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 Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums
 General Sailing Forum
 Bilge pumps		  New Topic  Topic Locked
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Waterboy
Navigator

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USA
204 Posts
Initially Posted - 05/15/2004 :  18:57:03  Show Profile  Visit Waterboy's Homepage
All this talk of sinking and punching holes in the boat (which we of course intend to avoid by not being silly but ya never know) has led me to add electric bilge pumps to my list. My thinking is that, in the event of an emergency, they can buy some time as well as add everyday convenience.

The thread "When do these things happen?" impressed upon me the rapidity with which a boat can fill with water; a large hole would probably make even an 'oversized' bilge pump look ludicrous, and like any other piece of electrical equipment, they can fail for various reasons.

I picked up two Rule pumps at WM not too dearly, an 800 and a 360 gph model. Of course after reading the recent Practical Sailor article and http://www.yachtsurvey.com/bilge_pumps.htm I know they won't empty water at that rate (but the 800 seemed to empty the bilge pretty quickly after I filled it with water from the garden hose, much faster than the manual Whale pump).

The aforementioned website recommends pumping capacity of 3000-3500 gph for boats 21'-26' in length.

Huh? Whaa? I could fill a pond with one of those pumps, as well as drain my batteries rather quickly (currently I've >225 amp-hours on board).

The aft pump, the 800, is mounted directly underneath the lil' 8"*8" or so wooden hatch to the bilge. I was thinking of mounting the 360 in the transducer well up front. I'm wondering how to make a bomb-proof (well, very waterproof) splice in wire I'm certain will get wet and be subject to abrasion.

Looking forward to you thoughtful responses,

Greg
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deastburn
Captain

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USA
334 Posts
Response Posted - 05/16/2004 :  21:19:28  Show Profile
Greg:

There exist heat-shrinkable wire connectors for the task you have in hand. Pull the plastic connector over the wire splice and then heat with a small propane torch.

Another suggestion: I carry a collection of softwood bungs. If ever I lose a thru hull valve, the bung will keep me afloat. If I hit a log, all bets are off, but the C25 hull is pretty solid. Besides, it takes very little water on board to short out your batteries and electrical system, at which point a 3000 gph bilge pump becomes in short order a 0 gph pump.
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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 05/17/2004 :  21:50:54  Show Profile
I knew a guy who went sailing and, when he started to heel (more than he expected), discovered that the bilge was overflowing into the lee side of the cabin. He flipped on the bilge pump and found the battery was dead--the pump had apparently been working harder than usual until there was nothing left. He made it home safely, but was making plans to use a bucket. His automatic pump may have prevented serious flooding, if not sinking, at his mooring, but it didn't solve all of his problems.
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jheard
1st Mate

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USA
49 Posts
Response Posted - 05/18/2004 :  16:21:40  Show Profile
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">small propane torch.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote"> =bic lighter
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oldsalt
Admiral

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USA
578 Posts
Response Posted - 05/18/2004 :  17:46:04  Show Profile
In addition to using electrical heat shrink covering on your splices, you should consider makein soldered barrel splices (twisting the wires around each other parallel to the conductors) using resin core solder. If done this way, your splices will last forever, even if they are continuously submerged.
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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.