Safety question for 20-30' boat owners

[RiptideCharters]

After doing some research on bilge pumps for my new boat I came accross several eye opening articles regarding this issue.

Safety Issue

What is the pump capacity of your boats? Have any of you upgraded (other than because you had too due to failure)? After reading that article would you consider making any changes? My new boat is almost exactly like the example used (24' x 9' with a 1500 Rule) I am planning to at least add a new Rule 3700 in addition to the existing 1500, but I'm contemplating removing the 1500 and getting a pair of 3700's. That would, according to the example, de-water my boat per the example in about 4-5 minutes. Much faster than the current 45 minutes to an hour. Your thoughts? It's an issue I've never worried about in the past due to near shore running and full flotation hulls. Now with the plan of running further offfshore I'm really interested in this issue.

[offshore3144]

I have 1500gph in the bilge and a 1500gph in the cuddy. I am going to install at least a 3000gph in the bilge and mount the 1500 a little higher as a backup.The reason for the backup I cannot hear mine in the bilge and it gives me piece of mind if one fails there is another. All have automatic float sensors.I also keep a backup in a dry box.
I think the couple hundred spent is the best investment you coud make!! !!

[auguste]

Go with the extra pumping capacity, BUT have different plumbing for each . . . look at previous posts for the reason why for separate plumbing

Also, add a water alarm . . . will tell you if you have water in the bilge . . .

[Tsunami]

I think the setup for bilge pumps is having one smaller one at the lowest part of the boat. It will do the work of a normal days and not dim the lights when it kicks in. Just a little bit higher you need one or even two of the big mothers like you are talking about. They will only kick in when something bad is happening and you need all the pumping you can get. Another option to consider is a bilge alarm in case those damn auto switches fail. I my new boat I put in a third battery which should provide plenty of power to run whatever pumps I install.

Interesting reading but I do think Dave makes the issue of taking on water sounds a lot easier than it actually is. Given all the boats out there on the water (and some look like they could sink in calm seas), you really don't see all that many small boats sink.

Kirk

[horseradish]

When I bought my boat it had the orginal 2000 gph on a manual/auto switch on a separate line direct to one battery. I installed another 2000 gph about three inches higher than the other pump, also with its own auto/man switch w/indicator light on its own line to another battery. Both discharge via their own 2" smooth hose going out to individual thru hulls installed well above the water line.

It's a small expense for "piece of mind"!

[Xanadu]

We have installed 3 bilge pumps in Xanadu. There are 2 2000 gph pumps one in the cabin and one in the rear. The other pump is a 1200 that is located in the engine room. All 3 are electronic pumps and as they fail we are going back to manual float switches. Seems the electronic ones fail alot.

[AGULHAS]

4000 gph on a 20 foot center console.

[RiptideCharters]

Looks like I'm leaning towards the twin 3700's. One above the other 4". I have a natural "shelf" that will make a great location. I'll float switch it and alarm it as well. This is the data sheet on the 3700. 3700 Rule

Real numbers on the pump are:

-------------------------------13.6v-- 12.0v
GPH @ Open Flow-------------- 3700-- 3108
GPH @ 3.35' feet in lift--------- 3100-- 2600
GPH @ 6.7' feet in lift---------- 2500-- 2100

I figure the 12v @ 3.35' of lift is a real number I can use. 2600gph x 2 = 86.6 gallons per minute. That should de-water the boat pretty well. I've got a pair of 180 amp/hr batteries that should keep those pumps going for a good while. They draw 15.5 amps/hr each at the 2600gph flow rate @ 3.35' of lift. Theoretical time the pumps will run is 12 hours. Reality, a little less than half that, so maybe 5 hours of pumping. Hopefully that will be long enough to either fix the problem, get help en route or both. Hopefully I'll never need to use them but I'll feel better knowing they are there.

[Mumblerone]

Don't forget to put a fuse in the circuit within a foot of the battery. I had a small Rule (500 GPH) burn up, literally when debre got caught in the pump. Fortunately the pump melted into a blob, causing the wires to seperate. Don't ask me how. Could have been worse.

[tarnold]

Seems to me the biggest part of adding an additional pump is adding a new thru-fitting.
How big a job is that?

[mole2]

I added a Johnson 2200 gph in addition to the original 1200 gph in my Trophy 1802 cuddy. It also has a 500 gph in the cabin which I will change to a 750 by just changing the pump. All have automatic switches and the two in the bilge have manual/automatic switches on the dash. The new switch for the johnson will light up if it goes on while on automatic and I'm going to add a buzzer to it. Smaller boats don't need as much water to sink so you want it out fast in an emergency.

[Garett]

I would say that you have to understand the therories of why you want pumps on board.

To have a small 1500 is great and is all that is needed to handle the water that splashes over and finds it way down into the bilge.

But now when the hull is breached or the seas are coming over the gunnels a bigger pump or a pair of big pumps is really only buying you time.

Focus on that point for a moment, they are only buying you time. So depending on where you boat, how far out you go and how much boating traffic is around will or at least should dictate what size of pump(s) you should run.

Go big or stay home. And run proper sized seperate plumbing.

tarnold,

Installing an additional thru hull is no big deal.

- Locate where thru hull is to be installed.
* Remember to allow for the hose to loop around in a circle at the thru hull.
- Get a hole saw of the right size for the thru hull.
- Tape with duct tape the area that is to be drilled on the outside of the hull.
- Drill a small 1/8th inch pilot hole in the center of where you want the thru hull to go.
- Re-check on the inside of the hull to make sure you are where you want to be.
- Drill full size hole with hole saw.
- De-birr edges with sandpaper.
- Use 4200 or better yet 5200 as a sealer.
- Apply caulking liberally around the flang of the thru hull and install.

* DO NOT tighten to maximum torque at this time when install thru hull. Only tighten approx. 90%.
- Let caulking setup for 24 hrs.
- After 24 hrs tighten to full torque.

It's that simple, good luck

[Dick deButts Jr]

Last weekend I bought a 1000 gph rule pump, 8' of hose and 20' of electric cable finished out with clips. I heve a 260 GB which has two pumps in each pontoon and pumps in the fish boxes. I put all this in a large freezer bag and have it stored in the event of an installed pump failure. The total cost was about $60 and I hope I never have to use it.

[Greg Manning]

Dick thats a good idea for a quick back-up..and it doesn't have to "wear" like it would if you mounted instead of the quick attach idea...you can store it safely. Greg

[RichardB]

This is a great thread. I have no idea what size pump is on the boat I just bought (it's still at the dealer awaiting some goodies). It'll be the first thing I inspect/upsize/add to when she gets home.

[AGULHAS]

garett is right but if you can solve the problem (cork it or sea cock) and the sea is bad you now want to get the water out fast before you go glug glug. bigger is most often better. don't forget the battery issue and drainage.