Prairie 36 Scuppers

I notice it's been a little slow in the Prairie forum. I've have a question I've been meaning to ask.

On my Prairie 36, there are scuppers through the bulwarks along both quarters. These allow water to drain from the narrow side decks.

I have two. They each run down and out through a PVC pipe, maybe 1.5" in diameter.

It looks for all the world like there should be a third scupper, halfway between the one just aft of midship, and the one near the transom. That's where the water collects, and there's even a pattern in the non-skid deck paint which suggests there either was one there once and it was filled in, or the original mold had a place for one that was never installed.

So, the question is, how many scuppers do YOU have?

Follow up: are they just small 1-2" holes or larger, like hawse holes?

Interesting question. Although I have a 29, I have the same PVC transom drains. With a secondary (drying up drain) in a molded depression. Got any pics?

Here's the closest I have although it doesn't show the secondary drain, it's located in the depression under the sea bass' tail just out of view to the far right

I have 3 on each side of my Prairie 36. I'll have to take a closer look and snap some pics for you the next time I'm at the boat.

The third scupper is between the other two. There is not an indentation into the deck like the other two. However, the non-skid has a circular shape around that scupper. You may have to enlarge the attached pic to see it.

Because the third scupper doesn't have an indentation into the deck like the other two, I'm thinking it was an after-thought. However, because of the non-skid shape around it, maybe not.

I think my 1981 Prairie 36 at hull #37 may be one of the last made before the switch to the Atlantic 37 in 1982. So it might be interesting to get some feedback from an Atlantic 37 owner on this subject.

Sounds like anemic draining unless one has narrow/shallow decks. Best to have several wide scuppers on each beam unless one sees no possibility of travel in rough seas.

Agreed. My 29 prairie has 'afterthought' drains put in to help drain off what can't go up over the lip of the tube scuppers. Sorry, No pics yet.

My 33 has 3 oval rectangular scuppers on each side measuring approximately 11/2" X 3". Some say they may be too small but we boat in fairly calm waters.

Like CaptTom, I have two per side with the factory indentation and a really badly done patch job just aft of midship as well that I've always wondered about!

Interesting. I wonder if there was a lot of after-market scupper work done on these. I know I'm ready to try something!

As to the size, note that these boats have huge freeboard, and rarely take seas onto the very narrow side decks. It's mostly rainwater and cleaning runoff that these drain.

I'll try to get pics this weekend.

Occasionally I find water in the aft lazarette. Outboard of the outboard stringer. I crawled under to inspect the PVC tubes. I assumed the pvc to hull/ deck joints were leaking.
I found so much glass and filler around the tubes. At least in my boats case the PVC tube only acted as a form to glass over. I dumped many 5 gallon buckets in the cockpit and there were no leaks from these drains. Turned out the potable fill hose was rotted.

On my Atlantic I've got two tube scuppers on each side and larger drain just before the rear cleat.

I'm actually trying to figure out how to reseal these into the recessed portion of the deck. Mine appear to be a little off color for the rest of the deck so they look like they have been worked on before.

I've got a leak in both the larger drain and one of the tube scuppers, both appear to have small cracks around the edges.

It's only an issue when it rains - and until Harvey came along last week I had a covered slip ...so now I've got to fix them

All of mine look like KneeDeep's top photo. I wonder if the second one, with the wide, oval hawsepipe, was aftermarket? That's exactly what I'd like to do with my aft scuppers, along with adding the missing center one.

Lots of us have those scuppers; I've got eight: four not cracked, two a little cracked, and the aftermost two cracked enough to leak. My supposition is that they are added in after the hull is joined to the deck. They therefore have 'cold bonds' between the older components and the fiberglass used to tab 'em in. They're small and thus likely to be much thinner than hull and deck. Six of mine are adjacent to the house where sole floor beams/joists are bolted to a stringer along the hull. Thus those six are probably not stressed all than much since the the hull and house are stiffly fastened together. The aftermost two are almost the only thing connecting our back porch deck with the hull; these are evidently overstressed as the boat flexes. I've opined elsewhere that the hull should be affixed stiffly to the deck and then repairs to the scuppers ought to be successful. I've also opined that a flexible, but watertight, connection could be made using roofing membrane or similar.

They're smallish leaks into the never-neverland of the lazarette so I've done nothing.