Vision 32 Bilege

[Tom Payne]

Hey Vision 32 Owners!!!! I have a question regarding my Bilege Tank System. There are four wells inside the cabin. My Vision is set up with the two middle wells being wet, holding two to four inches of water. The aft middle well has the Bilege pump. The forward middle well has a hole to allow the passage of water between the two wells. My question, Can I dry out the forward middle well by plugging the hole with a transom plug and use the area for storage.One concern I have is the Mast grounding wire that attaches to the keel in that well. I believe the wire is to draw a lightning strike through the mast, through the wire, into the keel, and out into the water beneath the boat.Do you think Hunter intentionaly kept that well wet to assist in directing the lightning strike to all the keel bolts in the well.Your knowledge and assistance is greatly appreciated!!!Daddy's Dream

 

[Ed Schenck]

Mast is in which well?

No way did they design the bilge water to be a ground. The bilge is supposed to be dry. I don't think you could ever count on the fwd/middle well to remain dry. Which well has your mast step? That well will always have water, it comes down the mast and is probably impossible to completely seal. Does your bilge take on water during a week without rain? If so you need to fix that problem. My boat(H37C) with a keel-stepped mast will stay completely dry until it rains. But there are just too many openings in the mast, mostly at the top.Suggest you fix the limber holes so the water all flows to a small pump(500gph), maybe in the front well. Use a switch that comes on with around 1" of water. It needs to be plumbed as directly overboard as possible so as not to get a lot of water back down the hose. Maybe your boat has storage space outside of the bilge like the H37C. It requires adding access in the sole between the settees and the bilge. See "Cut openings...." in the Link below.

 

[Doug T.]

Bilge tips

By the way, two tips to minimize the amount of water that remains in the bilge after the pump dues its job: (1) Use a small diameter hose -- that reduces the volume of water that remains between the bilge pump and the thru hull when the pump turns off, (2) use a check valve near the thru hull so the water doesn't run backward.By the way, another potential source of leaks is at the keel bolts. I have a 77 h27 that has very, very slow leaks around three of the keelbolts. It's only about a drop every minute or five, so it's not a big concern, but until I drop the keel and/or replace the bolts (an expense I don't particularly want to incur), my bilge will never be completely dry.

 

[Charlie]

Leave the bilge a bilge

Best just to keep the bilge clean and as dry as possible. There are a bunch of drains into that compartment and you'll have a tough time keeping it perfectly sealed. I know the boat doesn't have much storage but it makes it up in living room. If you're getting that much water, then you must shower in the head or have a leaky stuffing box.