SunCat Bilge Pumps

[Osprey]

How is everyone getting all the water out of the bilge? My SunCat has the manual bilge pump, but it doesn't pump all the water out. The other day, I was able to get all the way into the port hatch and sponge out the bilge. Getting into the hatch isn't an easy thing to do! I'm thinking about rigging up a portable 12V bilge pump. Is there an easier way to get the job done? Maybe just make the 12V pump a permanent installation.

Terry

[skip1930]

Here is the set up on my CP-19 down under the head, where I store my iced bottles of beer on three day weekends.
The switch for the pump is along side the standard s/w panel from Com-Pac.
The pump is a Rule-Mate 750 gallon per hour, 12.5 gallon per minute pump.
I glued the blue pump strainer to an aluminum 4" x 4" angle, and glued the angle to the de-painted fiberglass bilge bottom.
The pump snaps on to the strainer and stays put even with ice and beer knocking about.
All wiring is twisted-two 16 ga wires to carry the amp load just in case we need a long pump run. [sinking!]
The pump discharge tees into the manual pump hose line down stream of the pump and exits out a transom scupper.
No new holes in the boat! Thank you very much. All grounds are run back to the battery ground buss bar.

Once again. To enlarge printed materials, hold the Ctrl key down while tapping the + key. Use the - key to shrink.

skip.









img]http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/1930fordroadster/Com%20Pac%2019%20Comfort%20and%20Joy/RulePump2.jpg[/img]

Here is the three way switch. Need both. But 'em both together.

[capt_nemo]

Terry,

My Sun Cat is only 15 months old and I keep it covered to protect it from the Florida Sun and Rain. It has been sailed quite a bit it all conditions and has been a VERY DRY BOAT as far as the bilge is concerned. Once dry, the bilge should stay dry. If you are getting water in it search for the cause of the ingress of water.

Just reading your post about going in through the hatch to access the bilge made me hurt all over and prompted my reply.

When I completely disassembled the interior of my NEW boat last summer to coat all unseen wood with epoxy and coat all exposed wood with Sikkens Cetol Light I looked at access to the bilge in way of the centerboard trunk and found it seriously lacking. The photo below shows the liner around the centerboard before I altered it.



The next photo shows how I cut out some of the fiberglass liner to gain better access to the bilge pump hose and the bilge itself should I ever need to get in there. It would make installation of an electric bilge pump a whole lot easier!



The final photo shows the thin epoxy coated marine ply panels that seal off the openings so that stored items under the step don't fall into the bilge.



Hope this helps you solve your wet bilge problem.

[Osprey]

Skip, Your setup looks like a good one. In my case I can hardly get my hand down into the bilge. I think I'll have to come up with some kind of mounting bracket that I can mount the pump on and maybe hold it down in the bilge with a bungee cord. The other problem is the bilge opening is only about 3" wide. I'll have to visit WM and get the smallest pump I can find. I also like your idea of using the existing manual pump discharge line. I don't like drilling holes, either.

Terry

[Osprey]

Capt. Nemo,

That's a great idea, I never though of making the opening larger! I'm going to take a look at that option, tomorrow.

Terry

[Tom Ray]

Don, I think I'm going to carve up my liner just like you did. Great idea!

[skip1930]

Might be too late now. But sit the hull back on the trailer about how the boat sits in the water.

Hose in about 40 gallons and look~see where the water pools.
Place the pump as near as you can to that spot.
I don't believe the pump has enough head to pump bilge water up a hose to the pump.
That would take a different type of pump to generate foot-head. Consult the W.W. Granger catalog.
If you got that kind of pump than just a hose in the lowest spot would work.

skip.