Scuppers are designed to drain water from the boat, not to carry it on board and into the bilge. If you install bilge drains, you will have effectively created a controlled sinking of your boat. I suggest handling the water on deck and keeping it off the boat. If your scuppers are round, you can get rubber flaps for the outside or stepped rubber plugs that fit in from the side of the deck. The plugs will prevent water from getting in, but they won’t allow it to get out either. Attach a piece of line to the back of the plugs and you can pull on them if needed to drain the deck. If your scuppers are square (rectangular), install the outer rubber flaps. That may be enough to solve your problem or at least make it manageable. The outer flaps won’t keep all the water out, but they don’t have to. They will keep most of it off the deck.
Ships are made to be on water, not to have water in them. But many times, that’s what can happen when a scupper becomes clogged. A scupper is designed to allow water that enters the interior of the boat to drain away. Fortunately, unclogging a scupper is a simple process.
Instructions on how to unplug a scupper:
- Get the boat out of the water. It is difficult to drain water from a boat when the boat is in the water. You can unclog a scupper at your boat’s dock by simply using the lift to lift your boat out of the water, or you can do it on land with your boat on a trailer.
- Locate the scuppers. These can be located anywhere from one inch to four inches above the waterline.
- Identify the obstruction. If it’s a large object, you may be able to remove it with your fingers. A clog consisting of smaller objects like hair, fur, and grass that may require a bit more work.
- Run a hose into the scupper. You should use a hose that is flexible enough that it can go into the boat and into the scupper without restricting the flow of water.
- Flush the drain with a copious stream of running water. You may need to periodically remove the hose and move the clog with your fingers or a sturdy object.
- Continue flushing the drain until the clog is gone. You’ll know the clog is gone when the water clears of all debris.
- Install flaps to prevent clogging in the future. The flaps fit the outside of the boat and prevent dirt and debris from entering the scupper from the outside. These fins can be as simple as rubber joints on top or they can be as complex as stainless steel brackets. Which option you choose to install is up to you.
The TH Marine Flapper Scupper Repair Kit fits a need where many scuppers suffer from flapper loss for a variety of reasons. These range from warping due to UV exposure to being ripped off the frame by water, even some animals eat the rubber material. TH Marine decided to address this need by offering this kit that contains two flappers of each of the most popular sizes.