being new to boats and rebuilding my first boat (cjr14) having someone in your line of work saying what you would look for helps me to understand more how and what i need to do to get the job done right, i know its a old vid now but still a big help, thanks
Thank you Captain Wayne ,it was very informative. Some issues I did not know: The wiring thickness measuring ! Making no curves and calculating only 50% of the capacity of the pump.... that is something no commercial web site tells you. From the Netherlands : Dank U.
It amazes me the lackadaisical attitude of most "captains" in basic boat maintenance and setup. Especially in the US... Knowledge is power and it could means someone's life. Long video here, but every bit of information was useful, clear and concise. Excellent work, and keep them coming.
Thanks and yes I know it was a bit long but just did not want to cut anything and I think it is more important to fully cover a subject than try to fit it into an a shorter time frame. Glad you liked it
A very good video, we used the same ethics when I was involved in some maintenance on a small ship a chap bought (around 50metres long) to use for log transport, we had a lot of work to do on bilges as salt water had caked the bilges up and there was a lot of rust there, lucky for us that most of the fluid was oil slopping about hence the rust was not bad as it looked and acted like a lubricant instead, we scrubbed out, chipped/grinded, washed, dried and used alcohol (to rid of moisture) more wiping, then we used 'clear lacquer', 2 x coats of primer and two coats of white top coat. Then used the features of this video mostly to sort our bilges out. Most of them fore/aft and midships were the float style bilge both Low level and high level, it took feed from battery and we wired a backup from batteries in wheelhouse (in case engine room batteries got swamped) and it worked out great. So it's not just small boats this information can be used for, but decent sized vessels think the one we worked on was in excess of 500gross tonnes, Cheers for posting.
extremely informative and potentially life saving video. Thank you Sir for taking the time to make this video, I am a new subscriber and looking forward to watching more of your videos . Thank you
I will give to your cause. This was the best, clean, extremely organized, I can not say enough good things about it. I was confused about the 3 wire. I just received my new pump in the UPS today. It is the same model pump but made by Seaflo 750 from Amazon for $21.49 w/ free shipping and it is their best seller. I have just seen the same model for over $50. My last pump checked for water every 3 mins and killed the battery as I do not use it daily took it out and it is at the lake bottom.Thanks!!
William Chappie Thanks for the support it helps. I also appreciate the kind comments. I agree I never liked those pumps that cycle to check for water. I get the idea and it is clever but like you say can kill a battery over the long run. I also suspect it can wear the pump out sooner always turning on and off like that
I arrived at this video because I was trying to understand a metaphore in a science fiction book. I came away with context about sea ships, pumps in general and answers to questions I had when I was researching 3D printing technology.
Thanks Captain Wayne. I just installed my first bilge pump system in preparation for this hurricane. You really hit the nail on the head; having backup bilge pumps is tantamount. I like the non electrical emergency failsafe for a worst case scenario. I'm making a pvc hand pump system. All the stores are closed now, but I at least have one bilge pump that operates well. Next time, I'll have several. I'm a former electrician, way to go explaining the importance of #12 (I run romex in my boat. #12 solid)
Great guide. Love the attention to detail, regard for Murphys law and the foresight to have contingency plans. I think it's easy to become complacent especially in the face of relaxed regulations (such as not even requiring a bilge pump at all).
I have just bought an old used sailboat and this was the information I needed to know to troubleshoot and bring it back to good condition! Thanks captain!
@@Boatingzen WOW! I'm Amazed you have time to read comments!... On this 1981, 37' Endeavour sailboat, the shower drain /head sink and Galley sink all run to a common catch pan in the bilge. There is a float switch and a bilge pump... Problem is it cycles and does not have any form of check valve... Looked online and was unable to find a specialty check valve for this application other than buying the whole box from rule. Is there a specialty check valve that I can fit on my bilge pump in the shower/sink catch pan?... Some kind of low back pressure purge valve or Joker valve setup?
Great video with lot`s of information!! We are fresh boat-owners and now refitting the bilge. Thank you Wayne, you are a great help *thumbs up* - Cheers from Holland
I really need three bilge pumps due to the design of a 43ft yacht I am building. I have mounted the pumps several inches above the bottom of the bilge to stop recycling. The pumps (and float switches) are mounted on stiff plastic(?) planks clipped to the keel ribs (clipped for easy removal). The pump cabling has been brought up the planks to a junction box and sealed with silastic. The outlets are over 2 ft above the WL but I have looped the discharged hose up to deck level. My argument is that the water flowing from deck level down to the outlet would counteract the weight of water flowing up past the outlet to deck level.(Hope I never have to check my theory in an emergency). A great video. Thank you.
Hi Wayne, great video ! I just wanted to point out that the necessity of a manual bilge pump in European regulations is due to explosion danger if you happen to have a gas leak . As Propane/Butane is heavier than air it will assemble in the bilge. Using an electric pump to get out the gas would cause an explosion. A manual pump would be the only way to get rid of any leaking gas assembled in the bilge
+Paul Baars Sorry may be a stupid question... ,how can someone detect a gas leak/build up of gas in the bilge without going down there and checking first hand. should you smell it? or has detectors in there.
Always liked and subscribed. Looks like as of this viewing about 17 people either know nothing of boating, or they really don't care about being safe out on the ocean. Either way, thanks, Wayne. Great vid! My only complaint about you, is that you don't make enough videos!
