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I just purchased a 1995 Dauntless 15', we have taken it out about 4 times and notice that water enters the deck area when we are stopped and not moving. At first it seemed to just be a small stream, but we were stopped for about 20 minutes yesterday and then trolling for another 30 and there seemed to be a lot more water then we had seen in the past. Is there a way to prevent this or keep it to a minimum?
is it coming in from the scuppers? my 14 does this and I added the ping pong style scupper that helped it greatly. I still get water coming in trollling and just put plugs in the interior to stop it. can pull them quickly if needed.
Jaz1313
I also have the same model Dauntless and have encountered the same problem as you. I have the original flapper style scuppers but I hear the ping pong version lets some water into the boat as well. I did alot of seaching online and finally found scupper plugs for kayaks at Bass Pro Shops. I forget the exact size but they are color coded in red, blue, and yellow. The correct size for the dauntless is the yellow color. I keep my boat in the water and after washing and hosing the interior with the scupper plugs out, my wife gets in the boat and installs the plugs as with just her in the boat the water intrusion is minimal. A word of warning though. If you leave the boat in the water DO NOT leave the scupper plugs in for extended periods as I left mine in by accident for a week and the 1 inch of rain we had that week put the transome dangerously low to the water and the way the boat was listing to the rear, my "unsinkable" whaler looked like it was about to fill with water and allow the outbard to become submerged.
+1 on plugging the scuppers. I have the raybud scuppers and the 75 Merc 2 stroke. I had water come in anytime I walked forward. I got plugs from West Marine and that solved the problem. I can easily pull them if things turn snotty but it stays pretty dry in most conditions I encounter. I trailer it so no worries about rainwater. Without a wet sole, this whaler is awesome!
Hello Jaz1313 and congrat's on the purchase...these are fun Whalers.
When you can check the condition of the scupper rubber flaps if you haven't already. With time they tend to stiffen a bit allowing more water intrusion onto the deck. If I recall these are Perko Marine parts.
One other area that will accumulate water is the under deck rigging tunnel from console to star board rear deck plate. I added a small bilge pump in this access area (see my project album) to alleviate the concern a bit when out on the water.
My Dauntless had the "Ping-Pong" scupper rig when I purchased it, did not like the fact that screw holes were made into the original outer scupper flange for install. They didn't really work that well either. Eventually I replaced both scupper assemblies with OEM replacement from Sue Lodal at Twin Cities Marine.
Unfortunately Boston Whaler's design of these scuppers placed them to close to the water-line...oh well.
I have a 15 Dauntless as well and I got a lot of water in when I first owned it. Two "fixes" solved the issue.
First off, there is a hole in the bottom of the sump in the aft starboard area of the floor. Water will get sucked up through this hole or simply come in when there is a good load in the stern. Others will find this horrifying, but I use a cam-over plug for this hole every time I go out (insert from under the boat before launch). I figure that if I get pooped by a big wave the scuppers will let it out the stern. I remove the plug after each outing to drain the sump.
The other fix was a call to Perko in Miami FL and get two new scupper flaps. They are dirt cheap and will last quite a few years. A single screw mounts them in the scupper hole
That usually keeps me nice and dry, but a piece of seaweed or other debris in the scupper flap will still allow water to seep in.
Congrats on selecting the 15 Dauntless, they are timeless.
I forgot to mention the drain hole located within the aft star board deck rigging well. The drain hole diameter is approximately 1.0 inch if I recall.
As far as installing the drain plug from the hulls exterior. Not sure about your Dauntless 15 Jaz or Gary's but, mine has a factory installed stainless Perko Marine "clam-shell" cover protecting the drain hole opening which would prevent the install of a drain plug.
I install my drain plug from the interior side, right through the 4.0 inch round deck plate cover. I think there is a picture of this drain area (with plug installed) in my project album from when I installed the bilge pump. That's it for now Jaz...Happy boating to you.
