Strange find when poking my hands somewhere new...

[SBH2OMan]

Ok so the title got your attention...

I was cleaning the boat the other day and noticed some dark residue in the starboard scupper "well" (I have the ping pong type scuppers, and there is a rectangular well about 5" wide by 2" across where water collects before going out through the scupper.

Well, I hit it with the hose to dislodge the dirt and swept my hand in there to discover what felt like a thick layer of gelled Vaseline. I dug my finger in to remove it and found to my horror that I could push into it several inches toward the bow. In was relieved to find that the scupper on the port side had this same opening that goes forward under the deck...

2 questions:

1: any idea why someone would goop Vaseline into this area?

2: where does this opening go under the deck, and what purpose does it serve? (does it drain water from somewhere forward?)

The previous owner was fond of applying Vaseline to the pie plate deck hatches and to the seal around the starboard front window, keeping the seals supple and water-tight I suppose.

 

[Bryan 2530]

Weird, could you post a pic? There should be no voids in that well. Is it possible that the plywood laminate could be exposed?

 

[SBH2OMan]

It does seem strange - there is a very clear opening on both sides just forward of the scupper well, but covered over by the sole plate of the deck.

I just went out and took a couple of pics and you can see how far I can reach my hand under there. I probed it with a stick and it feels like it goes back about 4" to 5" under the deck.

There is always water pooled in these wells, even when on the trailer, so I'm assuming the PO did this to prevent the water from infiltrating the deck and fuel tank compartment. Maybe not such a bad idea. What would probably be better would be to simply fill it in with some silicone caulking. Seems like a bad place to have fresh water sitting for long periods of time....

 

[Bryan 2530]

Those are very different from my boat, looks like your deck has a removable panel there, maybe someone else can help.

Any brown water sitting in there? That would indicate rotted wood. But I doubt Parker would leave exposed wood there.

 

[SBH2OMan]

Those are very different from my boat, looks like your deck has a removable panel there, maybe someone else can help.

Any brown water sitting in there? That would indicate rotted wood. But I doubt Parker would leave exposed wood there.

No brown water - but it gets flushed every time the boat is cleaned after use which is once a week at least lately. The entire deck sole plate does look like it could be easily removed as a panel, but there are no exposed screws (unlike a pro line or whaler ). There is a seam all the way around the outside edge and it almost feel like I could slide a knife around the seam and then pull up on these two "handles" and have access to the fuel tank. I don't wanna know what it looks like down there though!

BTW, those ping pong ball scuppers work REALLY REALLY well. Amazingly so. On our last outing, I had three 180 - 215 pound guys with me, and at one point we were all standing on the back deck. I looked over and saw that the scupper in the rear starboard corner was about 2" underwater, but the deck was totally dry! Now I know why other guys complain about wet decks on these earlier 2320's - if it had typically "trap door" scuppers, it would be flooded most of the time!

 

[TunaJoe]

Could it be mildew/mold?

 

[SBH2OMan]

Could it be mildew/mold?

Nope - the "dirt" I was seeing was actually just dirt/grime stuck to the layer of thick vaseline that was smeared around that whole area and packed into the void on the Starboard side. (probably not vaseline, but something similar but thicker). I noticed this morning that there is some similar residue on the port side, but it is not packed into that void.

I'm wondering if I should dry those spaces out with a hair dryer and then pack them with some silicone caulk...

 

[Megabyte]

I'm wondering if I should dry those spaces out with a hair dryer and then pack them with some silicone caulk...

I would not do that until I called the factory to ask about it.
Offer to email the photos to them so they see what you see.

Like Bryan... what you see in your photos is very different from my boat.
My guess is that hole is a drain and serves a purpose that the previous owner did not know about.

I would call the factory and ask...
I'm betting they can tell you where those drains originate from, and why. :wink:

BTW - You might need to clean out the goop with a wet/dry shop vac.

 

[Brent]

Mine is the same and dont know how they are constructed except thought they are like a sink and holds water until it drains out and if will continue to drain if a lot of debris collects except slower b/c the scupper drain is large

 

[gw204]

How far/what can you see if you remove the covers and look into the scuppers?

 

[Fireman]

My 1994 2320 EC has the exact same set up. Must have been standard for that model.

Very curious now as to where it drains from and/or its purpose.

 

[Brent]

Someone can email pics to Eric at Parker. He is very knowledgable