Below the Waterline Thruhulls

[Karen]

Our C-38 has all the thruhulls below the waterline, including the bilgepump. Do others have this situation, and if so, any problems with drainage or water coming into the boat? Specifically, we are concerned about leaving the bilgepump seacock open ( to allow it to drain out if needed) but fearing a check valve problem and having water come IN.

 

[Mark - UK Sailmakers]

below waterline thru hulls

Karen, your hoses to thru hulls below the waterline should go to fittings above the water line, or to closed systems (e.g. sinks, engine cooling, etc.)It seems odd that your bilge pump dicharges below the water line (I've never seen that before) since most bilge pumps are high volume low pressure pumps. In any case, if that's how your boat was plumbed, I would be sure to have a loop in the hose that goes above the water line, between the bilge pump and the thru hull. This would prevent sea water from backing into the system. (if you can't do that, leave the thru hull closed when not on the boat)see you out there, Mark

 

[John Mavrovich]

Strange Setup

I agree with the prior response that you need to loop the bilge pump hose above the waterline if not already done. But in addition to that, I would re-route the discharge to the transom above the water line. You can do this without hauling the boat and would give you the peace of mind allowing you to close all seacocks when leaving the boat unattended. Good luck.John

 

[Rodney Kidd]

Not Standard Factory

Karen,What a strange setup. On my boat, the bilge pump output is routed to a through-hull just under the transom, well above the waterline. I would change the routing as soon as possible - the present setup sounds like an accident waiting to happen. On later model C-38s the shower sump was plumbed to the sink through-hull. The shower sump pump was a small bilge pump. Is that pump what you are talking about? It is located under the grate in the head.Rodney KiddC-38 #297, Flying Bear