Whats the bilge pump secret???

P

petemoe

New member
Hi Guys--
Had my first summer with 1986 22 foot angler "Hazy Lou" and loved it! I live on Orcas Island, and was out crabbing and visiting friends on outer islands all summer. One big question for you guys: How the hell do you keep rain water out of the stern? Is there a clever way to install a bilge pump when there is no bilge? Bought a pump with built-in float switch, but it still allowed 2-3 inches of water to collect (and grow algae) before the switch triggered...help!

PS: Look forward to the first post-covid get together in Friday Harbor!

Pete
petemoe@gmail
 
I had the same problem in our 2003 22'. Water would built up around the cockpit door and form a decent sized puddle while tied to the dock. The bilge pump would eventually turn on to prevent too much water from building but there was always enough to form that green slime. I'd keep a cheap little harbor freight transfer pump in the gunnel pocket and pump it out every chance I got. There's a better solution I'm sure but that's what we did.

The factory fixed the problem later with a raised cockpit floor that drains to the rear.
 
The low point for the 22 is just about where the bulkhead is separating the pilot house and the cockpit. There have been several solutions--one is to put a "step" just inside the cabin or just outside, and house a bilge pump in that "step". Another is to put the bulge pump off to the side and have a hose going to a pickup in the middle--that will leave less water in the cockpit.

This page shows several of the strainers which will leave about 1/4" of water.

There is also the Rule Rule 500 GPH 25SA Electronic Sensing Bilge Pump-500. This turns the pump on every 2 minutes and if it detects water (resistance to turning the impeller, it continues to run.

There is also the The "Sea Flo Dry bilge.. Some of us have made theses for about $50

I like the diaphram pumps with the shallow water pickup, because they allow minimal back flow. You could set one of those up on a timer--assuming that you have dock power at the slip.


Here is a page which gives you a number of options.. I have liked the similar whale pumps.
 
The low point for the 22 is just about where the bulkhead is separating the pilot house and the cockpit. There have been several solutions--one is to put a "step" just inside the cabin or just outside, and house a bilge pump in that "step". Another is to put the bulge pump off to the side and have a hose going to a pickup in the middle--that will leave less water in the cockpit.

This page shows several of the strainers which will leave about 1/4" of water.

There is also the Rule Rule 500 GPH 25SA Electronic Sensing Bilge Pump-500. This turns the pump on every 2 minutes and if it detects water (resistance to turning the impeller, it continues to run.

There is also the The "Sea Flo Dry bilge.. Some of us have made theses for about $50

I like the diaphram pumps with the shallow water pickup, because they allow minimal back flow. You could set one of those up on a timer--assuming that you have dock power at the slip.


Here is a page which gives you a number of options.. I have liked the similar whale pumps.
 
Petemoe,

Are you talking about under the splashwell by the fuel tanks? I have the same issue. I have a bilge pump back there that works great at keeping the majority of the water out. After heavy rains my cockpit floor is dry but there's still an inch of water in that fuel tank area. The pump pumps out most of the water but just can't get the last inch out. I end up with green slime if I don't keep up on cleaning that area.

Mine is a 2006 and has the raised cockpit floor, so I don't get water pooling by the bulkhead door like others do. But that water along the transom is annoying. I'm planning on having a cockpit cover made the winter so that should help but still, I'd love a better solution.
 
curioustraveler":17oxz7cm said:
Petemoe,
Mine is a 2006 and has the raised cockpit floor, so I don't get water pooling by the bulkhead door like others do. But that water along the transom is annoying. I'm planning on having a cockpit cover made the winter so that should help but still, I'd love a better solution.
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Interesting, in 2006 there must have been 3 versions of the cockpit--no floor boards, removable floor boards (which had been available for several years) and you have the fixed solid floor. Is there any water which has been trapped under the floor? The aft bilge pump only works (in boats without a floor) when underway, or a lot of water in the cockpit.

My boat and the ones with no cockpit floor had the bilge pump inside the cabin door in a step, and a hole thru the aft bulkhead leading from the bilge to the sump box under the step, where there was a bilge pump. I put a second bilge pump aft, as you describe.