Thank you so much. I just purchased a 74 Tartan 34C and needed to see what would work for the deep bilge area where the Dagger board sits. With what I learned from you I'll be looking for a diaphram type bilge pump for now to keep her dry. She needs a great deal of work. She'll be ready to sail in about a year or so. Thank you.
Four buddies spent 45 mins in the water of the west coast of scotland. they got a mayday out before thier collective immersion. One was 75 years old.....MOD ENgineers !, they hired theboat, but negelected to check bilge pump's... the boat took on so much water, by the time they noticed it was too late, the boat is now on the sea floor !... All ways check you bilge pumps !
Thank you Wayne for taking the time to educate us. I am a new boat owner/used boat and I really enjoyed this video. "Me thinks I've got some work to do down there." Again, thank you. Jay
My uncle has a big old clinker built ancient boat he uses for fishing,we joke that it's the tender for the Mary rose😁 with a couple of ancient fx4 London taxi engines. Him, being a proper tightwad constructed a contraption on one of the engines using a Ford Essex V6 water pump,(this water pump was not designed with an exposed impeller and open rear to be bolted to the front of the engine as is common practice but bolted on the side of the engine with a sealed rear and is actually a good convenient pump for attaching hoses to),this he has mounted on a pivot on the engine with a 15" bar mounted to it,when he needs emergency pumping,apparently regularly when at sea😁,he flips a belt over the pulley and an unused aux drive pulley on the crankshaft and just heaves on the bar for tension,while he pours water into he pump to prime it through what would be the cars heater return inlet,it does work and is quite ingenious,but Christ! When he showed(with some pride)me and my father who is a sixty year veteran mechanical engineer we fell about laughing.
Please consider mentioning pros & cons of self bailing scupper valve, duckbill, ball or otherwise for transom in video. When I bought a used jet boat without bilge pump, I installed two, one higher than the other to remove excess swim trunk dripping and for emergency. Used both when engine freeze plugs leaked. Pulled drain plug to get back to dock - - worked best. Re-installed plug when stopped. Installed new freeze plugs while on trailer and back skiing same day.
Thank you for that step by step instruction of what, why and how of bilge pumps. You can be sure on my next trip to my boat that I will be paying very close attention to my bilge and the pumps.
Thank you Mr. Wayne Canning. Your video is informative for me to understand the mechanism of bilge pump. Nowadays I am trying to pick up some of knowledge that is related to marine vessel and propulsion engines. Wish you have a great day.
Great video , thanks for sharing your no bullshit knowledge. I've heard from someone else that mounting the emergency electric bilge pump and float switch slightly higher ( eg 75mm) than the smaller nuisance dewatering pump eg a 450gph pump. Stops the emergency pump running regularly and keeps it cleaner.
Yeah I would agree with that but be sure to test the high water pump from time to time as well. If it stops working you may not know it until you really need it so check it every few weeks. Thanks for watching and the comments.
Just replaced the piddling little pump in our Steadcraft 16. Replaced it with a decent 1100g/hr pump with smooth bore tubing. The smaller the boat, the bigger the bilge pump in my view.
Thanks for the video. Very informative and did away with a few myths. I'm a new boat owner, and about to deliver my boat from the gulf coast to east FL, so the bilge area was one I was going to look deeper into, but now, I have more reason to get deeper down there. And you were right, the manual bilge pump handle was not found easily during the survey. Thanks for sharing.
Weve got a Rule 3700 pump in our boat. It is WAY too much pump for most of the time. Our bilge capacity is around 10 gallons or so, and we get a lot of cycling with the tiny bit of water we get leaking in past the stuffing box. We also have a big Whale manual diaphragm pump pickup in the bottom of the bilge and i will use that every few days to suck it down to that last little 1/4" of water at the bottom. But I was thinking of installing an additional small electric diaphragm pump with a check valve to deal with incidental water coming in through the stuffing box. I'm also going to be repacking the stuffing box this winter so that i can get it to be a little more drip-free. As far as checking goes we check the bilge, pump, and the float switch operation EVERY time before we leave the boat.
Good vid. I thought about rain influx during the vid and it seems that even a small bilge pump could handle most storms. A rain storm of 50mm/hr (severe) means 50 l/hr of water per sq metre of catchment area so in my 4.35m runabout (assuming 3.5m x 2m catchment) I'd see roughly 350l/hr rain. My 1100GPH rule would eat that!
Yeah I would think that rain would not be as much of an issue as a leak but yes that is something to think about as well. Thanks for watching and the comment.
thanks for the vid, i have a avon searider 4 rib and i was looking for a bilge pump that can suck all the water out of there not leaving a bottom of water in there, i dont have a bilge so its just standing on the floor of my rib. the boat i talk aboud hase a water ballast system and it foats the hull (between the floor and the hull.whit water if not planening ad fast speed so its more stable. all nice but it can go wrong really fast if hull is breached it will probeply not sink couse it hase the rubber tubing around but it will get about 20 cm (araound 8 inch) of water in the boat and will couse it to not handle and short out some of my wires and that means desaster... thanks to youre video i now know i need to get a hi performence electric centrifugal pump and a membrame pump to get it all out. so i can use the centrifugal pump for the big work. and just use the membrame pump to finish the job by getting the last of the water out that the centrifugal would not be able to get rid of. thanks for clearing that out for me...
