Safety issue: Clogged bilge pump

C

colobear

New member
Just made an interesting discovery that has some safety bearing. I noticed when washing C-Cakes down that the bilge pump at the aft end of the cabin on our 22' cruiser seemed to be running a lot but little discharge was coming out the thru hull.

I checked the fiberglass "bilge well" (for want of a better term) that the pump is mounted in at the rear of the cabin and found a fair amount of short tree needles. We have a lot of hemlock/pine in our back yard where C-Cakes is kept and these needles came into the well from the cockpit slot as the trees showered them down on C-Cakes. I have a tarp covering the cockpit but not all the way to the gunnels and needles obviously are coming in from the sides. I ran water into the bilge well from a hose and the pump turned on but virtually no water came out the thru hull. Cleaned the needles out of the well, tried again, still no discharge. Took the pump out and found the intake screen completely blocked by tree needles. To be sure of a clear flow I disconnected the discharge line from the pump and thru hull and checked it, it was clean. I then cleaned the screen and ran water into the well with the discharge hose disconnected. Nothing. Then after a few seconds of running the pump spat out a gob of needles (giving me a good shower :D ). I surmise that with the hose connected the pump was unable to clear the needle block. I reconnected everything, ran water into the well and the pump worked fine, water in-water out.

This makes my plan for a covered shelter for C-Cakes more important. I am also thinking about putting some copper screen across the intake slot from the cockpit into that bilge pump well but that may just make the problem worse by clogging that intake so I'm not sure about that idea. The aft bilge pump under the transom was not clogged but i like having both in working order.

So for those of you whose boats are in the open it might be worthwhile to check that bilge well and the pump. I know it has just been added to my routine PM list.
 
I keep my boat in a shed when not in use. I also keep all debris out of the depression for the bilge pump and I check the pump every time I clean the boat by raising the bow and running the hose in the stern until the pump turns on. I also pull the pump and clean the screen and intake in the spring and again in the fall. On the 16 it is easy to do, takes less than five minutes. I would think this is something everyone should do at least once a year.
 
Hi Folks,

One of the things I learned in the USCGAux is using a pre-checklist. This is a list of things that we check before going out. It should be written because as we get older, we might forget an item. This became very important when I started to launch my boat with out the drain plug in. (It usually happens only once in a life time.)

Among the items included in this list is

1. Is the bilge pump working?
2. Are both batterys up to snuff?
3. Are the fire extinguishers OK?
4. Are the fuel tanks topped off, or is there enough fuel for the planned day plus the emergence supply?
5. Are all electrical systems working?
6. Are the running lights working?
7. Enough life jackets for expected crew?
8. Water and snacks?
9. Charts for area?
10. Water in top of portipotti? (This happened once.)
11.Does the radio work?
12. Do your crew know what to do if somethings happens to you?
13. Location of fire extinguishers, first aid kit, and flare kit to crew?

Etc, etc, etc.

By doing this every time before venturing out, then the surprises will not happen.

In a book by Yolder (I think), he talked about our LITTLE BLACK BOX. Every time we check something, fix something, take a boating course, read a boating book, make a good decision like letting the SeaRay pass even though we have right away, we fill up the LITTLE BLACK BOX. Then when all hell happens we can draw on that little black box. (That SeaRay who cut across our bow from port to starboard lost something from their LITTLE BLACK BOX. In fact, their LITTLE BLACK BOX is probably empty.) ( This happened last summer in Boston Harbor while I had my daughter aboard with three grand-daughters. The second SeaRay stopped and waved me on.)

Just as idea.

Fred
 
Barry,

Have to back you up in your warning. We too live in an area with hemlock and even in mid summer, after any significant wind you can get a batch of those fine needles in your bilge or even in the splashwell. In this last respect, with twin Honda's mounted, the drain hole from the splashwell is already partially blocked. by the engine mounting ! Believe me it takes only about 10 pine needles to reduce the (gravity this time) flow to zippo.
I don't know if anyone notices just how often the splashwell gets a bucket or two of water in there and it's nothing to worry about generally but,,,,,, we are all usually looking forewards.

So add another simple check to either backflush or do the "rubber glove" type test on your splashwell in addition to checking your bilge pump strainers.

Merv
 
Also, if you bring a pet on board (like we do on occasion), pet hair sure can clog up a bilge pump fast. As noted above, always check the bilge pump prior to each trip to assure it's working.
 
fish scales are bad news also. On the older boats, the bilge is off to the starboard side, I've often thought about installing a screen over the opening to the sump
 
I have done so, but only taped the top and the bottom barely covers the opening. The thought is if a large volume of water ever washed in it would push the screen down and water flow would be unimpeded. Of course I have backup pumps, so the cabin pump really is no longer my primary. On the plus side, it plugs another mosquito hole.
 
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