Mooring and bilge pump

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carlc376

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May 16, 2024
13
o'Day 23 Muskegon, MI
I have a new to me o'Day 23. I am totally new to both sailboats and mooring, both of which I will be starting in the next week or two.

My question...if I am going to leave the boat on a mooring ball for a week (or more) at a time and not be close to the boat should I install an automatic bilge pump? I know that an automatic bilge pump would be limited by the battery life if the boat were to begin to take on water. There do not appear to be any through hulls below the water line. While the boat has been sitting on the trailer it not had water show up in the bilge after rain. There is no evidence that there has been water in the bilge. The previous owner did not leave the boat in the water full time.

Thank you for any advice offered.
 
Don S/V ILLusion

Don S/V ILLusion

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Sep 25, 2008
7,216
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
Bilge pumps don’t typically have a discharge thruhull below the water line. install an auto pump if for no other reason than it will prolong the time it takes to flood the boat in the event of a big problem. That will also extend the time within which others might notice a problem such as a continuous flow from the above the WL pump discharge.
 
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Tally Ho

Tally Ho

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Jan 7, 2011
5,098
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I think adding an automatic bilge pump is important. Especially on a boat you are et going to checking on for a while.

No thru-hulls below the waterline is good (less things to leak), but not the only way water can get in the boat…so a bilge pump is a good idea.

Greg
 
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jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
21,839
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
This sounds like a good challenge for a Solar charge system to keep the battery capable of running the bilge pump while you are away.
 
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carlc376

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May 16, 2024
13
o'Day 23 Muskegon, MI
Thank you all. The through hull for the bilge is above the water line. I am going to add the Automatic bilge pump. I do have a simple solar charger that the previous owner left in the boat. I do plan to upgrade that in the future. Or I just need to be at the boat more...:D
 
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kappykaplan

kappykaplan

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May 1, 2011
4,575
Pearson 37 Lusby MD
carlc376 said:
The through hull for the bilge is above the water line.
Click to expand
Do we infer from this that the boat has a manual bilge pump? The automatic bilge pump you are planning to install should have its own hose and through hull.
 
sailme88

sailme88

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Jan 19, 2010
1,213
Catalina 34 Casco Bay
Moored boats should never be left without a bilge pump. Should the boat sink you will suffer the wrath of the DEP for the oils, gas and other contaminants. Your insurance carrier probably has language about mitigation of sinking by installing a bilge pump.
INSTALL that pump. Put a check valve on the discharge line. Solar is good but just run with the pump first and save the money. A bilge will NEVER pump the bilge dry. Get in habit of checking the bilge upon boarding. If the bilge remains dry....what more could you ask for ?
 
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carlc376

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May 16, 2024
13
o'Day 23 Muskegon, MI
kappykaplan said:
Do we infer from this that the boat has a manual bilge pump? The automatic bilge pump you are planning to install should have its own hose and through hull.
Click to expand
You are correct. There is a manual pump currently. I am planning to change out the current through hull fitting to a 3/4 as the auto bilge pump is 3/4. Once I have more time, I will then install the 1 1/4 along side the 3/4 . I will retain the manual pump and hose to use if needed.

Sadly I will be away from the boat more than on it.
 
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jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
21,839
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
carlc376 said:
Once I have more time, I will then install the 1 1/4 along side the 3/4 . I will retain the manual pump and hose to use if needed.
Click to expand
Bilge water volume for your boat should never be much. If there is water, then there is likely a leak. You need to fix the leak.

A 3/4 through-hull should be more than enough to pump the water from your bilge. I have a huge bilge (4ft deep by 5 feet long and a foot or so across). It filled with water ( an ugly story). I emptied it with a 5/8-diameter hose and a pump in about 15 minutes. You do not need a 1.25" through-hull for your bilge pump. Keep the boat leak-free, and the pump will just sit in the bilge, never working.
 