Wayne Canning can all diafram membrane pumps run dry whitout damaging the pump? like a diafram shower pump to clean up the last bit of water that the bilge pump cant pump out? ore would a shower pump break really fast couse the dirty water? maybe its ok to do couse in an emergency the regular auto bilge pump will do, but its just if where doing some rough sea in the summer there is a lot of water splashing in, it would be nice if we come back to calm waters that we can pump it etirely emty till the last drop, further than the bilgepump can do. couse even the last remaining water will run over the whole floor if running the boat ad low speeds. couse there is no bilge to catch it.... what u think?
Wayne Canning i just got myself a centrifugal bilge pomp already, the shower pump can wait for now. i got myself the heavyest pump i could find in my lokal boating shop. 1100 gl/hr. maybe a bit overkill on a 4.25m rib boat but hey... :) i think it hase enough power to propel my boat tru the water. :) but yeah, better to mutch than not enough right... :)
Excellent detailed view of different bilge systems and possible problems. Have you tested the Whale IC bilge pump and strainer ? I am fitting one shortly as it appears to resolve a number of possible problems as long as it is reliable. I already have a Whale Gulper pump which has been very reliable over the last 5 years.
Jim Widdowson I di not have direct experience with that pump but in general like the whale products. Glad the video was of some help, good luck with your installation.
Super video, thank you for posting Wayne. Quick question.....I just installed a Rule 800 last season, worked like a charm. A few weeks ago, my marina was doing some work in the bilge area. A few days later, I noticed the Rule made noise but was not pulling water. Upon further examination I noticed it was spitting water out of its side back into the bilge. I pushed down on top of the pump and it immediately built pressure and the leak stopped but only worked if I maintained pressure. Seems simple enough but the top will not lock into place. Can you post a short update to this video showing how to open a Rule 800 from the top and reset it? If not can you just let me know how to disassemble it. It has pressure tabs on the sides but I am not sure if you squeeze them or force them open with a screw driver. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long posting. Much appreciated......Bob
Excellent video. I have a large boat (53’) with a deep bilge and the pump is located about 3 feet beneath the engine. I’m not a small guy, but even if I was, I’m not quite sure how to reach the pump. Are there special tools that people can use that you know of to do this work in such cases?
Most will use a flat aluminum bar bent 90 on the bottom end. The pump is fixed to the bottom end and the top to the boat where you can reach it. When you need to service the pump you lift the bar and pump out of the bilge. Good luck
Great Music Good Advice, HInt have two electric Bilge pumps two separate power ssytems and two solar chargers,, when one fils you wil be glad of teh back. KEEP BILGES CLEAN ! BOTH OF THEM ! :)
Terrific video, thanks. Question for you... both my manual and electric bilge pumps have 1 1/2" inch OD discharge ports, but the vinyl sanitation hose (series 148, 1 1/2" ID) doesn't fit. Looks like 1 5/8" ID hose is required, but I can't find any. Do you know if any exists, or if I should use some kind of reducer? Thanks.
Thanks for the vid. I have a Whale gusher urchin bilge pump and I want to use 1-1/2 ABS fittings and pipe to for the inlet and outlet. Standard fittings do fit but I wonder if they make the suction impossible. Why does everyone use a hose? ABS is 1-1/2 on the inside while the bilge would be 1-1/4 on the inside, but 1-1/2 on the outside.
Most use hose because it is easier to run. Nothing wrong with the ABS pipe that's what I have on my boat. It will not collapse or kink which is good. Just try to keep hard elbow to a minimum and use sweep el's when you need to make a turn. Thanks for the comments and good luck with it.
A month ago wile fishing with some friends i lost all power to my bait bag and tank, killing all my bait, wen i open the engine hatch to see what happen i saw that i had a foot and half or water in the bilde and that all my three bilge pumps were not working at all, immediatly i jump in the bilge grab my hand pump and stater pumping all the water out, on the return trip the pumps and bait tank started working again, it turn out to be falty wires that were barely touching. I cut all the old wireing away and installed new wires with shrink wrap. It turn out that the all water was coming from one of the engines shaft stuff box witch im in the process of changing the seal coast $3.75 . If the bait tank would have been working i had no reason to look in the bilge and probably woul have sunk. Thats why besides installing a bigger bilge pump im also installing a high water alarm system. Can be to carefull.
Those are what the pros use for salvage but seems like storage would be an issue and you would have to run them every now and then so they would work when needed. But yeah on a bigger boat it would be nice to have if needed.
Wayne Canning yes I had the shop rebuild the out drive I asked him to give it a once over. I will look again with a brighter light.... thanks for reply
At 19:53 , the float switch is below the electric pump intake... Does this work? Or will the pump never shut off because it will suck air before the float switch opens ?
I am guessing it will not work. the float should be a bit higher than the pump. I suggest you try it in different locations before screwing it down. Good luck
Excellent and very informative, Thanks so much! Question for you - Is it correct to run emergency (back-up) bilge outlet hose to the primary bilge hose with a Y connection? If not, what is the alternative installation for a secondary bilge? Thanks again!
