Bilge Pumps

[bobconnie]

Even if you have NO Thru Hull openings, a Good hand pumped bilge pump is IMPORTANT !! boats don't float full of water!!(at least the ones I can afford don't) so pumps are of prime importance. I would go cruiseing with out money and food before I would go to sea without proper pumps !! Just my 2 cents Bob and Connie

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

Even if you have NO Thru Hull openings, a Good hand pumped bilge pump is IMPORTANT !! boats don't float full of water!!(at least the ones I can afford don't) so pumps are of prime importance. I would go cruiseing with out money and food before I would go to sea without proper pumps !! Just my 2 cents Bob and Connie

good luck wih those manual pumps unless you have several dedicated hands for manning a HUGE one. Again in the hundreds of sinkers i've encountered...I don't remember one where hand pumping/bailing won the race even to the point of more effective damage control. Now...they are good for dewatering after you stop the flow and the batteries shorted out from being underwater (although many times they don't!)

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

... I feel most sailors have little idea of how much water ingresses thru a 1 1/2" hole 3 ft below the surface.

An 1 ½" diameter hole, located 3 feet below the waterline, will flood at a rate of approximately 75 - 77* gallons per minute (4,500 - 4,620 gph).

Flooding Rate in GPM = 5.56 x d2 x √H
5.56 x (1.5 x 1.5) x √36
5.56 x 2.25 x 6 = 75 GPM

*From the chart ➥ http://www.amsea.org/pdf/FloodingControlBrochure.pdf

[captain58sailin]

At that rate a 1500 gph electric rule pump looks pretty anemic. Guess, I'll have to install that 2" hydraulic trash pump after all.

[captain58sailin]

Dewatering is as high on my list as fire control.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

My guess would be somewhere ~10,000/hour if you can keep her afloat for that long
I've also read that even the Rules (which are largely considered the best) will really only deliver about 50% of what they claim.
I'm starting to seriously consider doing this... Still retaining the old Jabsco (but with a complete service), installing the Rule 2500 gph as a back up with the float switch mounted higher than the jabsco's (of course) and then installing a large (no wait) mega capacity engine (drive shaft) driven pump.
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of not relying (in a life/death situation) on electric pumps which are sure to get swamped and batteries drained.

And fwiw psneeld, I totally agree with everything you said. That's why I'm here. Just wondered why you were assuming that I wasn't reading everything I could (articles and forums).

This is the engine driven pump I'm considering. Fast Flow Emergency Bilge Pump
Does anyone have any experience/opinions on them?

Thanks heaps for all the responses btw, this is by far one of the best forums I've joined up with and I've got quite the list.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by Capt Wraun

My guess would be somewhere ~10,000/hour if you can keep her afloat for that long
I've also read that even the Rules (which are largely considered the best) will really only deliver about 50% of what they claim.
I'm starting to seriously consider doing this... Still retaining the old Jabsco (but with a complete service), installing the Rule 2500 gph as a back up with the float switch mounted higher than the jabsco's (of course) and then installing a large (no wait) mega capacity engine (drive shaft) driven pump.
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of not relying (in a life/death situation) on electric pumps which are sure to get swamped and batteries drained.

And fwiw psneeld, I totally agree with everything you said. That's why I'm here. Just wondered why you were assuming that I wasn't reading everything I could (articles and forums).

This is the engine driven pump I'm considering. Fast Flow Emergency Bilge Pump
Does anyone have any experience/opinions on them?

Thanks heaps for all the responses btw, this is by far one of the best forums I've joined up with and I've got quite the list.

Because I've seen a lot of advice on here and many forums that's the regurtitation of other forum threads or the rediculous articles you read in boating mags...while a start..they are often geared to the beginner who should never leave the harbor until a lot more experience is gained.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Anyway, just sayin'! No disrespect was intended in my original response. I was just trying to be a little cheeky but when I read it later, it didn't seem to come off the way I intended.
Thanks for your input.

[bstreep]

A few years ago, we almost sunk a Moorings charterboat. Long story short, we had a problem and when the chase boat showed up, they jumped into the lazarette to get fenders, and sheared off a 1/2" PVC elbow going to a thru hull for the refrigerator (that had been broken before and then glued! a $0.19 elbow that didn't even belong there had been glued rather than replaced).

Anyway, we noticed it some time later when the floorboards started floating. Fortunately, one of us (not me) had mentally taken note of all of the thru hulls, and we started in the bow and worked our way back to the broken one.

There was NO WAY we could keep up with the flow for any period of time. - we were 8 and with the bilge pumps running, a large emergency whale pump, and buckets we managed to get it down to the point we could find the thru hulls. Ugh.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by bstreep

A few years ago, we almost sunk a Moorings charterboat. Long story short, we had a problem and when the chase boat showed up, they jumped into the lazarette to get fenders, and sheared off a 1/2" PVC elbow going to a thru hull for the refrigerator (that had been broken before and then glued! a $0.19 elbow that didn't even belong there had been glued rather than replaced).

Anyway, we noticed it some time later when the floorboards started floating. Fortunately, one of us (not me) had mentally taken note of all of the thru hulls, and we started in the bow and worked our way back to the broken one.

There was NO WAY we could keep up with the flow for any period of time. - we were 8 and with the bilge pumps running, a large emergency whale pump, and buckets we managed to get it down to the point we could find the thru hulls. Ugh.

8 bailing just making it. Imagine if only a couple.

A clear vote for a decent pump. Thanks.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

I was talking to a guy today about bilge pumps. A very nice guy but I suppose one could say he's not a very good salesman. That is because I was in his store inquiring after bilge pumps. He related the following story to me and related it to how many sailors are at odds with one another over the subject of bilge pumps. Anyway, the story was...
He was involved in a rescue of a sinking boat where the individual had unwittingly left the bung out of his transom. His bilge pump(s) were working but not keeping up and this guy noticed that (in this circumstance) the bilge pumps were, in effect, feeding themselves through the hole in the transom. It was found that when bilge pumps were shut down, the water entering the boat actually slowed.
Not something I would have thought of but it does seem to make sense.