Bilge Pump Discussions

[frank durant]

I also installed the exact pump you have in the cockpit . I sat there before I installed it to see where it seemed to make most sence. I ended up putting it on the starboard side , forward. This location allows me to steer and pump at the same time....steer with the left , pump with the right.I installed it fairly close to the bridge deck and it isn't too obtrusive.( big word for a dumb canuck eh !! did I spell it right ? ) They are a nice , good looking pump. PS tape around the erea before you go to cut it out so as not to mark the paint or gelcoat with the saw base

[c_amos]

Great, thanks Frank. Thats what I was leaning towards.

You don't happen to have any pictures do you>?

How high from the bottom of the cockpit did you make the hole?

[frank durant]

Sorry... thats one picture i didn't take and I won't be back to the boat until Oct. I kept it as high as possible with the top of the handle (when in the closed position) slightly below the top of the seat so your legs don't rub over it.When the handle is 'up' your knuckles don't hit there either . I sealed it around the edges with 4200. Nice to see you think the same way.

[ebb]

Deserves mention here. It is the pump used in the Lavac head system. Jim Baldwin on his website has a page on his install of the Lavac in his Triton. No where does he even whimper about the (one assumes) regular use of this pump. Very in ter esting.

The Mark V Henderson Pump is now associated with Whale. Usually means the price goes UP. It must be available other places than Defender, who probably have a good price on it. Around a hundred.

Made of glass reinforced polypropylene and Delrin, weighs about 3 #s and is in the 16 gpm range. While no good for when your seacock breaks loose, it is my choice for the stand by manual bilge pump because it has a rep for dependability, won't clog easily, has a number of mounting options and outlet positions. Can also get a thru-deck kit for it. Pretty certain I want to mount it under the seat, aft in the cockpit, so that the handle can be operated in a vertical 'rocker' mode. Could be put on the bridge-deck part of the seat, where it could be operated from the c'way.

[Stephan]

Hi Guys,

I thought I'd maybe find something in the maintenance manual about the bilge pump, but there's no mention of it. My question is - how do you get in there?! In my Commander, the access is seriously constricted. To craw into there from the bunks seems impossible, and I might not be able to get out anymore. And to go though the cockpit lockers seems equally impossible. The PO mentioned that he got the yard to do it for him, using a 'small guy', but that guy has to be a dwarf!

[Bill]

. . .but that guy has to be a dwarf!

Small children are an option.

[Stephan]

Yeah, that would be nice. Can't find a child here to do that for me, though.
So, seriously, how do you guys get to the pump? Or is access in the Ariel so much easier? Or do you let the boat yard do it for you? They charge $200 for that, and that doesn't include the material!

[ebb]

Can you use a diaphragm pump?
See Pascoe at
www.docksidereports.com/bilge_water_blues.htm
I believe the idea is merely to put a hose end in there and mount the pump elsewhere and no float switch which leaves water in the bilge.

[commanderpete]

These boats didn't come equipped with a bilge pump, so I'm not sure where yours is located.

If your pump is old, cheap and broken, I'd probably disconnect it and buy a new one mounted more conveniently.


On my boat, I screwed the pump and float switch onto a piece of flexible plastic that sort of wedges into the bottom of the bilge. This way I can pull it out if needed.

Where does the hose exit?

[mbd]

So, seriously, how do you guys get to the pump?

The first improvement done to my Ariel... http://pearsonariel.org/discussion/a...tid=2411&stc=1

Now I need to add some aft cockpit drains and waterproof the hatch a bit better...

[c_amos]

In the Ariel, you simply lift out the steps, and raise the access panels over the bilge. I thought the Commander had these (removable steps and bilge access covers) also?

[Stephan]

Hmm, maybe I'm silly and blind. I didn't notice that there might be access panels behind the steps. I sort of crawled though the foot end of the port side bunk and tried to peek into the bilge, but found that I just can't get down there.
I didn't consider that the Commander didn't have a pump originally, but of course you guys are right. The idea of the plastic board sounds great. The PO simply recommended to replace the pump, but didn't say it was actually broken. So maybe I'll leave the old one in until it fails and get a new one ready in the meantime...
The diaphragm pump idea sounds good too, Ebb

[Mike Goodwin]

I had a manual pump in the cockpit of #45 . Whale Gusher mounted in the locker with the handle in the cockpit .Always worked for me.

[Stephan]

Well guys,

I'm glad I asked, because now I realize I don't really need to have the electric pump. And the manual one even affords me a little workout on trips when nothing else is going on! Thanks Mike for bringing the option of a manual pump up - I'll go for that one!

[c_amos]

Peter and Scott,

This thread was on my mind last when I noticed a full bilge in the midst of a storm on the Chesapeake bringing Ariel Spirit home to it's new owner. I was running from a ~ 40+ and noticed the floorboards were floating.

I remembered something about the bilge pump acting as a siphon. Now, I had looked at the bilge pump installation Keith had made (first-rate job, with a vented loop before the through-hull, which was installed in the lazarette.

After using the manual pump he had installed in the port cockpit locker (guzzler 400) to empty the bilge, I noticed a stream of water running forward from under the sink on the starboard side.

I removed the steps and saw the water was streaming in from somewhere well aft (not the cockpit drains, rudder shaft, or anything I could see with the flash light).

The lazarette was filled with water, which was coming in around the outboard. Ariel Spirit had come with an outboard plug, but there was no way I could lift the 9.9 electric start motor out of the well with the boat pitching about in the storm.

I had already taken down the reefed main, and now rolled the jib in till it was barely flying at all (just enough to keep steerage). The lazarette emptied of most of it's water and the leak subsided.

Later that evening, I was able to inspect the bulkhead in the lazarette and found it appeared to be in great shape. It had been reinforced with epoxy, and looked to have been repaired in a manner consistent with the rest of Keith's work (very well done).

Ariel Sprit’s lazarette only has a floor on one side, not all the way across like Faith. The holes for wires and the like were all pretty high up on the bulkhead so I doubt the water was coming in there.

I have only been able to duplicate the leak by running the outboard too fast (the 9.9 really has too much thrust for and Ariel IMHO.) I can make water come in by trying to push her past hull speed with the motor. I will have Brittany do the 'hose test' to see if we can track down the source of the leak.