1987 Fisherman 204, deck drain scuppers

[jkunze]

Hi all, Bought a 1987 Fisherman 204 center console this year & have spent the season getting to know her. She’s in great shape for her age, transom seems quite solid, My concern is regarding the self bailing cockpit design of the boat & what type scuppers are best.
I bought her set up with the ping pong ball type scuppers & struggled all year to keep them clear of debris. As much as I cleared them I’d find in short time leaves, debris, crab legs...... kept clogging them. When clogged they just don’t work as designed at all, allowing water to seep in & preventing it from flowing out. The past owner also used drain plugs to close the deck drains in order to keep out water due to the clogged scuppers. The bilge hatch cover was also kept loose for greater access to the bilge area than the 8”round inspection plate allowed.
the other day I went out with a buddy fishing to drift live eels for strippers in the Long Island sound. As we drifted we began to take rollers at the stern which washed over the low wide transom of my boat. The water washed into the bilge & stayed! I removed the drain plugs at the scuppers but little escaped through the set of four. Water also quickly filled the bilge below & the pump was not only overwhelmed but it too was clogging from debris & leaves within the bilge area. What a mess.
So...... we did make it back that night, lol.
Once tied to the dock I ran the bilge pump 30 minutes to clear the boat of water. I had to plug the deck drains again just to do that as they were well under the water line with all the water weight.
The next day I researched the issue & saw lots of conflicting advice online, including here at Great Grady.
Here’s my conclusion & take on this. Please feel free to chime in & give your advice.
I am discarding the ping pong type scuppers. Bad design IMO. The ball scuppers are three piece, including the clear plastic housing & the plastic ball that floats within. Behind this, against the hull is a gasket with a hole that the ball settles into to stem water flowing into the boat. Simple.
In reality the hole in the gasket is much smaller (7/8”d) than the deck drains themselves (1-1/4”d). The gaskets are also installed with the holes at the top side to cause the floating ball to meet the opening within the top of the housing, hopefully plugging it.
This causes the large drain holes in the transom to not only be reduced in size & flow but creates a dam at the bottom of the drain that quickly clogs. The drains clog with any debris trying to flow out the transom.
I thought why would I have such an issue with a 33 year old boat that has lasted this long & not swamped routinely or outright sunk years ago. Surely the original scupper design was working well at some point. I ordered four Attwood flap scuppers & will be fastening/caulking back in the bilge hatch Itself. I’m also putting in a new 8” access port to clear the pump of any debris that does attempt to clog it. The boats drains are all four at 1-1/4” diameter & that should allow a lot of water to escape that does backwash the stern & deck. With the hatch caulked that water should stay on the deck long enough to escape out the drains.
why would anyone use the over engineered ping pong ball type scuppers that clog & reduce the drain hole size? They don’t work well at all.
what is everyone else’s experience with these?

 

[Lt.Mike]

I have the same year and model boat. Mine has a 225 hanging on the back so with a full tank of fuel and 4-5 people on board we’d have a couple inches of water on the deck that backed up the factory rubber flap scuppers. It did work well as a handy live well for fluke.
I went to the ball scuppers which solved that issue but do clog if you let it.
My boat is stored on the trailer in a carport with a cover on it so it doesn’t get much debris on the deck now but before that and it was outside I would lay a small mesh laundry bag over each drain. That would prevent anything large enough from going down the pipe. On the water I keep a plastic dust pan and brush on board and promptly sweep the deck clear of leaves, acorns, or maple seeds.
As for the bilge pump the factory was good to use a 400 or even a 360 gph pump. No good and with the way they built everything else I don’t know why they went cheap with that.
First chance you get put in an 800gph pump which uses the same 3/4” hose. Replace that hose with a smooth braided clear pvc hose that will flow better that the convoluted hose will. It’ll blast water out like a fire hose.
Thats
If you want to change the discharge port to larger one and larger hose get a 1,000 gph pump.
No such thing as over doing safety.

 

[Lt.Mike]

On a side note that transducer looks like one for a side scan, I’m I right ?
I’m going to that later this season.