I know where my water is coming from & it took me awhile even though it was a new 2015 fiberglass boat & it was a Design fault on the boat builder & in the end it rusted out my toilet pump as well & my wife brought a new toilet pump just last week & that price of the toilet pump was NZ $300.00 wasn't Cheap & we haven't used our boat for nearly 2 years because of Covid-19 Level 4 lock down & a week ago my wife used the toilet & after she used it she went to flush the toilet & it wouldn't work when we got back home & after we washed the trailer & boat down we looked into why the toilet pump wouldn't & in the end my son found out it had a blown fuse & my son replaced the fuse & the toilet pump wouldn't work & then I looked at the toilet found out the pump 12volt electric motor was rusted very badly & I had to clean the toilet out before I could take the toilet & pump out wasn't a nice jump lucky it was number 1 & number 2 it was still bad cleaning the toilet & then once I got the toilet & pump out I unbolted the toilet pump & stripped the pump & motor down the & water had got into the pump & rusted the inside the electric motor & all of this happened because of the bilge pump outlet was put in the wrong place as water has been getting in the Bloody F______N bilge pump outlet & I don't have the money to move the bilge pump outlet & bring it up to the left rear side of the boat & so what I'm doing is going to be installing a Float switch to go with the 1100 GPH bilge pump & later on I will move the Bilge Pump outlet to the left hand rear side of the boat & that way I won't have any more problems with water getting in the boat & this guy who still builds these boats should be told to move the bilge pump outlets up to the side of the rear of the boats the nice Rayglass boats & Haines Hunter boats they have their Bilge Pump Outlets up high on the side rear of the boats & those dont have any problems with water getting in to the boats through the Bilge Pump Outlets & that's where I'm going to put my Bilge Pump Outlet Its not nice to get shit loads of water getting into the boat & when I get back to the boat ramp & take the drain plugs out I couldn't understand why I had so much water coming out of the boat & also couldn't understand why I couldn't get the boat on the plane at times & I only found out one day that I was washing down the boat & put the hose by the bilge pump outlet and & didn't take long for the water to flow out of the drain hole & I showed my new neighbour how I was get a lot of water in my boat & I only had the hose running just a little & it only took less than a minute for the water to run out of the drain hole Not Nice & I would have been going through a lot of fuel to dragging all of this water in the boat bugger one of the Stores here in New Zealand want NZ $109.00 for a Float Switch & on AliEpress I'm getting 2 Float Switches & one for my friend as his Float Switch packed up on him & I paid NZ $31.81 as I got coins on the Do Exercise Store on AliEpress & I only had ordered these Float Switches yesterday & they are already on there way to New Zealand & that was really Quick on sending them to me & I'm Wishing You A Happy New Year for 2022 & Kind Regards Peter
Solder is not recommended by ABYC. It can melt with a short and it is can cause the wire to break from vibration. A well done crimp connection will be very reliable. Thanks for the input
being new to boats and rebuilding my first boat (cjr14) having someone in your line of work saying what you would look for helps me to understand more how and what i need to do to get the job done right, i know its a old vid now but still a big help, thanks
Thank you Captain Wayne ,it was very informative. Some issues I did not know: The wiring thickness measuring ! Making no curves and calculating only 50% of the capacity of the pump.... that is something no commercial web site tells you. From the Netherlands : Dank U.
Thanks glad you found it helpful
This is incredible info that many new boat owners do not seem to think of often
Very extensive, informative, excellent for decision-making.
Thanks
It amazes me the lackadaisical attitude of most "captains" in basic boat maintenance and setup. Especially in the US... Knowledge is power and it could means someone's life. Long video here, but every bit of information was useful, clear and concise. Excellent work, and keep them coming.
Thanks and yes I know it was a bit long but just did not want to cut anything and I think it is more important to fully cover a subject than try to fit it into an a shorter time frame. Glad you liked it
A very good video, we used the same ethics when I was involved in some maintenance on a small ship a chap bought (around 50metres long) to use for log transport, we had a lot of work to do on bilges as salt water had caked the bilges up and there was a lot of rust there, lucky for us that most of the fluid was oil slopping about hence the rust was not bad as it looked and acted like a lubricant instead, we scrubbed out, chipped/grinded, washed, dried and used alcohol (to rid of moisture) more wiping, then we used 'clear lacquer', 2 x coats of primer and two coats of white top coat. Then used the features of this video mostly to sort our bilges out. Most of them fore/aft and midships were the float style bilge both Low level and high level, it took feed from battery and we wired a backup from batteries in wheelhouse (in case engine room batteries got swamped) and it worked out great. So it's not just small boats this information can be used for, but decent sized vessels think the one we worked on was in excess of 500gross tonnes, Cheers for posting.
Thanks glad it was helpful sounds like quite a project.
extremely informative and potentially life saving video. Thank you Sir for taking the time to make this video, I am a new subscriber and looking forward to watching more of your videos .
Thank you
I will give to your cause. This was the best, clean, extremely organized, I can not say enough good things about it. I was confused about the 3 wire. I just received my new pump in the UPS today. It is the same model pump but made by Seaflo 750 from Amazon for $21.49 w/ free shipping and it is their best seller. I have just seen the same model for over $50. My last pump checked for water every 3 mins and killed the battery as I do not use it daily took it out and it is at the lake bottom.Thanks!!
William Chappie Thanks for the support it helps. I also appreciate the kind comments. I agree I never liked those pumps that cycle to check for water. I get the idea and it is clever but like you say can kill a battery over the long run. I also suspect it can wear the pump out sooner always turning on and off like that
Wayne, this was the most well done video , on the subject, that we've seen! Excellent !
I arrived at this video because I was trying to understand a metaphore in a science fiction book. I came away with context about sea ships, pumps in general and answers to questions I had when I was researching 3D printing technology.
As a R.N. Marine engineer it is always good sense to have a refresher even on the more obvious subjects...thanks.
Glenn Wright Thanks, always nice to get good feedback from an engineer
These videos provide a tremendous service to the marine community, thanks !
