It was recommended by our surveyor that I should install a bilge alarm when we bought our 1985 hunter 31 two years ago. Never installed but put on the “nice to have” list. This weekend I was doing routine inspections and found the bilge pumps float switch had failed. Fortunately I have a dry bilge, but if something did break loose I could have been SOL. I am now moving the bilge alarm from the “nice to have” list to “should have” or “must have” list. I’ve seen bilge alarms in the catalogues that come with their own buzzer. The boat is left unattended on shore power during the week. For the alarm to have value if something has gone awry it would have to alert either a dock mate or marina personnel. To be audible from the closed up boat I am assuming that the buzzer must be mounted outside in the cockpit. Since I don’t want to add more holes to cockpit I was hoping that I could use the engine buzzer that’s already in the cockpit Question. Has anybody mounted a secondary float switch higher up in the bilge and wired this to sound off a “high water” alarm using the Yanmar instrument panel buzzer? If so how can this be done and keep the other alarms working properly? My boat has the Large B type pannel. From the Yanmar wiring diagrams it appears that the buzzer's hot side is routed through the key switch. The engine alarm switches (low oil pres, Hot water temp) close the ground to sound off the buzzer. Without the key switch turned on, the buzzer can't be activated.
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How about this!
Bill: I'd agree that not drilling another hole in the boat is a great idea. What about mounting the alarm in one of the lazarettes. Not going to be quite as loud as outside but still annoying. As far as mounting an additional float switch in the bilge. You could just use a piece of plastic and some good caulk. If the plastic is thick enough you will be able to raise it up far enough so it should stay dry MOST of the time.
Bill: I'd agree that not drilling another hole in the boat is a great idea. What about mounting the alarm in one of the lazarettes. Not going to be quite as loud as outside but still annoying. As far as mounting an additional float switch in the bilge. You could just use a piece of plastic and some good caulk. If the plastic is thick enough you will be able to raise it up far enough so it should stay dry MOST of the time.
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Bill Ebling
I'll followup with Rule
Don: For the new alarm float switch, I'll just mount it on the centerline of the hull just forward and outside of the bilge "gutter" (That ~ 10 gal depression the current bilge pump and float switch are in; i.e. the bilge proper). If water rises above the "gutter" the pump isn't keeping up and the alarm should sound. If I can't figure out how to wire the float switch into the Yanmar buzzer I may just place a Rule Bilge Alarm buzzer, Model 33AL, inside a lazerette as you suggest. The rule buzzer puts out about 85 Db. Hopefully that should still be annoying enough on the dock even if inside a lazerette (maybe 75Db). In any case I've got a call into Rule to find out if their buzzer is truly waterproof. The catalogue say's it’s a "dash" mount buzzer suggesting that it may not be weather proof. If it’s truly waterproof AND I decide I want to start drilling holes in the boat I'd probably mount it just below the molded in port winch handle pocket. That should keep the back end works out of harms way of loose gear sliding around in the stern lazerette. BTW. I am curious how most people plan for emergency bailing. Do you carry a supplemental manual bilge pump in the event you hole the boat?? What capacity? Is it permanently mounted in a bulkhead or the cockpit or do you keep a portable pump stashed in a locker?... Or is the plan to rely on panic and a bucket brigade?
Don: For the new alarm float switch, I'll just mount it on the centerline of the hull just forward and outside of the bilge "gutter" (That ~ 10 gal depression the current bilge pump and float switch are in; i.e. the bilge proper). If water rises above the "gutter" the pump isn't keeping up and the alarm should sound. If I can't figure out how to wire the float switch into the Yanmar buzzer I may just place a Rule Bilge Alarm buzzer, Model 33AL, inside a lazerette as you suggest. The rule buzzer puts out about 85 Db. Hopefully that should still be annoying enough on the dock even if inside a lazerette (maybe 75Db). In any case I've got a call into Rule to find out if their buzzer is truly waterproof. The catalogue say's it’s a "dash" mount buzzer suggesting that it may not be weather proof. If it’s truly waterproof AND I decide I want to start drilling holes in the boat I'd probably mount it just below the molded in port winch handle pocket. That should keep the back end works out of harms way of loose gear sliding around in the stern lazerette. BTW. I am curious how most people plan for emergency bailing. Do you carry a supplemental manual bilge pump in the event you hole the boat?? What capacity? Is it permanently mounted in a bulkhead or the cockpit or do you keep a portable pump stashed in a locker?... Or is the plan to rely on panic and a bucket brigade?
If you are drilling.
Bill: If you decide to drill holes (I don't like that idea), why don't you have a clear/tinted plexiglass shield made for it. Plexiglass is easy to bend with some heat. You could then have the shield made like a hood that would cover the alarm but the bottom would be open. Again it would be slightly muffled but not by much and it would be protected from the elements. We carry a manual pump aboard. You can put one end in the bilge and the other in the sink. If the bilge is really crappy, you can pump into the cockpit. I would really like to have a manual pump in the cockpit but could never figure out how to route a hose from the bilge to the aft lazarette.
Bill: If you decide to drill holes (I don't like that idea), why don't you have a clear/tinted plexiglass shield made for it. Plexiglass is easy to bend with some heat. You could then have the shield made like a hood that would cover the alarm but the bottom would be open. Again it would be slightly muffled but not by much and it would be protected from the elements. We carry a manual pump aboard. You can put one end in the bilge and the other in the sink. If the bilge is really crappy, you can pump into the cockpit. I would really like to have a manual pump in the cockpit but could never figure out how to route a hose from the bilge to the aft lazarette.
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steven f.
smoke alarm
Just an idea; use a smoke detector with a float switch. Keep the float switch in the bilge and the alarm in a lazerette. If you solder the test switch closed with a jumper wire going to the float switch it will alarm when the float switch is raised, don't know about you but I've found smoke detectors to be the loudest sound on the planet (next to my wife yelling at me).
Just an idea; use a smoke detector with a float switch. Keep the float switch in the bilge and the alarm in a lazerette. If you solder the test switch closed with a jumper wire going to the float switch it will alarm when the float switch is raised, don't know about you but I've found smoke detectors to be the loudest sound on the planet (next to my wife yelling at me).
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Aldo Lozano
Secondary Switch...
Bill... The connection for the use of a bilge switch to activate the buzzer on the engine panel is a very simple one. If you are still interested, let me know at "alozano@monmouth.com" so I can send to you a little drawing... Aldo alozano@monmouth.com S/V Isabel
Bill... The connection for the use of a bilge switch to activate the buzzer on the engine panel is a very simple one. If you are still interested, let me know at "alozano@monmouth.com" so I can send to you a little drawing... Aldo alozano@monmouth.com S/V Isabel
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