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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Bilge Pump Installation

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RockB
Deckhand

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20 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/09/2020 : 19:10:44

I need to install an electric bilge pump.

Where have you folks found to be the best place for installation of the pump and the discharge port?

I think the windows are leaking a pretty good bit as the cushions were all pretty wet after the last rain storm we had and there was water collected in most of the compartments and the bilge.

Bill
1979 Catalina 25 SK #936
Panama City, FL
https://freeboatproject.com

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1519 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2020 : 14:31:44

A few comments about this in general:
1. Your swing keel model has quite a small bilge space, compared to my fin keel with maybe 10 gallons total volume under the cabin sole.
2. All our boats that are decades old have leaky windows, leaky fittings, and leaky mysterious places. Some C25 owners have re-caulked the windows by opening the aluminum frames up and re-doing the whole thing. Others have replaced the windows with tinted plexiglass installed on the outside, like on other boats. Still others have just caulked the outside edges of the leaky windows as a short term fix. This may be the most common maintenance item for 40 year old Catalina 25s. You can learn about each of these methods by searching for old posts from many Association Forum members - Try the words "windows" or "window replacement" for starters.
3. Learning about bedding materials used for hardware attached to the exterior of our fiberglass boats is an important step in fixing leaks. This subject is likewise discussed in many posts you can find using the Search function on the Forum.
4. Please beware of the serious health hazard associated with fiberglass dust you can produce when drilling, sawing, or grinding fiberglass. Use of a good respirator to filter our the microscopic dust particles during this work is mandatory. Dust masks are insufficient to protect you from silicosis or other lung diseases.
5. Identifying the sources of window leaks can be made easier by using a (blue) chalk line below any suspected areas. Water running into the boat washes away the chalk and shows you the source of the leak.

Good luck with your window repairs!

JohnP
1978 C25 SR/FK "Gypsy"
Mill Creek off the Magothy River, Chesapeake Bay
Port Captain, northern Chesapeake Bay

Lee Panza
Captain

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USA
465 Posts

Response Posted - 01/15/2020 : 18:14:06

Bill:

The decision of where to install an electric bilge pump is a little complicated, and it depends in large part on how much water you're willing to allow to remain in the bilge areas. There is no single location on a swing-keel Catalina 25 (such as you have) that will drain all of the bilge areas. There are several spaces between the hull and the liner, and you'll find that the keel case divides the bilges down the mid-line of the boat.

You have what's known as the "L-Dinette" model, which is a little unusual. I have a conventional "Dinette" model, so I'm not entirely sure how yours is constructed beneath the liner, but I'll try to share what I do know.

You already have access to the space beneath the table through those removable hatch covers in the sole (I suspect this liner was also used for the fixed-keel models). That space is probably contiguous with the space farther aft beneath the cockpit and the quarter berth, so it can collect a considerable amount of water. I don't know if the spaces under the settees drain into that space beneath the sole. [As an aside, in the conventional "Dinette" model the spaces under the settees and under the table apparently only connect relatively high up along the side of the hull, and they only exchange water when the boat is heeled way over to port. The bilge space beneath the table can hold a lot of water. I installed a Beckson access plate under the table, and I drilled limber holes between that space and the settees, so I could pump out all three spaces at once.]

On the starboard side of the keel case there is a substantial bilge space under the sole of the saloon. On my boat this space connects with the space under the head area but it is separated from the space under the starboard settee, so there is no access to it. I get a lot of water collecting under the sole, so I installed another Beckson access plate up near the step-down into the head area.

Unfortunately, both of these areas are too shallow for most bilge pumps unless they can be remotely mounted (like in a settee) with a hose from an inlet mounted at the lowest point under the sole. I just pump these spaces out manually, as needed, using a wet-dry vacume.

On the other hand, if an emergency leak develops, one or both of those bilge spaces will rapidly fill and overflow onto the sole in the saloon. At that point you will find that it collects first in the head area, which is lower than the saloon. This is a good place to locate a serious bilge pump for just such a possibility.

If you choose to go this route, you might check out a few pictures I took and uploaded to my Smugmug photo-sharing site:

https://panza.smugmug.com/MYSAILBOAT/The-Boat-Renovation/The-bilges

I mounted two electric pumps in the head. The hose from the larger one runs aft up just below the side deck and back through the "dumpster" to an outlet high up on the transom. The hose from my smaller pump also discharges there.

When I tested this setup, after flooding the saloon with a garden hose, it was like Niagara Falls at the transom; the two pumps cleared the saloon much faster than the garden hose could fill it. Considering the reasonably likely sources of emergency flooding, I'm confident that this setup will keep the boat afloat while I locate the source and make a temporary repair (assuming I'm on board when it happens).

The trouble with a destination - any destination, really - is that it interrupts The Journey.

Lee Panza
SR/SK #2134
San Francisco Bay
(Brisbane, CA)

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 01/16/2020 : 18:34:17

If you just want to keep your swinger dry from leaks, you may want to install a system like this one at the link below, installed on a Catalina 25 swinger. It can keep all of your different bilge areas dry.

https://whichsailboat.com/2019/03/28/diy-arid-bilge-or-dry-bilge-system/

Let us know if you're looking for "crash pump" installation info.

Seth
"Outlier" 1987 Catalina 25 SR/SK/Traditional Interior #5541
"Zoo" 1977 Morgan Out Island 30
"Nomad" 1980 Prindle 16
"Lost" 1988 Catalina Capri 14.2 (sold - yay!)
"Marine Tex 1" Unknown Origin POS 8' Fiberglass Dinghy
https://whichsailboat.com/2014/07/27/catalina-25-review/

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.