Glad they were of help, be sure to subscribe and share it helps. Hope to do more soon. Thanks for the feed back
Thanks Captain Wayne. I just installed my first bilge pump system in preparation for this hurricane. You really hit the nail on the head; having backup bilge pumps is tantamount. I like the non electrical emergency failsafe for a worst case scenario. I'm making a pvc hand pump system. All the stores are closed now, but I at least have one bilge pump that operates well. Next time, I'll have several. I'm a former electrician, way to go explaining the importance of #12 (I run romex in my boat. #12 solid)
ABYC does not allow solid wire but glad you got it going
Great guide. Love the attention to detail, regard for Murphys law and the foresight to have contingency plans. I think it's easy to become complacent especially in the face of relaxed regulations (such as not even requiring a bilge pump at all).
Thanks glad it was helpful.
I have just bought an old used sailboat and this was the information I needed to know to troubleshoot and bring it back to good condition! Thanks captain!
You are welcime glad it was helpful
@@Boatingzen WOW! I'm Amazed you have time to read comments!... On this 1981, 37' Endeavour sailboat, the shower drain /head sink and Galley sink all run to a common catch pan in the bilge. There is a float switch and a bilge pump... Problem is it cycles and does not have any form of check valve... Looked online and was unable to find a specialty check valve for this application other than buying the whole box from rule. Is there a specialty check valve that I can fit on my bilge pump in the shower/sink catch pan?... Some kind of low back pressure purge valve or Joker valve setup?
Great video with lot`s of information!! We are fresh boat-owners and now refitting the bilge. Thank you Wayne, you are a great help *thumbs up* - Cheers from Holland
I really need three bilge pumps due to the design of a 43ft yacht I am building. I have mounted the pumps several inches above the bottom of the bilge to stop recycling. The pumps (and float switches) are mounted on stiff plastic(?) planks clipped to the keel ribs (clipped for easy removal). The pump cabling has been brought up the planks to a junction box and sealed with silastic.
The outlets are over 2 ft above the WL but I have looped the discharged hose up to deck level. My argument is that the water flowing from deck level down to the outlet would counteract the weight of water flowing up past the outlet to deck level.(Hope I never have to check my theory in an emergency).
A great video. Thank you.
Hi Wayne, great video ! I just wanted to point out that the necessity of a manual bilge pump in European regulations is due to explosion danger if you happen to have a gas leak . As Propane/Butane is heavier than air it will assemble in the bilge. Using an electric pump to get out the gas would cause an explosion. A manual pump would be the only way to get rid of any leaking gas assembled in the bilge
+Paul Baars Sorry may be a stupid question... ,how can someone detect a gas leak/build up of gas in the bilge without going down there and checking first hand. should you smell it? or has detectors in there.
Outstanding video. Should be watched by all serious boaters
Thanks glad you liked it
Always liked and subscribed. Looks like as of this viewing about 17 people either know nothing of boating, or they really don't care about being safe out on the ocean.
Either way, thanks, Wayne. Great vid! My only complaint about you, is that you don't make enough videos!
Thank you so much. I just purchased a 74 Tartan 34C and needed to see what would work for the deep bilge area where the Dagger board sits. With what I learned from you I'll be looking for a diaphram type bilge pump for now to keep her dry. She needs a great deal of work. She'll be ready to sail in about a year or so. Thank you.
Thank you! With all the misinformation out there in the marine community, it is important to have videos like this.
Thanks glad it was of help
Glad it was helpful
Thanks for the great info and reminder of those critical details that are frequently taken for granted.
Four buddies spent 45 mins in the water of the west coast of scotland. they got a mayday out before thier collective immersion. One was 75 years old.....MOD ENgineers !, they hired theboat, but negelected to check bilge pump's... the boat took on so much water, by the time they noticed it was too late, the boat is now on the sea floor !... All ways check you bilge pumps !
Thank you Wayne for taking the time to educate us. I am a new boat owner/used boat and I really enjoyed this video.
"Me thinks I've got some work to do down there."
Again, thank you.
Jay
Jay Johnston Thanks Jay glad to be of help. Stay tuned for more
Great advice, even for fresh water boats...
New to boating. Learned a lot from the captain
Glad it was helpful
What an excellent, informative video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
+adbarron1 Thanks glad you liked it
Thanks good info
My uncle has a big old clinker built ancient boat he uses for fishing,we joke that it's the tender for the Mary rose😁 with a couple of ancient fx4 London taxi engines. Him, being a proper tightwad constructed a contraption on one of the engines using a Ford Essex V6 water pump,(this water pump was not designed with an exposed impeller and open rear to be bolted to the front of the engine as is common practice but bolted on the side of the engine with a sealed rear and is actually a good convenient pump for attaching hoses to),this he has mounted on a pivot on the engine with a 15" bar mounted to it,when he needs emergency pumping,apparently regularly when at sea😁,he flips a belt over the pulley and an unused aux drive pulley on the crankshaft and just heaves on the bar for tension,while he pours water into he pump to prime it through what would be the cars heater return inlet,it does work and is quite ingenious,but Christ! When he showed(with some pride)me and my father who is a sixty year veteran mechanical engineer we fell about laughing.
Great video and so nice to have someone with good knowledge share it so well.
Glad it was helpful!
Please consider mentioning pros & cons of self bailing scupper valve, duckbill, ball or otherwise for transom in video. When I bought a used jet boat without bilge pump, I installed two, one higher than the other to remove excess swim trunk dripping and for emergency. Used both when engine freeze plugs leaked. Pulled drain plug to get back to dock - - worked best. Re-installed plug when stopped. Installed new freeze plugs while on trailer and back skiing same day.
