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Recently bought used 2004 scout 185 w yamaha 115 4 stroke and dropped her in. Absolutely love the motor.. quiet clean and very powerful for this boat. This problem is the boat. When you go in reverse or slow down from plane water pours in thru the transom scuppers even though there are anti -siphon ping pong ball stoppers in them. This causes significant amount of water to load into the cockpit up to the center console. This sucks! Also, when in a tight turn with two guys the top of the outside transom is nearly buried in the wake of the boat... This is extremely dangerous especially in the barnegat bay inlet area where I fish. the swells, chop and wakes can be hairy at times. Anybody else having this problem? I'm already wanting to sell this rig.
Sold my 2004 185 3 months ago, I have not looked back at all, This is one sorry ass boat, I can not believe that Scout can sell a product like this, w/ two adults in the stern, the boat will hold no less then 2" of water. I did not sea test this boat, and learned an important lesson. I had a horrible experience w/ my Scout, but I am sure there are 100s of others here who love them, I guess it just depends upon what you compare them to. Will never buy another one if that tells you anything.
Plug the scuppers thats what I have done on a 172, 185 & 202 not that big of a deal but I had Dorado's with jackplates not SF. The 235 without a Jackplate would throw water on top of the cowling when I slowed down at times with 3 guys in the rear seat.
__________________ Avenger 23TE by Marauder Marine inc.
DF250 Suzuki & Owens & Sons Trailer
Personally I don't think I would ever want to plug my scuppers. They are there for a reason.
2 years ago I think you would have been banned from this site if you were not on the pro Scout side. Boy things have changed here. Where is Fish Factory... I KNOW we will hear from him on this thread.
Luckily I haven't had any problems like this with my Hydra Sports 212 CC.
It sounds to me that Scout has let stuff go to their heads and have not fisxed issues with their boats that have been around for years. Yes I know they moved the gas tanks forward but it seems they need to more in the drawing room then just that. They are loosing a lot of buyers and potential buyers and they better get their acts together.
__________________ "May your poles be bent and your lines stay tight!!!" <*{{{{{><
1998 Grady White 208 Adventure (sold)
2003 Hydra Sports 212 CC
19?? 12' Duranautic
not sure but i think the 2004 & older Scouts had some problems with the heavier 4 strokes on them i think they have made some adjustments to help that out some now.Sout makes a good boat but have had that reputation of being a little wet inside. have you contacted the factory about your problem ? maybe woth a call. good luck
I looked at one of their 20 footers a few years back and it had the same problem - flooded my feet bigtime, I didn't like the freeboard aft one little bit on the demo ride, and I could see where out in the gulf I would likely get into a "you're gonna sink (or at least swamp) this sucker" situation pretty easily.
My 185 never had any issues with wet feet, regradless how much weight was in the back. But then again, I made sure the scuppers didn't have gunk all over the rubber piece that seals to the ping pong ball that would keep it from sealing.
We just plug the scuppers, and as said above they unplug pretty quickly. I know this is a crappy solution to a problem that Scout should have fixed years ago. Our family has owned three Scouts over the years, two of which are still in the family. They all take on water. The overall fit and finish of the boat is great, but it's a crying shame they can't build a boat that doesn't have this problem. Shouldn't the first lesson of boat building be keeping the water on the outside? If Scout were a "value" boat this issue may be a compromise, but given what they are asking for a new one- Come on Scout build us a boat that doesn't leave you with wet feet, or the embarrasment of defending an otherwise great product.
They are a great boat. Most boats in this size class will get water through the scuppers with enough weight in the back. Keep in mind that many boats in this class don't have scuppers at all (Whaler Montauk 17, etc...), or are designed such that the scuppers can be plugged/unplugged as needed. This is a standard issue on MANY skiffs in this size class. I have been in plenty of 15-20' whalers that all have water on the deck at times due to the scuppers being underwater. Also can take some water over the transom if you come down off a plane fast enough without managing the throttle. You need to handle the boat in a way that mitigates this issue. The transom notch is the safety factor, much moreso than the scuppers...it allows you to slosh a bunch of water out if you manage to get a large amount of water on the deck. Those small scuppers can't be counted on to remove a bunch of water in a hurry...they are way too small. They are better suited for washing the boat down and draining smaller amounts of water. If you get a bunch of water in the boat those little 1" holes aren't going to drain it nearly fast enough. YOu need to power forward in a straight line and get the nose up and get that water to slosh over the transom notch.
I plug the scuppers on my Scout 185 for most fishing. I remove them for other fishing. I love the boat.
James said it very well. The only thing I would add is that people often buy small center consoles with an unrealistic expectation of their capabilities. These small Scouts are not offshore boats, they are extremely capable inshore and nearshore boats. To emphasize what James said on the scuppers, they are really there to drain washdown and rain water off the deck. I've seen many small Whalers swamped in a slip because they don't drain, this won't happen with a Scout.
__________________
1998 Albemarle 247
Fairfax, Virginia
Since the Scout has an open transom, the scuppers are not critical from a safety aspect. If you take on a lot of water, just hit the throttle and most of it will go out over the transom. If I could not get the scupper valves to seal, I would plug them ... that's what I did with my last boat ... just remember to remove the plugs if you leave the boat at the dock. If you get some water on the deck, pull a scupper plug, put the boat on plane and let it drain.
You must be careful about over-loading the stern of any boat with an open transom ... Put a couple of big guys in the stern, take a big wave over the transom, and you will have a boat full of water.
I ran a 17 foot open transom boat for 24 years and more than once had to tell passengers to move forward (or aft) ... NOW! Weight distribution is important on all boats, but especially so for craft less than 20 feet, where a couple of passengers in the wrong place can get you into big trouble. If this bothers you ... you need a bigger boat.
scout 185 wet and dangerous 
