Electric and electric bielge pumps

rasbury

So my recent near death experience (well not really) with water in the bielge for sure has me looking over my pump. So as another member as suggested, I for sure should have more than- which I do. I have one by the motor and the one under the mid ship berth where the thru hulls for the a/c and the head and the shower sump are.
 So to test my pumps, there is a little part of the float that sticks out, assume if you raise that the pump should always come on under any circumstance correct?

I do not have any type of manual pump on board. I'm looking on line and see some but the hose is like two feet long-  so what do we get for a boat that need 4 or 5' of hose?

Handymans342

Ras you over think everything

rasbury

I am known for that...so what about a pump, what did you have?

reneechris14

Yes twisting the little plastic tip and the pump will on. Then go to helm flip the switch and they both shall buzz now check the oil, gear lube, battery connections and coolant. Now captain your pretrip is almost complete. I do this every time I leave the dock, makes me feel responsible. 

PickleRick

Your bilge pumps should work 2 ways.  A manual switch on the dash to turn them on.  The battery switch needs to be in the on position in order to use this one.

The other way is automatic, when the float lever is raised.  It should have power at all times in case you're not at the boat when she takes on water.

As for the manual bilge pump, i would pump mine into a bucket then dump bucket over board in an emergency situation.  Sailboaters keep them because off shore rogue waves happen but the cockpit in a sailboat isnt as deep as your bilge. Thus they dont need a hose as long. Still an item i feel better to have and not need than need and not have being that its the size of a bike tire pump. If your battrries go your bilge goes.  

I only boat miles off shore for a week a year and dont even do it in my boats but my boats are generally better prepared with safety and back up safety gear than the boats i rent. 


Keeping water out of a boat is an item worth over thinking 😉

Handymans342

rasbury said:

I am known for that...so what about a pump, what did you have?

I had 2 pumps. Case one failed. Redundancy

PickleRick

2 is usually good. If the cabin wouldnt fill 10 inches deep before water got back to the bilge area id only have 2.  

LaRea

A manual pump should be considered mandatory safety equipment.  You can get one with a hose long enough to reach out of your engine room.  

There are many sea stories about the physical exhaustion that comes from bailing water with a bucket.  Yes, you're only moving the water a few vertical feet in a small express cruiser.  But think about lifting a full bucket every 15 seconds for 2-3 hours while you wait for a rescue.  With a tube-style manual pump, there's no wasted motion.

This one will move 13 gallons per minute, which would keep up with a pretty good-sized hole in your hull (like a generator intake).  

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--manual-bilge-pumps--P011_330_003_501?recordNum=1 

aero3113

Even better, you can hard mount a manual pump so you don’t have to rush around to set up the portable hand pump. Pumps 14.5 gallons per minute. Tie it into an existing through hull fitting or add one. Might be something I’ll look into doing.

Whale BP9005 Gusher Urchin Manual Bilge Pump - On-Deck Fixed Handle, up to 14.5 GPM Flow Rate, 1-Inch or 1 ½-Inch Hose Connection https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00144AQDC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Cx9gEbD6SHVKV

rasbury

Thanks..i will be better prepared next time I go out...

GMSLITHO

Guess it depends where you boat inland or offshore I’m either on the Hudson River or a 9 mile lake so really not far from shore and usually so crowded I can easily get help if needed so I think I’m good with the 2 electric  bilge pumps 

LaRea

It's not about offshore vs. inland.  Statistically, most sinkings happen in the slip, not underway.  A manual pump is small, light and cheap.  Why not carry one.  

Besides, it'll never happen to us ... we carry safety equipment mostly so we can help that other boater who wasn't as well-prepared.  Right?  

raybo3

@LaRea I agree most sinkings happen at the dock but most of the time its because the bilge pump failed..... Just say'n

rasbury

that is a bad a$$ pump! I think I will get that and can keep it stored below with some hose...that would be perfect. Thanks @Larea

Willhound

A manual pump or bailing device is mandatory here with or without bilge pumps. I have one like this that I just added an extra length of hose to more easily pump overboard. Corrugated sump pump hose worked. Some of these can be found with a hose on the inlet also so you don't even have to get down in the bilge to operate it.
My arms are long enough that I can operate it by laying on my stomach on the cockpit sole. I often wonder though what I would do if I lost battery power and couldn't open the hatch....

rasbury

That one Lerea shows us for 50 bucks is pretty bad....thinking that's the way I will go....pumping to a bucket with basically same effort makes sense to me...

LaRea

raybo3 said:

@LaRea I agree most sinkings happen at the dock but most of the time its because the bilge pump failed..... Just say'n

Yes, exactly!

Say the boat springs a leak on a Sunday after you go home.  Your bilge pump failed two weeks ago, but you didn't know, so the boat starts filling with water.  When your dock neighbor calls you in a panic, you'll be glad to have that manual pump.  

My paranoid brain can invent a hundred scenarios like that.  

rasbury

So it's not just me....

Stodge

Willhound said:

A manual pump or bailing device is mandatory here with or without bilge pumps. I have one like this that I just added an extra length of hose to more easily pump overboard. Corrugated sump pump hose worked. Some of these can be found with a hose on the inlet also so you don't even have to get down in the bilge to operate it.
My arms are long enough that I can operate it by laying on my stomach on the cockpit sole. I often wonder though what I would do if I lost battery power and couldn't open the hatch....

It's not a requirement to pass a Coast Guard vessel exam, but we do ask if they have anything to bail with should the need arise.  It's more of a "oh, never thought of that" question.

Willhound

Required in Canada.

LaRea

Another example:  your electric pump works, but it can't keep up with the leak.  If you have a manual pump, you have at least a chance of staying afloat until help arrives.  

Yeah Ras, you're not the only paranoid one!

davidbrooks

On my last boat i was getting a coast guard inspection and the inspector asked if i had a manual pump or bucket in case of electric failure or bilge pump failure.  I reached over and pulled out the trash can by the sink and said yes.  She checked the box and said good.  My wife looked at me after she walked away and said "You totally pulled that out your @ss didn't you?" 

reneechris14

This one is half the price because it doesn't say marine on it. I leave this in my dinky witch is on the swimplatfrom. 

rasbury

door empty beer cans count?? I'm going to spring for that 50 one...it's a long dang way to the bottom of the bilege to over the side....it has to be around 8'?

aero3113

@rasbury , I’m sure your hatch area has drains, you can pump it right into the drain if the hose fits, or put a fitting on the end so it will fit.

rasbury

drains? Not that I know of...I guess I could pull off the hose where the electric one goes out and hook in there, that what your talking about?? Then the very bottom of the pump has to go down to the bottom of the bulge and that still 4'? I like that other one...looks like you could really do some pumping and get better leverage to do so...and be on the deck and not swimming down in the bilge. 

aero3113

The channel that the hatch lays in, there aren’t any drains there?

aero3113

When you hose down your top deck, where does the water go?

LaRea

Right - the edge of the engine hatch has a channel that drains out the back.  In a pinch, you could pump right into that.  Or, really, any place in the cockpit that doesn't backflow into the engine room.  

rasbury

Yes but that would not handle 14 gallons a minute...it would be going back in the bielge...guys we are talking 30 more bucks to be on the deck (dry), throwing a hose into the beilge and another hose out the back and pumping out some water!  30 bucks!

LaRea

Why guess.  Next time I'm at the boat, I should crank a water hose into the engine bay, and see what sort of leak I could fight with the handheld.