Yes this is an old trick used by many small boaters. Thanks for the comments
Thank you for that step by step instruction of what, why and how of bilge pumps. You can be sure on my next trip to my boat that I will be paying very close attention to my bilge and the pumps.
Thanks glad it was of help.
Tosi hyvä video, monta hyvää vinkkiä, kannattaa katsoa. Thank you very much I am going to change pilge pump and i got the answer to all my questions.
Glad it helped
Thank you Mr. Wayne Canning. Your video is informative for me to understand the mechanism of bilge pump. Nowadays I am trying to pick up some of knowledge that is related to marine vessel and propulsion engines.
Wish you have a great day.
+JeWoo Shin Glad it was helpful to you. Thanks for your positive comments.
Great video , thanks for sharing your no bullshit knowledge.
I've heard from someone else that mounting the emergency electric bilge pump and float switch slightly higher ( eg 75mm) than the smaller nuisance dewatering pump eg a 450gph pump. Stops the emergency pump running regularly and keeps it cleaner.
Yeah I would agree with that but be sure to test the high water pump from time to time as well. If it stops working you may not know it until you really need it so check it every few weeks. Thanks for watching and the comments.
Just replaced the piddling little pump in our Steadcraft 16. Replaced it with a decent 1100g/hr pump with smooth bore tubing. The smaller the boat, the bigger the bilge pump in my view.
You got it! Happy sailing
Excellent video! Way better than the alternative presentation, ship shape tv.
Thanks for that compliment, glad you liked it
Thanks that is a nice compliment
Thanks for the video. Very informative and did away with a few myths. I'm a new boat owner, and about to deliver my boat from the gulf coast to east FL, so the bilge area was one I was going to look deeper into, but now, I have more reason to get deeper down there. And you were right, the manual bilge pump handle was not found easily during the survey. Thanks for sharing.
javacup912 Thanks for the feedback. Glad to be of help and good luck with your new boat. And glad you found the handle!
Weve got a Rule 3700 pump in our boat. It is WAY too much pump for most of the time. Our bilge capacity is around 10 gallons or so, and we get a lot of cycling with the tiny bit of water we get leaking in past the stuffing box.
We also have a big Whale manual diaphragm pump pickup in the bottom of the bilge and i will use that every few days to suck it down to that last little 1/4" of water at the bottom. But I was thinking of installing an additional small electric diaphragm pump with a check valve to deal with incidental water coming in through the stuffing box. I'm also going to be repacking the stuffing box this winter so that i can get it to be a little more drip-free.
As far as checking goes we check the bilge, pump, and the float switch operation EVERY time before we leave the boat.
Sound like you are doing the right things. Thanks for watching and the comments
Good vid. I thought about rain influx during the vid and it seems that even a small bilge pump could handle most storms. A rain storm of 50mm/hr (severe) means 50 l/hr of water per sq metre of catchment area so in my 4.35m runabout (assuming 3.5m x 2m catchment) I'd see roughly 350l/hr rain. My 1100GPH rule would eat that!
Yeah I would think that rain would not be as much of an issue as a leak but yes that is something to think about as well. Thanks for watching and the comment.
thanks for the vid, i have a avon searider 4 rib and i was looking for a bilge pump that can suck all the water out of there not leaving a bottom of water in there, i dont have a bilge so its just standing on the floor of my rib. the boat i talk aboud hase a water ballast system and it foats the hull (between the floor and the hull.whit water if not planening ad fast speed so its more stable. all nice but it can go wrong really fast if hull is breached it will probeply not sink couse it hase the rubber tubing around but it will get about 20 cm (araound 8 inch) of water in the boat and will couse it to not handle and short out some of my wires and that means desaster... thanks to youre video i now know i need to get a hi performence electric centrifugal pump and a membrame pump to get it all out. so i can use the centrifugal pump for the big work. and just use the membrame pump to finish the job by getting the last of the water out that the centrifugal would not be able to get rid of. thanks for clearing that out for me...
jelle buyckx Glad the video was of help to you. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!
Wayne Canning can all diafram membrane pumps run dry whitout damaging the pump? like a diafram shower pump to clean up the last bit of water that the bilge pump cant pump out? ore would a shower pump break really fast couse the dirty water? maybe its ok to do couse in an emergency the regular auto bilge pump will do, but its just if where doing some rough sea in the summer there is a lot of water splashing in, it would be nice if we come back to calm waters that we can pump it etirely emty till the last drop, further than the bilgepump can do. couse even the last remaining water will run over the whole floor if running the boat ad low speeds. couse there is no bilge to catch it.... what u think?
jelle buyckx Yes the shower pump would work just ad one of those little inline strainers ahead of the pump and remember to clean it from time to time
thanks for youre fast reply. thats what i am gonna do...
Wayne Canning i just got myself a centrifugal bilge pomp already, the shower pump can wait for now. i got myself the heavyest pump i could find in my lokal boating shop. 1100 gl/hr. maybe a bit overkill on a 4.25m rib boat but hey... :) i think it hase enough power to propel my boat tru the water. :) but yeah, better to mutch than not enough right... :)
Invaluable info. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us. I’m now a subscriber. 👍
I worked around that flowback by installing a small check valve. It will allow less water back down.
It can also reduce the pump output by as much as 50%. I do not recommend check valves
Excellent detailed view of different bilge systems and possible problems. Have you tested the Whale IC bilge pump and strainer ? I am fitting one shortly as it appears to resolve a number of possible problems as long as it is reliable. I already have a Whale Gulper pump which has been very reliable over the last 5 years.
