Queston on Bildge Pump We have a hunter 23 and as you may know it does not have a real bilge. Water will at times get under the seat locker. I have sealed that area off from the interior of the boat. So if water gets on one side it can get on the other side. (Unless its about 4' deep then I've got more problems.) But my real question is about the type of bilge pump. I was thinking of putting a small one in the rear locker with the discharge line going out the same thru hull as the sink and have it on a float switch. Then have a second larger pump that I could connect to the battery and pump out water if it ever got in the cabin or if we ever got a serious leak could use it as an emergency pump as well. I had thought about just a large pump in the locker but then if any water got in the cabin I wouldn't have any way to pump it out. Any comments or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Rob Morton S/V Euphoria h23
Bilge pump question
- Thread starter Rob Morton
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The lowest part of the bilge
is where you want the suck hose from the pump to reside. This should pump ALL (well almost all) of the water out of the entire bilge and that should take care of any water getting behind your lockers as well(unless your bilge is actually compartmentalized in which case you will need 2 bilge pumps). If you have separate compartments in you bilge then either compartment can flood which is a real pain in the a$$. Remember the Titanic? It had separate internal 'waterproof' sections of the hull that was supposed to make it unsinkable. I think that one continuous bilge makes sense so you can pump the whole thing dry with one pump. Of course, it is a nice idea to have an extra super duty pump in the event of a catastrophic failure in which case it would also be nice to have an epirb, life raft, VHF with DSC and good PFD's too. The end of the sucking hose of from the pump should also have a strainer on the end to protect the pump. My 27' boat has one electric bilge pump with a manual backup and of course buckets. Perhaps it is more important to figure out HOW water is getting in there instead of getting more bilge pumps that will only hide the problem until your batteries give out. I am not that familiar with the H23 (been on a H25) and it sounds like your cabin IS the bilge which is why you sealed off the aft section from the cabin. Just my 2 cents and good luck.
is where you want the suck hose from the pump to reside. This should pump ALL (well almost all) of the water out of the entire bilge and that should take care of any water getting behind your lockers as well(unless your bilge is actually compartmentalized in which case you will need 2 bilge pumps). If you have separate compartments in you bilge then either compartment can flood which is a real pain in the a$$. Remember the Titanic? It had separate internal 'waterproof' sections of the hull that was supposed to make it unsinkable. I think that one continuous bilge makes sense so you can pump the whole thing dry with one pump. Of course, it is a nice idea to have an extra super duty pump in the event of a catastrophic failure in which case it would also be nice to have an epirb, life raft, VHF with DSC and good PFD's too. The end of the sucking hose of from the pump should also have a strainer on the end to protect the pump. My 27' boat has one electric bilge pump with a manual backup and of course buckets. Perhaps it is more important to figure out HOW water is getting in there instead of getting more bilge pumps that will only hide the problem until your batteries give out. I am not that familiar with the H23 (been on a H25) and it sounds like your cabin IS the bilge which is why you sealed off the aft section from the cabin. Just my 2 cents and good luck.
And...........
For a boat your size, I would not add a big pump unless you are getting alot of leakage, in which case you need to track the source down and repair it. I would not want my boat leaking so badly that I have to normally count on my bilge pump to keep me afloat. You certainly want some type of manual pump for the catastrophe you hope never happens. I do not leave my boat unattended for more than 2 weeks at a shot w/o finding someone to check up on it. I am fortunate to live close enough so that I check her out every day unless I am out of town.
For a boat your size, I would not add a big pump unless you are getting alot of leakage, in which case you need to track the source down and repair it. I would not want my boat leaking so badly that I have to normally count on my bilge pump to keep me afloat. You certainly want some type of manual pump for the catastrophe you hope never happens. I do not leave my boat unattended for more than 2 weeks at a shot w/o finding someone to check up on it. I am fortunate to live close enough so that I check her out every day unless I am out of town.
No room for electric bilge pump.
Use a manual pump to get the water out. Find the leak and plug it up. Pouring epoxy on spyder cracks will work.
Use a manual pump to get the water out. Find the leak and plug it up. Pouring epoxy on spyder cracks will work.
Thanks,
Thanks Guys, I don't have any leaks but we are going to be keeping the boat about 5 hours away next year and I just want to make sure that there are not problems. Once I got some water below because a leaf blocked the drain for the locker and some water came in. If something like that was to happen I want to have a way to keep it out. Thanks again. Rob Morton S/V Euphoria
Thanks Guys, I don't have any leaks but we are going to be keeping the boat about 5 hours away next year and I just want to make sure that there are not problems. Once I got some water below because a leaf blocked the drain for the locker and some water came in. If something like that was to happen I want to have a way to keep it out. Thanks again. Rob Morton S/V Euphoria
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