DaySailer.org Forum

Has anyone installed an automatic bilge pump?

If so, location of pump and where you ran the hose?

TIA,

John

I have a DSI and mounted the pump just forward of the port side of the center board trunk. The drain line is attached to a thru hull fitting mounted in the cuddy just below the point where the deck attaches to the port side of the hull. It isn’t really a problem as to where you install the thru hull as long as its above the water line. Brad

How does an automatic bilge pump work? Is this a battery operated set up? I've thought about installing a self bailer, but was told that it wasn't a good idea on the DSI since it is a single hull. This might be a good option. Does anyone have a picture or link to a manufacturer?

Rain leaking through my sketchy cockpit cover is the only source of water intrusion in my boat.

I have a small, $45.00, battery powered bilge pump which I use to empty the cockpit of rain water between sails. It uses 4 D cells, pumps about 3 gallons a minute. I just place it on the floor, at the lowest point in the hull (just astern of the CB trunk).

It has a hose which I extend over the side. I start it when I first get to the boat, and by the time the sails are hoisted, the boat is pretty much dry, save for a quarter inch or so along the keelson which the pump doesn't reach.

Sean,

An automatic bilge pump has the float in it so that when water starts to fill the area it triggers the pump on. You can buy pumps that aren't automatic, you turn them on and off when you want or add a float to it to make it automatic.

Mine is 12 volt, hooks into my battery.

The bailer only works when the boat is moving. The auto pump is good if the boat is at anchor, also works if you take on water while sailing or trailering.

John

So lets assume you install one of these in the lowest portion of your bilge. It rains, the pump runs and clears your bilge, the pump shuts off, then it rains for 3 days (torrentially), your pump runs until your battery is drained. It continues to rain, and your boat fills up to the mooring drain, (assuming it is open) then can fill no more as any additional rainwater has flowed out of the mooring drain.

A better idea: Just install a regular switched (not automatic) bilge pump. Now given the same scenario, here is what happens. It rains, but since the pump does not start it collects in the bilge, then it rains for three days (again torrentially) and your boat fills up to the mooring drain, (again assuming it is open) then can fill no more as any additional rainwater has flowed out of the mooring drain. Now here is the difference; when you finally do go back to your boat, you flip the switch, it drains the boat, you shut off the switch, and you still have a battery to operate all of your other electrical/electronic gadgets, and you get the opportunity to drain your bilge if it rains next week. In the first scenario, your battery would have been at home on the charger while it was raining, and you would have the additional task of trucking it both ways.

The apparently easy way is not always the easy way in the long run.

For me, I keep the boat in the garage but...at times I will travel with the boat a few hours. In FL during the summer it can rain very hard in the afternoon on the way home from the water. Even if I open the drain plug the boat still fills up a bit because of the angle. I have to stop and dump the water out.

When I leave the boat in the water it's usually just overnight for a weekend of sailing.

John

In my DS II I installed the pump about a foot back from the mast on the centerline of the inside hull. I accessed this area by adding an inspection port on the cuddy floor just off to one side so that it did not interfere with with the centerboard lines.

I wired it to a switch, (not automatic)

I ran the discharge line under the floor then up to just under the gunwale on the port side, just behind the cuddy bulkhead. I had another access port that opened to the area behind the seatback.

I do have pictures if you are interested. Just e-mail me with that request to roger02 att mts dott net

Roger,

I think the difference is that the DS1 does not have a self draining cockpit.

There is no liner in the boat.

John

I always considered automatic bilge pumps more appropriate for larger vessels where the bilge is usually inaccessible in normal usage, and through hull conections can lead to potential water intrusion.

Installing one in an open cockpit design like the DS is a bit of overkill, IMO.

Maybe a better investment would be a simple electric pump like I have, and a decent cockpit cover to keep the bulk of the rain out.

Also consider adding a second drain at the transom (in addition to the center cockpit drain, as on a DS1) to allow for rearward moving water to drain while under tow.

Peterw11,

I totally agree. I was really thinking about this until I read some of the installation people have used to bother with this. I just keep the boat covered and unless I have it away - as on a vacation I never have any appreciable water in the cockpit. Now, considering the small amount I have shipped in the past, I'm inclined to stick with my little hand operated pump - although I might like to get a new one that's a little easier to operate. I just don't like the idea of any more holes in my hull than are absolutely necessary - although I have seriously been considering installing a transom drain and just keeping the boat tipped up (raise the trailer with the jack) slightly and the drain open when I'm not there. I don't generally ever leave the boat in the water, other than a couple times over night. I don't really have anywhere to do that anyway. This is a dandy boat for the minimalist, and I think I'm going to maintain that approach. I've never heard of a mooring drain. Is that something that some of you DS1 owners have installed?

The term "mooring drain" seems to be unique to this forum, if you believe Google. In 2008, Roger described it this way:

The second hole about 4" up the transom is the mooring drain for when it is left on the water. ...open the mooring drain. The rainwater/waves/splash etc will enter the cockpit but only to the level of the mooring hole, then will drain.

This relies on the fact that the Daysailer has positive floatation to keep the mooring drain above the waterline. But, as Roger points out, leaving the drain open when you step into the boat will begin to flood it.

you are absolutely right on a number of items, and I just want to clarify some of my previous remarks. First of all, my electric bilge pump was indeed on the DS II altough if you had an electrical system on the DS I, there is no reason you could not install a small bilge pump at the lowest part of the hull. If your boat does not have an electrical system, then something simple like a whale or guzzler (diaphragm pump) is likely your best bet as they can move small bits of debris as well as a whole lot of water that may be found in the bottom of your boat.

Secondly, the mooring drain I speak of may indeed be only a characteristic of the DS II, although there is no reason why a similarly placed hole could not work on the DS I. The description given above is accurate, and indeed it only works when there is no one in the boat. It needs to be plugged while sailing.

Brad,

Did you attach the hose to the hull or is it lying loose on the way to the through hull fitting?

TIA,

John