Jim Widdowson I di not have direct experience with that pump but in general like the whale products. Glad the video was of some help, good luck with your installation.
Great video Captain Wayne. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks
Super video, thank you for posting Wayne. Quick question.....I just installed a Rule 800 last season, worked like a charm. A few weeks ago, my marina was doing some work in the bilge area. A few days later, I noticed the Rule made noise but was not pulling water. Upon further examination I noticed it was spitting water out of its side back into the bilge. I pushed down on top of the pump and it immediately built pressure and the leak stopped but only worked if I maintained pressure. Seems simple enough but the top will not lock into place. Can you post a short update to this video showing how to open a Rule 800 from the top and reset it? If not can you just let me know how to disassemble it. It has pressure tabs on the sides but I am not sure if you squeeze them or force them open with a screw driver. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long posting. Much appreciated......Bob
I would suggest that the diameter of discharge hose/hose is also important. A bigger size can help with head pressure.
Wow! Nice Job Wayne 😊
Excellent video. I have a large boat (53’) with a deep bilge and the pump is located about 3 feet beneath the engine. I’m not a small guy, but even if I was, I’m not quite sure how to reach the pump. Are there special tools that people can use that you know of to do this work in such cases?
Most will use a flat aluminum bar bent 90 on the bottom end. The pump is fixed to the bottom end and the top to the boat where you can reach it. When you need to service the pump you lift the bar and pump out of the bilge. Good luck
Extremely informative. Thank you so much!
Glad you liked it and hope it helps.
Great Music Good Advice, HInt have two electric Bilge pumps two separate power ssytems and two solar chargers,, when one fils you wil be glad of teh back. KEEP BILGES CLEAN ! BOTH OF THEM ! :)
Thanks and good thoughts.
Excellent, Captain! Thanks very much.
excellent videos for marine engineers
Excellent information and well-presented. Another video discussing remote bilge pumps would be appreciated. Thank you!
Thank you sir, greate bilge pump primer
Terrific video, thanks. Question for you... both my manual and electric bilge pumps have 1 1/2" inch OD discharge ports, but the vinyl sanitation hose (series 148, 1 1/2" ID) doesn't fit. Looks like 1 5/8" ID hose is required, but I can't find any. Do you know if any exists, or if I should use some kind of reducer? Thanks.
Try a heat gun for the ends before installing along with a bit of soap on the fittings. This often works well. Good luck
Ha! I had exactly the same thought. After a minute of gently heating the hose it popped right on. thanks.
Dan Courtney
Thanks for sharing Wayne, I learned quite a lot from this.
Glad to have helped and thanks for the positive feedback
Thanks for the vid.
I have a Whale gusher urchin bilge pump and I want to use 1-1/2 ABS fittings and pipe to for the inlet and outlet. Standard fittings do fit but I wonder if they make the suction impossible. Why does everyone use a hose?
ABS is 1-1/2 on the inside while the bilge would be 1-1/4 on the inside, but 1-1/2 on the outside.
Most use hose because it is easier to run. Nothing wrong with the ABS pipe that's what I have on my boat. It will not collapse or kink which is good. Just try to keep hard elbow to a minimum and use sweep el's when you need to make a turn. Thanks for the comments and good luck with it.
Thanks for the thumbs up! Yes I've only seen hoses on bilges but ABS is cheaper and more durable.
Thanks Wayne
So on bilge pump do you leave it on the whole time you are on the water or only when you need it so your battery don’t get depleted
Only when needed
A month ago wile fishing with some friends i lost all power to my bait bag and tank, killing all my bait, wen i open the engine hatch to see what happen i saw that i had a foot and half or water in the bilde and that all my three bilge pumps were not working at all, immediatly i jump in the bilge grab my hand pump and stater pumping all the water out, on the return trip the pumps and bait tank started working again, it turn out to be falty wires that were barely touching.
I cut all the old wireing away and installed new wires with shrink wrap.
It turn out that the all water was coming from one of the engines shaft stuff box witch im in the process of changing the seal coast $3.75 . If the bait tank would have been working i had no reason to look in the bilge and probably woul have sunk. Thats why besides installing a bigger bilge pump im also installing a high water alarm system.
Can be to carefull.
+cordelmar I hear stories like this all the time glad it came out ok for you in the end. Safe boating to you!
Thank you. Same here
Excellent! Thank you.
Thoughts on a gas powered pump? like at the end sitting on the tri that is sinking...That way you can help another boat too.
Those are what the pros use for salvage but seems like storage would be an issue and you would have to run them every now and then so they would work when needed. But yeah on a bigger boat it would be nice to have if needed.
Very informative and an excellent presentation. Thank you Captain.
Glad it was of help and thanks for the positive feedback
I have an 18 foot I/o. It gets water inside somehow and the pump, pumps it out? I don't see a leak....
Leak can sometimes be hard to pin down. Had you checked the IO boots for cuts or cracks?
Wayne Canning yes I had the shop rebuild the out drive I asked him to give it a once over. I will look again with a brighter light.... thanks for reply
Amazing video and informative. Thank you.
Not sure I would say it is amazing but thanks for the positive feedback glad it was helpful
Nice information. What do you think about liquid electrical tape that you can buy at West Marine for making water resistant connections?
David Duncan I have not used the West Marine products but it should work fine.