Yes, a slant back cockpit cover basically solves this problem. We have had one on all of our boats, except the Tom Cat. Currently the bilge on my 25 stays dry, as it did in the 22.
 
I do get water under the floor. If you recall, when I purchased her she had been sitting on a trailer for several years. The surveyor's moisture meter detected moisture in the cockpit floor but it sounded fine with percussion. I had a local marina's fiberglass guy who's been working on boats for 30+ years look at it and he couldn't detect any symptoms of a wet floor.

After putting her in the water I could noticed whenever I boarded her and the boat rocked side to side, I could hear water flowing somewhere. I determined the seal at the edge of the cockpit floor and the bulkhead was leaking. I drilled a drain hole in the back edge of the cockpit floor and sure enough, water flowed out. This explains surveyor's reading.

I tried resealing the joint with LifeCaulk but I did a crappy job and the space under the floor still fills up every time it rains. I simply open my drain and run with the bow up for a bit to empty it out. This winter I'll work on resealing that joint.

So it appears we have to live with water pooling back there? A cockpit cover should help a bunch.
 
I looked at your album, and saw the garboard drain plug you put in--probably not getting 100% of the water out because of the obligatory height. The only photo I saw of the forward seam was in the series of the temporary shade you had put up. Not enough detail. If silicone has been used before, it may be very difficult to get any other caulking material to adhere 100%. But it would certainly be well worth the while.
 
run your pump manually every time you are on plan. al the water runs to the back and with the bow up its a little deeper. The only other thing not mentioned so far is raise the floor. My2005 did not have a raised floor. the 2006s did. I went to the factory ion 2008 and bought a floor and had it installed. No more wet feet.
 
Also helps to move or put in a lower drain plug in the transom. The factory one (at least on my boat) was too high and left a lot of water in the sump even with the plug out. I put in another one that was lower down that drains the sump completely when the plug is removed.
 
To have effective drainage via bilge pumps it takes two in the 22 hull. The low point, (for the cockpit), with the boat at rest, is the forward edge of the cockpit, at the base of the aft cabin bulkhead. That continues when on the move at displacement speed. Once the vessel comes up onto plane, the low pint will be at the aft end, below the splashwell at the transom, where there is a small depression below the garboard drain.

To have effective, all the time function, then, you need to have 2 bilge pumps, one at the forward edge of the cockpit and one at the aft, under the splashwell.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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This might be a place for the "Dry bilge" , Arid Bilge or the easily fashioned DIY version. a U tube video about a DIY.

Here is a thread that Tom Schulke started on how he made his system. I have all of the parts but have not completed the setup. In the PO case he would have to put an access hole in the cockpit floor and then put the pump to the side, or even inside the boat. Another option would be to create a step and sump inside of the cabin. The gets all but the very last drops out of the boat.
 
I have all of the parts but have not completed the setup
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Hi Bob,
I too had all the parts, and in fact put the setup in temporarily. Maybe it was the sponges I used, or the tiny bit of gasoline I spilled into the bilge, but after 6 months those sponges fell apart. After cleaning the mess out of the bilge (kept plugging up my bilge plug drain), I pulled the system back out and decided it wasn't worth the hassle for me. At most we're talking about 5 gals of water. And since I trailer the boat and it's only on the water when I'm on it and using it, it's just as easy when I park it for any length of time to raise the bow, leave the bilge drain plug out, and open the hatches a few days to dry things out. Colby
 
The 1986 boats are a little different than the current design (bottom strakes, etc.(if I recall correctly). The ones I recall had a teak deck in the cockpit. Not sure this affects how water will pool in the boat. In my 1992, I added dri-dek which was one of the better investments I made in my boat. It sits up about 1/2" and is non-skid (which is great when you have a bunch of slimy halibut on board). This 1/2" or so was enough that the water that pooled next to the bulkhead would be kept at a minimum with a standard Rule bilge pump with float switch mounted next to the doorway on the starboard side. The aft bilge was used to pump out water when underway.
 
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