Hi, I am a new boat owner. Am really glad I thought to check the bilge compartments yesterday and don't think the guy who sailed the boat here pumped once or even checked. I have a Hunter 25 from 1974 and wondering if anyone might know where the pump might be located and the drainage hose (i don't yet know all the terminology). I have looked for manuals but am having difficulty locating an owner's manual online due to the age of the boat. Can anyone provide insight into whether or not this boat would have come with an automatic/electric bilge pump and where I may locate this onboard? Thanks for your time!
Bilge Pump location and drainage
- Thread starter Tonya
- Start date
The pump should be located in the bottom of the bilge with the discharge hose running to a thru hull in the side of the hull a couple of feet above the water line. The boat should have originally come with one however, they don't last forever and the PO may never have installed another one. I would get one ASAP. They are not expensive and the install is fairly easy. Make sure it is connected directly to your house battery so it will come on even if your battery switch is off.
Roland thank you for your reply. This sounds silly but yesterday when I was sopping up water out of the compartments in the floor with towels, I was looking for the bilge and where the pump (if there is one is located). Do you know where the access point to the actual bilge is on most sailboats? I will require help to install a new one. I have also read that for boats over a certain length 2 bilge pumps is a good idea. Until I learn this stuff I'll check in the marina to see who can show me. Any advice is welcome!
There should be a board on the sole, (floor), that you lift up. The space under that is the bilge. You should see bolts coming up through the bottom. Check the bolts for signs of corrosion. That is where your keel is attached. The pump mounts in there in the lowest spot available. The hose runs from the pump to the thru hull on the side of the hull. Use smooth hose. The wires run to the battery. Secure the wires so they are not laying in the water in the bilge and make sure all connections in the bilge are waterproof. You should only need one pump for a 25 footer. Finding someone who can direct you would make it much easier to understand. Also, looking at someone else's setup will help you visualize all this. It's fairly simple. Buy the biggest GPM output pump that will fit in that space.
And get a smooth discharge hose, not that corrugated crap. It's harder to work with but offers less resistance to discharge flow.
Welcome, Tonya.. lots of good information on this forum..
The link to a very basic "manual"" is here:
http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Hunter_25_79348586.pdf
Looks like the boat did not come with an electric bilge pump originally.
Check out the West Marine "How to and advice" section for some good starting points..
Again, welcome to the forum.
The link to a very basic "manual"" is here:
http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Hunter_25_79348586.pdf
Looks like the boat did not come with an electric bilge pump originally.
Check out the West Marine "How to and advice" section for some good starting points..
Again, welcome to the forum.
I will totally check out this manual. I didn't see one and the compartments with the keel bolts are quite narrow and shallow. I'll have to consult with someone on where to place the pump and run the hose and electric. The manual is much appreciated. Was looking for one today.
This is what I installed in my boat as well as a friends 26 foot boat that has a real shallow bilge. It is low profile with automatic switch. It seems to work quite well. Do not use non return valve with it.
http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|51|2234226|2234227&id=2661389
http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|51|2234226|2234227&id=2661389
The h25 was probably delivered with a 350 to 500 GPH electric pump connected to a manual breaker switch at the control panel. The h25 has a very shallow bilge which practically precludes the operation of a float switch. Let's get something clear, there is no need to panic and run to get and install a bilge pump. Hunter understood this was a convenience item to allow the owner when he came aboard to empty the bilge without having to lift the floor boards and soaking the water out. The safety aspect of keeping a boat afloat relies in periodic inspections and maintenance of hoses and clamps and the through hulls and valves. The bilge pump is designed to just expel incidental water from small leaks and spray that collect in the bilge. If you want a pump with an automatic function that will work for your boat look at the computer chip controlled units ($$) that sense the presence of water and pump it out and then turn themselves off to avoid unwanted cycling from flowback. It will be necessary in your boat to empty the bilge before going out as the bilge is o shallow that water will spill out into the cabin sole at the slightest degree of boat heel. The pump should be located under the forward floor board in the cabin. I can tell you these pumps come nowhere near their rated output. An efficient system might get around 150 GPH from a 500 GPH pump. They do not have the capacity to keep a boat afloat from any significant water intrusion thus the importance of periodic inspections to hoses, valves, etc. If it were me and wanted to save a few bucks I would reinstall the original factory system with a manual breaker switch. The discharge hose should lead to an above waterline plastic through hull on the starboard side. It is possible that the earlier 25h models did not come with a pump as electric ones were costlier back then so a complete installation might be necessary. Snaking the wires into the bilge and drilling for a through hull fitting might be the most difficult tasks.
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Also, make sure the discharge hose does not slant downhill all the way from the thru hull to the pump outlet - make sure it has a loop that is higher than the thru hull, and that there are no "low spots" anywhere in the hose's run that would collect water. That is, from that highest point it should go downhill both to the pump and the thru hull, with no "dips"/low spots.
The boat did not come with one. I have a 79 25 foot. Mike showed me how to install one. It has to go in the small hole in the head area. You have to drill a hole in the port settee to get the hose out of the bilge. Then another hole in the port storage shelf in the head area, the one with the sliding doors. Then from there a hole in the hull for the through fitting. It is a real pia to get installed I can assure you but it is worth it. I can take some photos tomorrow when I go out to the boat.
There is only room for an automatic pump, not a float operated one.
There is only room for an automatic pump, not a float operated one.
