For those of you that own one, or are familiar how they are made, has anyone drilled out the scupper holes on a $200 Pelican sit on top kayak to a slightly larger diameter to make them drain faster. It’s where the deck and hull are flat and fused together. Only about half an inch diameter.
Any problem? Thanks
The hull of the kayak should be one sealed compartment. By sealing air in, it ensures the boat would float whether you flip it or overload it.
The scuppers are likely standard thickness (like 1/8th to 1/4 inch) plastic around them. if you drilled them out to be larger, chances are you would puncture the plastic (or at least, weaken it such that it would break at some point) would would allow the kayak to flood and potentially sink.
I would definitely not try this.
DON’T. For starters, the amount of material you could safely remove, which is next to none, wouldn’t make a noticeable difference in the scuppers’ performance.
If you’re intent on improving the drainage, it might be possible to build up a little ramp on the forward side of the scuppers on the bottom of the hull, but that would require some special equipment and material–a plastic welding setup. I think these are somewhat like an oversized glue gun. Then you’d have to know how to shape the ramp to produce a mild venturi effect. You might find someone who does plastic repairs and have them do it for you. Ask prices first; you might want to buy another boat instead.
Even at that, the venturi only works when you’re moving forward, and when you backpaddle, it floods the cockpit.
Finally, you can plug the scuppers with big rubber corks, as long as you’re not worried about taking in water over the sides. Get them cheap at a hardware store. And, frankly, you shouldn’t be taking a $200 SOT on that kind of water anyway.