Bilge Pump

[Nathan Love]

I have been manually pumping out the bilge (with one of those hand-pump units)on my 1986 26' for the past two years and find it hard to believe that for a boat whose Ice Box drains directly into the bilge, O'Day did not install a fixed pump into the boat. Am I missing something? I have searched all around the bilge and don't see a hose or any evidence of a fixed pump.

 

[Greg Jones]

Hand Pump

Nathan,My 1984 O'day 26 has a manual hand pump located just beneath the starboard hatch in the cockpit. The 3/4" dia. drain hose wends its way into the bilge just beneath the aft end of the sole in the cabin. It terminates in a small strainer. My ice box however drains out via a thru hull opening not into the bilge. So far the manual pump has worked fine as only a little water seems to come in if the stffing box is not adequately packed.RegardsGreg Jones

 

[Herb Schiessl]

Electric pump

My 26 also came equiped with a hand pump but it also have an electric bilge pump that drains into the plumbing for the head sink, It has an automatic switch that is connected directly to the battery (fused wire)so that it will still opperate when the battery switch is off. This keeps my bilge almost dry at all times and should I have a leak, hopefully I will discover it before the batteries drain and the boat sinks. Herb