Adding oval scuppers through the toe rail

[sailingunity]

One of the requests the wife has while I'm working on this project is to remove the pipe that goes through her galley cabinets. Easier said than done!

Truth is, I wouldn't mind doing this as well, we have 4 deck scuppers, 2 on each side, that are constantly getting clogged up. The pipes take up space inside the boat, and the thru-hulls represent 2 more liabilities. Plus the builder only put 2 in, and in not quite the right spot for water to drain so we always seem to have some water hanging around on the side deck that grows algea.

In thinking of how to do this, the most efficient method it would seem would be to find something oval I can use wrap fiberglass around so as to make identical oval sized scupper pipes, 4 or 6 of them, then cut the holes in the toe rail and install them.

Would it be sufficient to glass just the part inside the boat (inside the toe rail cavity), and then on the outside just use some epoxy / cabosil mixture to fair it in, or do I need to grind back the glass on the outside and glass it there too?

[sailingunity]

Something like this would be perfect, but alas I can't find any in the US.

https://shop4electrical.co.uk/79-oval-pvc-conduit

[sailingunity]

Mmm nevermind, I just saw the sizes, 13x32 is less than 1/2" by 1-1/4".

[Hartleyg]

Osprey Composites in MD has a mold and makes the oval part which would fit right in. You'll have to call them to see what they have available: Osprey Composites, Inc 410-867-3022. I don't work for them or anything, but they showed me what they had because I'm trying to repair my oval scuppers



Hartley
S/V Atsa

[sailingunity]

I'll check with them, thanks. My toe rail is only about 3" tall, so I'm hoping to get something 1.5" or so tall, by maybe 3 or 4 inches long. This will give me room to glass the top of the scupper inside the boat.

[wingssail]

Just a technical point but in many cases people dish out the deck and exit the bulwark at slightly below the deck level, or else water does still collect there

[wyb2]

Originally Posted by sailingunity

In thinking of how to do this, the most efficient method it would seem would be to find something oval I can use wrap fiberglass around so as to make identical oval sized scupper pipes, 4 or 6 of them, then cut the holes in the toe rail and install them.

If you were going to wrap something in glass anyway, can you just use a mold? Make up an oval mold out of whatever (wood, an old TP roll), coat it with some mold release (any wax could do), and lay some glass around it. You could even reuse it.

Originally Posted by sailingunity

Would it be sufficient to glass just the part inside the boat (inside the toe rail cavity), and then on the outside just use some epoxy / cabosil mixture to fair it in, or do I need to grind back the glass on the outside and glass it there too?

Seems like you will want to finish (paint or gelcoat) whatever you fair in on the outside. If so, then it seems like not much more work to grind back a little and glass it in.

[sailingunity]

Originally Posted by wyb2

If you were going to wrap something in glass anyway, can you just use a mold? Make up an oval mold out of whatever (wood, an old TP roll), coat it with some mold release (any wax could do), and lay some glass around it. You could even reuse it.

Yes the plan is to find a mold of some type. Something like this comes close: https://www.testritealuminum.com/pro...tz4-wE04xS-rJY

But I'll try the place Hartely mentioned first, as it would save me some time.

[scherzoja]

I did what you're going to do for the same reason: get rid of the hoses and the waterline thru hull fittings.

Instead of making any kind of tunnel, I just removed the toe rail in that area, which is about 3" tall and 4" wide. I sealed it off with epoxy and 1708, then sprayed gel coat and sanded it smooth. The genoa track will span the opening, but if it didn't, it's not that big of an opening and doesn't seem to be a hazard or eyesore.

Tomorrow, I'll get a picture of the finished product. These pictures are of the removal and patching with the unsanded gelcoat.

IT's a lot of work, but worth the effort to get rid of those silly hoses that go down through the cabinet areas. I have not seen any issue with dirt streaks down the topsides.

Make sure you excavate enough fiberglass so that when you patch it, the new material is not higher than the surrounding desk; otherwise, water will always pool.

Also, check to see if the current scuppers are at the low spots. If they are not, consider putting the new scuppers at the current low spots so you eliminate puddling.

[sailingunity]

Looks like it turned out good.

In my case, I have two drains that need to be replaced. The forward drain is in the wrong spot and water pools on the deck between it and the aft drain (area circled in red), so I need to move this drain aft. Then, I have a turning block that sits on molded in base which "blocks" some of the water from making it forward from the aft deck, so I need one aft of the turning block (the drain that's there is in the right spot already).

In later models they added a third drain on the deck so the water didn't pool, but three pipes down below, sheesh!