Bilge pumps 101

[deniseO30]

At my yacht club many of the boats are moored on the River.. most of us know we need bilge pumps that work. Today, one of the boats was listing to starboard. I boarded the boat, lifted a floor hatch...about 18" in the bilge and both engines were about 1/3 submerged!

Now the new owner ( he bought the boat for $1.00 and he's going to restore it ) It's a power boat 30+ ft. Twin chrysler engines. it runs great. but it's a mess in every other way. and of course it's a mess of ripped out wiring and gad knows what else. So I couldn't even begin to find out how to get a pump working. Finally we hot wired one to the batteries.

So go to call him.. his phone # on the club list is unlisted! duh! Anyway, one of guys got hold of him and it's been pumped out.

So.. moral of the story.. don't assume anything with bilge pumps, old or new boats, power and sail, and please! Make sure that someone can reach you in an emergency. If you new to boating and or yacht clubs or marinas don't assume someone is going to "keep an eye on things for you" If your on an Active river like my yacht club anything can happen.

I just had to mention this.
Fairwinds!

[sailingdog]

Having friends down at your marina helps a lot too.. They'll watch out for your boat and you'll watch out for theirs.

[Rockter]

You did well Denise... you saved that ship.

[Hartley18]

Some clubs/associations/etc. over here (down under) require you to fit a manual bilge pump (as well as or instead of an electric one) as part of regulatory compliance if you're going to moor your boat anywhere within their jurisdiction.

All the new boats I've ever wandered onto at boat shows usually fit them in the cockpit (even better) so that anyone who happens to be passing that notices a bit of a list can get some excercise and possibly save the day!

There's no regulation like that over there? Sounds a bit unusual..

[SVDistantStar]

Yes, pumps are vital, i should know. Ive got plans for both of my boats(considering i get the sunk one up) to install at least 1 automatic and 2 manual electric pumps and a manual pump in the cockpit, clearly marked. On my Pearson ive got a sign on the companion way door that says if the waterline is under the water to turn on the pump(no auto switch) and let it run. Ive got the switch for it very clearly marked out. Ill also be fixing the manual pump this weekend.