 

[jkunze]

I like the mesh bag idea. Simple.
I did purchase a great fitting mooring cover for the boat which has helped a great deal but there’s that locust tree hanging over from my neighbors which always rains small leaves. Lol, it’s a struggle to keep those out.
I assume your hatch cover at the bilge is fastened & caulked. That must keep the water up on the deck so it escapes thru the transom drains. I’m correcting that now on mine. Perhaps the ball scuppers will seem better to me once I try the flap type but I really didn’t like the reduced drain hole size of its gasket or that the smaller hole sits high up against the boats larger drain holes, creating a bit of a dam that seems to prime the clog.
Does yours drain out quickly when’s it takes backwash at the transom while drifting? The transom are quite low. That’s what concerns me. I do think sealing the hatch panel will help the most as my bilge filled up fast enough to make me drop poles quick & head to the dock.
Yes it is side scan & I do love it. Just went out for Blackfish last week over the smithtown reef. It’s an artificial reef made up off derelict vessels & bridge debris. Great for finding rock piles & wrecks all over the LI Sound. Makes a great day just to drive over it looking at the side scan images. Mines the Lowrance ti7.

 

[jkunze]

BTW, is your 225 a 4 stroke? Mine has a 150 2 stroke & I like the power most days but am considering upgrading to a 200. Thing is I’d want a four stroke but will need to consider the added weight. Your boat has more forward cabin weight to begin with, which likely helps counter any engine weight issues at the stern. Lol, perhaps I’ll switch my anchor rode to all chain! That’ll add nose weight. What’s your top speed on the boat?

 

[Lt.Mike]

My OB is a 2 stroke and weighs in at 470lbs. Being 225 it planes instantly. The top end with a full tank and 4 on board was gps’ed at 46mph. The best we got with 2 on board and less than a half tank was 48mph. It’ll cruise comfortably at 35mph just loping along, I guess that’s about top end for your 150.
With flap drains the weight of the outboard has them under the waterline and often backed up on the deck when drifting. Under power it’d run out.
The ball scuppers keep the deck dry as long as there’s no debris keeping the ball open. As far as how fast it drains I haven’t any complaints. If I catch a wave over the bow my eyes are forward but when i do look back the deck is clear.
We seldom ever get water over the rear livewell onto the deck but the well will fill and drain on a rough day. It was thoroughly caulked when I swapped my OB and did minor repair to the transom and I replaced all the deck plates so all the o-rings are tight.
If you move up to a 4 stroke there will be a lot of opinions on this but for a 20’ Grady the 4 cylinder F200 Yamaha is a great match. It bolts up to the same holes as the 2 stroke engines and weighs 480 lbs, much less than the 6 cylinder engines. Run a 19 pitch stainless prop and you’ll see about 43-44mph wot. If and when my OB quits I’ll go this route.
With the mounting location of your side scan transducer have you noticed any interference of the lower unit blocking any part of the port side view?

 

[jkunze]

Wow, yup you’d leave me in your wake. My Grady tops WOT at about 37mph on my GPS. I keep the tank full on the boat as I always worry about condensation in a partially full tank. Perhaps that’s not such a concern with the newer fuels now.
thanks for giving me your motor specs too. I was thinking that I’d upgrade to a 200hp four stroke at some point in the future & it sounds like you’d agree that’s a good size for the fisherman 204. I know my center console weighs quite a bit less than your overnighter.
I’m replacing both round access plates to provide newer gasket seals there & also I’m sealing in the larger bilge hatch that had been kept loose by the previous owner. The flap scuppers have arrived & I plan to try them out but perhaps I will need to reconsider the ball type.
I do notice that the transducer is partially blocked by the Outboards lower unit. I can set it to only read the starboard side which is always clear. That or I’ll Lift the motor tilt a bit to improve the port side image. That seems to be consistent with other boats when the transducer is transom mounted. The only way to correct that is a thru hull transducer. I don’t mind it though as I still get amazing images of the bottom with it. Even at plane I get good images. Love it.

 

[Lt.Mike]

Thanks.
That top end is fun on flat calm days or blasting through the short sections of the river that aren’t no wake zones. Given the size of the boat the reality is with a chop your not not doing better than 25, maybe a little better.
The benefit of the bigger engine is the ability to instantly jump on plane and cruise on plane at a much lower rpm, say 3,000-3,200.
I don’t feel like I’m beating it up at that rpm. While a 200 is going to be a huge improvement over a 150, a 200, 225, and 250 are all equal in the real world of less than perfect conditions. For that reason I have no problem stepping down from the 225 to the 200. I’m sure fuel consumption will be better than the 225 even the 150 because it won’t be working as hard.