Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On 9 Jan 2007 21:33:02 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:

Gene Kearns wrote:
On 9 Jan 2007 12:48:19 -0800, Chuck Gould penned the following well
considered thoughts to the readers of rec.boats:

Outboard powerboats tend to sink at the dock due to poor cockpit
designs that trap water....
.... are we talking cut-away transom here or ?
I think they're talking about boats designed so that the scuppers can
become easily clogged. We've had 30" of rain around here in the last
few weeks. If a boat were left unattended out in the weather, and if
the scuppers got clogged with debris from a tree or similar
obstruction, it could sink pretty easily. It's not uncommon to see
dinghies tied alongside a dock that are completely swamped this time of
year. A lot of those swamped dinghies would also be reported as
"outboard power boats", but it's hard to imagine many people making an
insurance claim for a swamped dinghy.

That's what I was wondering. The main focus of the article is the
vagaries of I/O design, but somehow outboards got lumped into it.

I don't think I've ever seen a outboard swamped at dockside after a
heavy rain, but I've seen a few I/Os full to the brim over the years
and not necessarily from rain either.

Although to give the article some credence, I did have my Ranger at
the old marina a couple of years ago after the Contender was pulled
for late season fishing. The Ranger has a cockpit drain system that
lies towards the stern in the corners and has a ball/float system
keeps water out and drains when there is excess water. After one rain
storm, there was excess water in the cockpit as one of the ball/floats
got stuck somehow, but other than a slight list, the boat didn't sink.

I can see Gene's point about open transoms with outboards. A couple
of the salvage boats I've looked at over the years had open transoms
which I imagine could accommodate swamping easier.

If the boat owner does not check up on his boat during the fall and
winter, it is not uncommon for leaves and pine straw to clog the
scuppers during the fall, and then the heavy winter rains to cause the
boats to fill up with water.