 

[capecodder19]

Now that makes sense. Sorry I missed that fact. I thought Steve built the boat for Ronnie.

 

[Raider Ronnie]

In the end, you got a very nice, low hr. boat. I was very close to pulling the trigger....till I heard it sold ! LOL I also looked @ the other 28;If I remember it had a canvas winterback;and not half the boat of yours.

Yes, in the end I got a VERY nice boat and I love it other than a few issues like this one. (The roof is another issue, pitched down in the center about 1 inch + and holds water, should be crowned up)
I said it prior and I'll say it again,
The water line is the water line and lowering the scuppers and deck height will only do 1 thing, let water in !
Cutting the roof off and raising it should have been the solution for a tall person. The house is awlgriped white anyway, not like it would have needed a gelcoat blend.
If you looked at the boat you know the asking price and thats what I paid as the seller wouldn't budge off it.
The wet deck is something i've been dealing with since day 1 and every year I"ve said i'm ripping the deck up.
This year it's definite as soon as it gets put in my shelter.
If 6ft headroom in the house is an issue next year I'll deal with it for the year and cut the roof off the following year and raise it.

 

[jerseysportfisher]

hey ron, while the boat is at rest, is there any pitch on the deck ?

 

[Raider Ronnie]

hey ron, while the boat is at rest, is there any pitch on the deck ?

In a 15 ft span 4 inches.
Most 1inch per 4 ft
Stern is about 1 1/2 inches for 3 ft.

 

[jerseysportfisher]

so there is pitch yet the deck retains water ? there has to be an easier solution then ripping the whole deck up. I could see if it was rotted and the job warranted. How about side drains in the deck ?


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