Quote:
Originally Posted by frazier
just bought one of these V20 boats , its a cuddy cabin with an omc out drive which i will convert to an out board on a bracket , but what a stupid designe for the scuppers they just drain into the bilge! i dont even think the floor is high enough above the water line to run them overboard. Do these boats have enough foam flotation in them to keep from sinking or are they a death trap waiting to sink out from under you in a storm! I see two options with this thing , one is to build a huge sump where the engine used to be and install two large bilge pumps and drain the scuppers into there or raise the floor 5 or 6 inches and do a proper pair of scuppers out the stern. What do you guys think?
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Relax. The foam that is in these boats meets USCG specs for level flotation, meaning that in the (un)likely event of a sinking it will still float without capsizing. These boats will handle more rough water than just about any other boat in their size range. There's a reason it's the longest running hull design ever produced.
Yes, there are some known issues with the boat, but sinking isn't one of them. The oversized Carolina flare of the bow keeps out most water. In fact, these are exceptionally dry riding hulls. And yes, you will hear from time to time of waves coming over the bow and windshield and drenching everyone, but that's the exception, not the rule. In fact, MJ, the owner of this site, had that happen to him... and no, his boat didn't sink.
As to the bilge pump, most of us here have converted our boats to twin pumps, one in the stern and one in the front. and again, most of us run 1000GPH or bigger pumps. Several of us (myself included), run a 1000 in the front and a 2000 in the stern. If the draining into the bilge bothers you, it's an easy enough job to convert them to drain overboard. Lots of us have done that also.
Summing up, relax, time and time again these boats will get you home when others go down
You're in one of the safest hulls for it's size that's ever been built.
Welcome to the site.
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1987 V20 w/1987 150HP Yamaha on a Shoreland'r Trailer
1978 16.5 Airslot w/1996 120HP Force on a Four Winns trailer
1996 V21 w/1993 200HP Mercury on a Shoreline Trailer
All towed by a 5.7L Hemi Durango.
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