Sump/Bilge questions - Mac 26S

[vizwhiz]

Had the time to go through the boat yesterday - cleaned out a lot of stuff, etc...
Noticed that water has collected under the two side benches, but doesn't seem to drain to the bilge in the back of the boat.
Bilge pump works, and I was able to pump that down with no problems...but the water stays on the two sides.
When I looked in the space, it is obvious that the low point is in the middle of the boat - which was also obvious when I stood outside and looked at the side of the boat...the low point is in the middle of the boat! So how do you drain those side areas to the bilge???

[Bleakco]

A sponge and bucket makes fast work of it

[vizwhiz]

Naaaahh...that can't be the right way...sounds too much like work!

The only problem is that I want to use those side areas for storage, and if they can get water in there, I'm thinking that won't mix well. Granted, I have to find the source of the leak (I'm suspecting chainplates first), but I don't want to be stowing things inside there if they are subject to getting water in them...

[Sumner]

Like a lot of others we use plactic bins under the seat and ahead of it and aft of it. The water has to get pretty deep before it can get into these and we like the handles on them. One is setup gear another is sailing gear and the small one has hand tools for setup.

Not much to the mod, but there is more here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-28.html

We had leaking chain plates that would put some water in those areas after a fair rain. I did a quick 10 minute caulk on them when we took the boat out. Hope there isn't too much in there when we go back,

Sum

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[vizwhiz]

Awesome...as always, a great help.
I noticed on your mod page that you appear to have a bilge pump under that port seat - is that correct? Right now, our S only has one in the transom storage area.

[Sumner]

Awesome...as always, a great help.
I noticed on your mod page that you appear to have a bilge pump under that port seat - is that correct? Right now, our S only has one in the transom storage area.

I installed one...



...before going to Florida and I don't like the way I have it wired. I also don't like the idea of only one on an S or D (not sure about a X or M). I wanted to put in 2, but ran out of time. I plan on taking the second one back with us and hopefully make a temp install on it when we return and also put float switches on both.

There are more details here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-29.html

If I was you I wouldn't make this a high priority item. I'd get the boat in the water. We did quite a bit on ours before putting it in the first time. That was because we had to go some distance to do it, 90 miles. In your situation being by the water get the boat in the water and do some day sails and then work on it between going out. Just a suggestion,

Sum

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[vizwhiz]

I agree Sum - would like to put it on the water NOW!

And truthfully, that is our goal...we have just found that there are some things that need to be cared for that didn't work (like nav lights), were missing (like no anchor light), or are in need of fixin' up or replacing (needed a bigger anchor and more anchor chain, new running rigging)... We want to be able to start sailing and not have to mess with the "critical" stuff like nav lights, batteries/electrical, etc. so we can comfortably drag the boat to the water and launch without having to think of that stuff every time.

But I also have a few other issues to work out (like a tow vehicle and the motor), so I'm trying to get everything ship-shape while we can't be on the water anyway. We're hoping to have it worked out around the time you get back down here!

(By the way, I didn't get to go by the marina last week - never made it to that part of the city...)

[Catigale]

Sum

Couple of things about float switches. They are nice but will fail in one of many ways....come loose from mount, an item comes loose and blocks it from triggering, wire fell off, one of mine failed open circuit... You get the idea

I wired in a total of four on my so that both the outer and lower bilges can be emptied

The two lower pumps are on ON-AUTO-OFF switches where AUTO switches the pumps through the float switches.
ON does two things ...direct 12VDC to the lower pumps and the stringer pumps which empty into the main bilge.

The concept here is AUTO serves the purpose of keeping the main bilge pumped out - if you want to pump out the entire bilge, you flip to ON and empty anything in the stringers into the main bilge and pump that out too.

I use no check valves as I think they are magnets for clogging and reducing flow - I put full-bore shutoffs on each through hull and my ditch bag has plugs (rubber stoppers) in case the fitting snaps off inside.



This solves the problem of having to put in multiple through hulls in too, of course

[Sumner]

Sum

Couple of things about float switches. They are nice but will fail in one of many ways....come loose from mount, an item comes loose and blocks it from triggering, wire fell off, one of mine failed open circuit... You get the idea

I wired in a total of four on my so that both the outer and lower bilges can be emptied

The two lower pumps are on ON-AUTO-OFF switches where AUTO switches the pumps through the float switches.
ON does two things ...direct 12VDC to the lower pumps and the stringer pumps which empty into the main bilge.

This solves the problem of having to put in multiple through hulls in too, of course

The switches I'm getting....



...have the cage over them and hopefully will be ok. The electrical switches will be as you described. I will end up with one more thru hull on the other side of the boat. They are above the rub rail, so they don't worry me too much and have valves in the discharge hose, although I don't think I really need those.

Thanks for the input,

Sum

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[Catigale]

Sum - see my edit above on check valves and shutoffs....I am not a fan of check valves for a couple of reasons stated above - and opted for shutoff cocks and plugs for emergencies.

[Sumner]

Sum - see my edit above on check valves and shutoffs....I am not a fan of check valves for a couple of reasons stated above - and opted for shutoff cocks and plugs for emergencies.

I don't have a check valve, but....





...a ball valve. What I've done is documented here.....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-29.html

I still don't really think I even need that valve unless someone can enlighten me. The thru hull is.....



.... high above the rub rail so I don't really know what I'm trying to shut off. I put it in for some reason, but don't think I will on the other side unless someone can give me a good reason for having it. I'll probably start leaving the other one open all the time or remove it,

Sum

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[Catigale]

Exactly what I used. ABout 1/10 the cost of the one at WM - inspect each year in freezing climates to make sure it isnt frozen and broken

I used double clamps and clear reinforced hose rather than than the threaded route...your route is better of course.

I dont see a reason to put these on either Sum - I have put that rail in the water a few times, but never for very long.

[Russ]

Do you guys really get that much water in your bilge that it needs to be pumped out?

I've had a small amount of water that is easily mopped out with a paper towel.

For emergency reason, I suppose it's nice to have a pump, but I think I'd go with a portable deal that could be moved to where I need it.




--Russ

[Sumner]

Do you guys really get that much water in your bilge that it needs to be pumped out?

I've had a small amount of water that is easily mopped out with a paper towel.

For emergency reason, I suppose it's nice to have a pump, but I think I'd go with a portable deal that could be moved to where I need it..--Russ

Russ our pump/pumps aren't for normal water in the bilge. We do like you do there and use a sponge and towell.

They are for a worst case scenario that we hope never happens. Since we have never been in the same waters twice who knows what might happen due to our unfamiliarity of where we are. When we return to Florida next month we hope to be sailing down by the 'glades' where the nearest town/marina might be 30-50 miles away. The shores there are all mangroves and unlike the mountain lakes we have been in you can't just pull over to shore and jump out. One nice thing is the water is hardly every over 12 feet deep, so you aren't going to sink too far .

If we did for some reason 'hole' the boat I'm sure we would have our hands full just trying to get some place and I want some pumps that will come on and will also go off automatically to avoid burning them up, so we are going this route. Is it over-kill? Probably but it will give us a little more piece of mind.

Lake Powell is another place I won't mind having these. Depending on the lake level you can have rocks, the top of some mesa, just below the water and yet can't land anywhere close because of the sheer canyon walls.

If we were sailing the same lake most of the time like where we took our first outing, McPhee Reservoir, CO, I'd never put them in.

c ya,

Sum

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[Catigale]

I never had any water until my compression pole failed at the bottom end and I ended up 2 feet deep in water inside...