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carlc376

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May 16, 2024
13
o'Day 23 Muskegon, MI
jssailem said:
Bilge water volume for your boat should never be much. If there is water, then there is likely a leak. You need to fix the leak.

A 3/4 through-hull should be more than enough to pump the water from your bilge. I have a huge bilge (4ft deep by 5 feet long and a foot or so across). It filled with water ( an ugly story). I emptied it with a 5/8-diameter hose and a pump in about 15 minutes. You do not need a 1.25" through-hull for your bilge pump. Keep the boat leak-free, and the pump will just sit in the bilge, never working.
Click to expand
The Previous owner never had any water in the bilge, but he also did not leave it in the water unless he was on it. While it has been on the trailer since I bought it, it has seen several days of rain and nothing in the bilge. The existing through hull is a 1 1/4 (used for the manual pump).
 
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Project_Mayhem

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Sep 24, 2018
2,852
O'Day 25 Chicago
carlc376 said:
You are correct. There is a manual pump currently. I am planning to change out the current through hull fitting to a 3/4 as the auto bilge pump is 3/4. Once I have more time, I will then install the 1 1/4 along side the 3/4 . I will retain the manual pump and hose to use if needed.

Sadly I will be away from the boat more than on it.
Click to expand
If installing multiple pumps, you will need multiple through hulls or a check valve for each pump. Without it, the water than one pumps out, can route back into the bilge through the other pump
 
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carlc376

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May 16, 2024
13
o'Day 23 Muskegon, MI
Thank you for all the input/feedback. I will be installing the second through hull (although drilling a big hole in the boat scares me a little). I hate buying/installing stuff I hope to never use. But I guess better to have and not need it than need it and not have it.
 
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Sunbird22358

Sunbird22358

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Jun 2, 2004
1,931
Oday Day Sailer Wareham, MA
There should be at least 3 thru-hulls in addition to the already added manual pump. The Galley Sink (and if you have the optional Head Sink) will both have small thru-hulls just above the waterline, O'DAY did not install seacocks on those thru-hulls so there is no way to "shut" them when not in use. I would check those to be sure they are still solid and not brittle. Replace if unsure. There is a thru-hull for the cockpit drain/scupper. It is above the waterline, but I think original thru-hull fitting and the one installed in cockpit that it connects to were plastic, with sun and age they can get brittle, and will leak if they break, also there is a hose that connects them, be sure it is OK. Having said that, the fact that you have not seen water in the bilge after recent rains, should be a good sign! The final, and perhaps most critical "thru-hull" is the tube that the CB pendant/line comes up through, that IS below the waterline and can be a source of flooding if it fails in any way. That part appears to be well built, as I have not heard of many 23s that had that leak, but worth checking!

So, an automatic bilge pump is a good "piece of mind" addition, as far as power needs, I think you will find that you will go a pretty long time without a major running down of the battery, we have a 14' open powerboat with a 500 GPH automatic (float switch) pump, unless we get a real "gulley-washer" of a rain storm, the battery easily takes care of that pump for over a month (usually more!), and that is with the additional power drain of a VHF Radio that is in scanning mode whenever we are out for a few hours each weekend. You should get very little water coming in over time, unless any of those thru-hulls did start to leak. If you were to get one of the automatic bilge pumps that instead of a float-switch, will instead turn itself on every few minutes to check for water, then you may use more power.
 
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carlc376

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May 16, 2024
13
o'Day 23 Muskegon, MI
Thank you. That is good information I had not considered, but those thru-hulls do appear to be in good shape. I did install a bilge pump with a float switch. The boat has now sat in the water for three weeks and the bilge is completely dry.
 
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Project_Mayhem

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Sep 24, 2018
2,852
O'Day 25 Chicago
Arrgh said:
All good info, except I'm not sure I would install a check valve on the bilge pump...
Click to expand
For multiple pumps on one thru hull its essential. If only one pump kicks on or one is more powerful, the water just flows out from one pump and through the other back into the bilge
 
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