Thank you. Brilliant
At 19:53 , the float switch is below the electric pump intake... Does this work? Or will the pump never shut off because it will suck air before the float switch opens ?
I am guessing it will not work. the float should be a bit higher than the pump. I suggest you try it in different locations before screwing it down. Good luck
Great video! Now I know!!
I love boats but being out on the open sea to me is like being in space almost,if something goes wrong you are screwed.
Oh yea good video thanks!!!
Excellent and very informative, Thanks so much! Question for you - Is it correct to run emergency (back-up) bilge outlet hose to the primary bilge hose with a Y connection? If not, what is the alternative installation for a secondary bilge? Thanks again!
Never use the same outlet, what if that becomes blocked? Every pump should have its own thru hull
excellent videos for marine engineer
Thanks always nice when an engineer likes my work
Hi thanks for your video. Looking for tips on how to fix a upcoming leak in the hull under the waterline during a long passage.
I will have to work on that. Thanks
Very informative. Thank you for the info.
You are welcome, thanks for the positive feedback
good vid mate
Thanks and thanks for helping out on Patreon!
Good advice
Thanks
GREAT INFO.!!!!!!!!
Thanks glad you found it useful
Very very nice video!!!
Thanks glad you liked it.
youre excellent please give us more
I am working on it
Thanks
Excellent video! Thank you very much!!! Very informative.
Outstanding. Thanks
Thanks
Brilliant, great information.
Excellent information thank you
Benjamin Ward Thanks
Great video - thank you!
You are welcome
Thank you for this.
You're welcome
I know where my water is coming from & it took me awhile even though it was a new 2015 fiberglass boat & it was a Design fault on the boat builder & in the end it rusted out my toilet pump as well & my wife brought a new toilet pump just last week & that price of the toilet pump was NZ $300.00 wasn't Cheap & we haven't used our boat for nearly 2 years because of Covid-19 Level 4 lock down & a week ago my wife used the toilet & after she used it she went to flush the toilet & it wouldn't work when we got back home & after we washed the trailer & boat down we looked into why the toilet pump wouldn't & in the end my son found out it had a blown fuse & my son replaced the fuse & the toilet pump wouldn't work & then I looked at the toilet found out the pump 12volt electric motor was rusted very badly & I had to clean the toilet out before I could take the toilet & pump out wasn't a nice jump lucky it was number 1 & number 2 it was still bad cleaning the toilet & then once I got the toilet & pump out I unbolted the toilet pump & stripped the pump & motor down the & water had got into the pump & rusted the inside the electric motor & all of this happened because of the bilge pump outlet was put in the wrong place as water has been getting in the Bloody F______N bilge pump outlet & I don't have the money to move the bilge pump outlet & bring it up to the left rear side of the boat & so what I'm doing is going to be installing a Float switch to go with the 1100 GPH bilge pump & later on I will move the Bilge Pump outlet to the left hand rear side of the boat & that way I won't have any more problems with water getting in the boat & this guy who still builds these boats should be told to move the bilge pump outlets up to the side of the rear of the boats the nice Rayglass boats & Haines Hunter boats they have their Bilge Pump Outlets up high on the side rear of the boats & those dont have any problems with water getting in to the boats through the Bilge Pump Outlets & that's where I'm going to put my Bilge Pump Outlet Its not nice to get shit loads of water getting into the boat & when I get back to the boat ramp & take the drain plugs out I couldn't understand why I had so much water coming out of the boat & also couldn't understand why I couldn't get the boat on the plane at times & I only found out one day that I was washing down the boat & put the hose by the bilge pump outlet and & didn't take long for the water to flow out of the drain hole & I showed my new neighbour how I was get a lot of water in my boat & I only had the hose running just a little & it only took less than a minute for the water to run out of the drain hole Not Nice & I would have been going through a lot of fuel to dragging all of this water in the boat bugger one of the Stores here in New Zealand want NZ $109.00 for a Float Switch & on AliEpress
I'm getting 2 Float Switches & one for my friend as his Float Switch packed up on him & I paid NZ $31.81 as I got coins on the Do Exercise Store on AliEpress & I only had ordered these Float Switches yesterday & they are already on there way to New Zealand & that was really Quick on sending them to me & I'm Wishing You A Happy New Year for 2022 & Kind Regards Peter
Thanks, Wayne! Great Video. Personally, I don't trust butt connectors I prefer soldering and heat shrink. Do you see an issue that method?
Solder is not recommended by ABYC. It can melt with a short and it is can cause the wire to break from vibration. A well done crimp connection will be very reliable. Thanks for the input
Great information
+Tim Jurich Thanks glad you liked it.
Thank You. Great job!!!!
Thanks
Misleading title because nothing is included about how to adapt a portable electrical bilge pump to plug into shore power.
That is not a common set up. Hard to cover every scenario. Good luck
Can you add a low pressure one way valve to a centrifugal bilge pump?
I would not it does not take much to reduce the flow rate.
Great review, even for a geezer! THANKS.
Thanks and even us "geezers" can benefit from a good review lol
thank you very much it really helpfull
Glad it helped you out. Thanks for the feedback.
Thank you
You're welcome
12v bilge pump use dip well ?,tnx
thanks sir.
SELVARAJ
👏⛵️🙏
good video, whats the music playing?
The intro is my son he wrote and played it, the background is "The right time" from the free TH-cam music. Thanks
great advice, being hard of hearing would have appreciated no background music
Year I have learned not to do that anymore. Thnks for watching and the feedback