Scuppers have been a nagging problem since we purchased the boat. We cleared the drains several times with a jetter attachment on our pressure washer. One problem is that the decks are delaminating such that older paint flakes and aggregate embedded in the coating are released. The rainy season in Northern California puts a lot of water on the decks and the paint chips and aggregate eventually end up in the deck drains. The scupper drain pipes use a number of 90° turns. The pipes tend to clog at the first 90• going into a horizontal run. The fantail scuppers are particularly difficult because the piping below the deck has a lot of tight turns.
The second issue is that Fir is stationary so rainwater and paint chips on the deck tends to pool rather than finding a drain with the pitch and roll of the boat. So, large rains or a washdown send a bunch of debris toward the drains at one time.
Upper decks of FIR when we purchase the boat. There are a few weak spots about the size of a quarter. These are usually under stairs and equipment where the rain water drips on the deck. But, most of what you see is surface rust.
The drain pipes are galvanized steel 1.5” and 2” in diameter. With water sitting just above each 90°, for most of the last several decades, fittings rusted from the inside out. The cleanouts were impossible to open — even with high heat. So, we decided to replace much of the scupper piping while adding a little grease on the threads of the new cleanouts.
We bought a manual pipe threader instead of trying to piece together a bunch of nipples and unions. I am not sure how the cost/benefit analysis worked out. Cutting straight 2” pipe and manually threading it is a lot of work. But, it looks much better than a bunch of fittings and short nipples. We chose products from RIGID. They are priced a little heavier than the competition. But, the build quality is noticeably better. I use RIGID on my farm. I have changed the cutting teeth a couple of times, but I have used the Ratchet and Dies for more than 15 years.
The fantail scupper drain piping included a number of tight turns. Instead of trying to assemble the pipes in place, Joe located the first good threads on each side of the existing run and installed unions. He then built the pipe assembly in the shop and installed the entire assembly at one time.
The new assembly after installation.
Several of the upper deck drains were tied together with a horizontal run of 1.5” pipe which created a bottle neck. We decided to upgrade these to 2” pipe (same as the verticals). We have a few clogs since the improvements, but they clean with a garden hose. We have not had to use the jetter.
Testing the scuppers and drain pipes by opening the fire hydrants on the upper decks