Bilge Pump Discussions

[Theis]

Whale makes a couple varieties of strainer. I have the one that lies in the bottom bakd of the bilge - the deepest part - and the hose outlet is in line with the input (not perpendicular) to the part resting on the bottom. The electric centrifugal pump, of course, has a built in strainer.

And yes we too had beautiful sailing 10 knot of sNE winds, full sun. Wonderful day for the Mackinac and Hook races - but unfortunately they will be tacking the whole way, and it is cold at night.

But I did note that the outlet for my Whale pump is approximately the level of the flat deck in the motor lazarette - so the output water does not spary everything.

[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.

[Theis]

Sounds like you had one of a day.

The two places to look:

1. There is a one by something beam that forms the bottom of the motor well running perpendicular to the hull line. The plywood bulkead is attached to the forward edge of the beam. The assembly has a layer of fiberlass over it in the motorwell. However, if the water gets between the panels and the beam at the bottom, it can bypass the fiberblass barrier. As I recall, I think I drilled some holes and filled the gap between the two (going down to the hull) with resin. That seam not seems to be secure (how about that for a pun?)

The second was at the top of the bulkhead panel in the corner ( in my case on the port side). I found it not with a flashlight, but with a hose pressed up against where the deck and the bulkhead meet. That was really obtuse and hard to fix, requiring some routing out of the glass to get to the pin hole. I now almost have it, but this past weekend noticed a bit of water trickling in. The answer will largely lie in whether the water comes in with just the motor running (the boat is relatively level but the engine well flooded - in which case the leak is from below - or when the boat is healed, regardless of whether the boat is under power (in which case the problem is at the deck seam.

Good luck but fix it. The fix makes a more relaxed sail for you and your friends.

[Scott Galloway]

Dear C Amos,

I came screaming back home from sea in on broad reach one windy afternoon, I had last been below to consult my chart plotter and all was dry below. I had been on deck for only about a half hour, when I went below to find my shoes floating around in the water that was sloshing around the cabin sole. I later replaced my bilge pump hose, installed an anti-siphon loop and plug etc. etc., but this phenomena occured once again to a lesser extent.

With one of my trusty nephews manning the tiller, I crawled down in the seat locker to discover that on a broad reach the considerable water that enters the lazarette through the OB well on a broad reach was sloshing high enough to send about a cup of water squirting through the electrical wire holes in the lazarette bulkhead at each slosh. I was lying below in the cockpit locker watching Old Faithful erupt every time the water in the lazarette locker sloshed. This story is further described in my earlier post on this thread.

You stated,

"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."

The wire holes through the lazarette bulkhead on "Augustine" were very high up on th ebulkhead also, but that did not prohibit the filling of my bilge in an alarmingly short time. The opening had been taped, but all of that water was squeezing through nonetheless. I removed the ancient Loran antenna wire on the starboard side, and repaired the bulkhead with epoxy. I used a water tight through-bulkhead fitting on the port side navigation light wires. That stopped the leak.

[c_amos]

Thank you both for the replies.

The wire holes through the lazarette bulkhead on "Augustine" were very high up on th ebulkhead also, but that did not prohibit the filling of my bilge in an alarmingly short time. The opening had been taped, but all of that water was squeezing through nonetheless. I removed the ancient Loran antenna wire on the starboard side, and repaired the bulkhead with epoxy. I used a water tight through-bulkhead fitting on the port side navigation light wires. That stopped the leak.

I got it. I understand that the lazarette bulkhead must be pretty much water tight all the way up to, and including the joint to the deck.

I will talk to Ariel Spirit's new Captain, and revisit the lazarrette aboard 'Faith' also.

Thanks for your help.