I just ran into a curious issue I've not encountered before with a 1989
C&C 37R sailboat. The owner called me to investigate
water in the
bilge that was rising slowly and threatening to flood the
cabin sole. To make it worse, the
bilge water was densely black and had the
odor of hydrogen sulfide ("rotten eggs"). The automatic
bilge pump was not working and the volume of water was great enough that the manual
pump wasn't even tried, instead I used an
emergency dewatering
pump borrowed from our yacht club. About a hundred gallons later, of foul black bilge water dumped
overboard, the initial drama was stabilized. Now, to find the
bilge pump and open the bilges for examination. Not an easy task. For some reason known only to the
builder, all of the floorboards were screwed down, with a
salon table bolted to the floor covering some of the screws. The table had to be slowly disassembled to disconnect it from the
mast which it surrounded. Zero access to the bilges, otherwise. Very expensive in labor time.
Once having removed the floorboards and table, it became evident what had caused the problem, besides the inoperative
electric bilge pump. The bilges on this
boat, as on the 34 foot version, were independent, interconnected only by holes AT THE TOP OF EACH SELF CONTAINED BILGE. The original
builder used a 400 gallon per hour automatic bilge pump in the forwardmost bilge, served by a 3/4" hose leading aft to the transom drain.. The remaining two bilges of any
depth accessing the
keel bolts had an inch and a half diameter manual bilge hose, served by the hand pump in the
cockpit, and a selector switch to empty one hose or the other. I had expected greater quality from
C&C. The
electric bilge pump had long ago had its sodden
wiring harness deteriorate from
corrosion, and the inaccessibility of the pump for
inspection or
service made for guaranteed failure.
We had the
boat hauled to check for any other damage, specifically issues with the through hulls and sea cocks, which had apparently never seen any servicing whatsoever. While hauled out, we had the bottom repaired for
gelcoat blisters and new
bottom paint applied. Now we could safely remove hoses and be secure about taking on water once we brought the boat back to the slip (the yard wouldn't allow me to do any servicing of the bilge pumps, myself, in the yard). Once the bilges were completely exposed, washed repeatedly to clean them of the filth that had accumulated over the years, we were able to determine what was going on. On large
commercial craft, one can find bilge sump hoses that connect to the seawater intake pumps of big engines. They employ these as
emergency bilge pumps if the boat is taking on a lot of water. Unfortunately, a previous owner had been
sold on this idea for a small
diesel engine impeller pump. Had they ever used it in practice, they would have discovered that in addition to not be terribly efficient in volume, but then they would have discovered the
engine was now
overheating from a clogged
cooling system or shredded impeller blades. But, furthermore, the craftsman who installed the auxiliary bilge pump, used a ball valve to connect the engine seawater intake hose to the bilge intake strum, which over the years had
lost its strainer
screen, allowing crud, should it have been used, to enter the
raw water pump. The
current owner, not understanding the function of the ball valve, had opened it, unknowingly allowing about a gallon per minute of seawater to enter the bilge.
In addition to a range of related lack of
maintenance issues, we realized something needed to be done to protect the boat and its crew in the future should the vessel begin taking on water from a burst hose, a failed shaft log (the hose clamps snapped off in my hands while inspecting them) or inundation from a wave. Now the fun begins.
The bilges are so small that only 700 gallon per hour automatic bilge pumps can fit. With 3/4" hoses, not a lot of water can flow. So, we are placing three individual bilge pumps, one in each primary bilge, with the small hoses leading, via integrated non return check valves, to a plastic pipe manifold, in turn drained by an inch and a half smooth bore hose, aft to the transom area where it climbs up to a loop and siphon break, then down and
overboard. Each pump will have its own manual-off-auto switch and large gauge
power wiring. I have never seen such a shoddy design as the original version from C&C.