General Discussion

Back between 2018 and 2021, we completely restored our 31. This included installing new Mercruiser 6.2L 300 HP engines. The issue is that because these engines use the Hurth ZF transmissions with the 8 degree down angle output which makes them very low in the bilge. Because of this they wind up in the bilge water only on my starboard side I believe because of rain water and maybe some packing gland dripping. I don’t have the same problem on the port side, it stays pretty dry. Due to the fact that CC built the engine bilge area with no scuppers or drain it holds that water in contact with the bottom of the transmission and shaft coupling. Well I’m sure yall are all thinking that’s not good and you’re right. Over the last 6 years this led to a transmission failure and it leaked all the transmission fluid into the bilge, what a mess. Now I’m replacing the transmission and have the starboard engine out of the boat and before reinstalling, I’d like to resolve that non-draining bilge area by adding a scupper. The plan was to simply drill through the inboard stringer so any water would drain into the main bilge. We planned to install a sleeve and glass it into place to finish the install. The question for all of you experienced guys out there is do you think that I’d create a structural issue or a problem with drilling through the bottom of the stringer close to the hull? The Marina guys are balking on this because they’re afraid to do the drilling. Should I abandon the plan and install a small bilge pump in that area instead? A pump would require maintenance along with all the issues that go along with the installation of it. Seems the scupper would be way easier if it’s not a structural problem drilling through the stringer. What are the opinions? I’d certainly appreciate any input!