Every once in a while, I see a post here about locating a bilge pump in the swing keel 22s, and many of you have discovered, like I have, that the access under the galley is less than ideal. Here's my idea, with photo. There's a few more photos in the picture section. I built a manifold/strainer from 3/4 cpvc pipe and fittings, about 32 inches long, and forked to slide up alongside the centerboard trunk under the cabin sole. Each leg of the fork sits between the trunk and the ballast cavity. I drilled 3/8 holes on the underside of the fittings so as to grab all the water in the lowest spots in the bilge. Now here's the catch. Unless you have a 12v centrifugal pump, you'll need to hook this manifold up to a gusher or whale style diaphragm pump. I'm mounting mine up in the top of the starboard quarter berth with the handle coming through to the cockpit. This thing really pulls the water out of the bilge! **Super important** If you decide to make one of these, you'll need to prebuild it, drill, and dry fit outside the boat. I used 10" sections of pipe between the fittings, and then assembled and glued section by section while sliding each piece forward in the bilge. Remember to index each part relative to its neighbor so that your holes on the bottom all line up. I made hash marks on the top of each part where they'd be visible during installation, and lettered each joint to insure reassembly in the correct order. I can send more detailed instructions to anyone who's interested, rather than post a full step by step here. Also, I've got an Atwood 500 gph automatic 12v pump set in the spot under the galley as well, and I routed (with a router)the plywood cover so that it sits flush over the pump housing. Side note: for those of you running new wiring, 3/4 cpvc fits perfectly up under the hull/deck joint area and can be screwed right to the wooden rail that secures the toerail. Makes great conduit for running wires forward, and cpvc is beige, an almost perfect match for the red trimmed boats like mine. You guys with the white/blue boats can use regular white pvc. I can email additional pitures if anyone likes. boss@hpbike.com
