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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Current Draw and Through-Hole Placement for Bilge

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lezaks
Deckhand

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USA
6 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/13/2010 : 01:05:28

Hi all,

I'm looking into installing an electric bilge pump for my C-250 Water-Ballast, and was wondering about two things:

The First: In mounting the through-hole, should I place the output hole level with the output for the manual pump which is currently high above the waterline, just inches below the rail, or should I mount the hole much closer to the waterline (maybe six inches or so)?

Secondly: I was wondering about the current draw from an automatic bilge pump. My C-250 has been known to take on small amounts of water from an unidentified leak between the cabin and the water ballast, something that doesn't cause much trouble as long as the bilge is drained, so the pump would get its fair share of use. Running off a 12V charged by an outboard, how much power can I expect the pump the draw?

Thanks,
Stephen

Sea Minor
C250 Water-Ballast Sail #4
Portland, OR

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britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 07/13/2010 : 04:43:01

Hi Steve,
Welcome to the forum.
Please post a bit more info about your boat model (year etc.)

Not sure which model bilge pump you have and that determines the power requirement, if you can find the model from the pump it's easy to find out.

Re the water in the bilge, this is always a point of interest (we have a C250WB 2005) and experience the same thing.
Originally we had a minor leak at the joint between the aft wall of the ballast tank and the bilge, it was an easy fix.

Many folks have reported an inflow of water when launching the boat, water pumping up the tube surrounding the keel lifting line. The most often used solution to that has been the placement of a sponge in the tube. In our case I replaced the whole tube assembly with a modified version.

Now we only get water in the bilge if we over fill the onboard water tanks, the flexible hose from the filler cap on the port side anchor locker is T'd to connect to the original tank and our additional tank, that T is a swine to make watertight.

Lastly, there have been reports of water ingress via the rubber shroud surrounding the lever arm that is attached to the rudder in wheel models. We have a pin prick hole in ours, but have not changed it out yet as ingress has been miniscule, but I do have the replacement part ready to work on when it's not 200º outside (south florida exageration!)

Again, welcome to the forum. You might consider posting your C250 specific questions in the C250 forum.

Where and when do you get to sail?

Paul

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lezaks
Deckhand

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USA
6 Posts

Response Posted - 07/13/2010 : 15:25:28

Thanks for your reply, Paul. The boat's a '95 water-ballast, hull No. 4, actually. The pump I've been eyeing is the Rule 1100 gph Auto pump, which might be overkill.

Re the leak, I'll check up on the water coming in upon putting the boat in the water. I think that might be the issue.

Anyways, thanks so much for your help with this.

Stephen

Oh, and vis-a-vis the sailing, we leave her in the Columbia river most of the time docked right outside of Portland, but she gets up to the San Juans once in a while too.

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 07/15/2010 : 05:51:11

Welcome! I installed that same pump last weekend. The instructions say it draws 3.3A:

http://www.rule-industries.com/files/itemdoct65301.pdf

This electronic version includes cleaning instructions that were not included with my pump, so be sure to save it.

Note that this pump uses an electronic sensor (probably capacitance), not a traditional float switch. As a result of this, it may draw a small amperage even when it is not running. I have not measured this because I have shore power and a charger and don't do long cruises. But it may matter more to you if you're only charging by the alternator.

There's an extended discussion on installation methods here:

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21340

I added a few comments about my own simplified installation method that makes use of the existing hose. But I have a bone dry bilge (wing keel model), so the pump will never turn on unless something goes wrong. If the pump has to cycle on regularly, you may want the redundancy of a dedicated line.

FYI, 6" is way too close to the waterline for the outlet IMO. If you heel you could sink your boat.

Edited by - TakeFive on 07/15/2010 05:59:10

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