How many bilge pumps do you have?

[AusCan]

I have 3 on my 30 footer plus a couple spares.

I also keep a variety of plugs, foam balls, tarps, bits of plywood, etc for dealing with a breach of the hull if necessary. I could never see the point of installing manual pumps. I would think that I'd be better off trying to slow the leak, rather than manually stroking a low volume pump if there ever was a hull breach.

Bridaus - I'm surprised you aren't aren't intimately familiar with your bilge pumps. Especially if it has been running daily. I'd be somewhat concerned about where the water is coming from.

 

[cardude01]

I have 3 on my 30 footer plus a couple spares.

I also keep a variety of plugs, foam balls, tarps, bits of plywood, etc for dealing with a breach of the hull if necessary. I could never see the point of installing manual pumps. I would think that I'd be better off trying to slow the leak, rather than manually stroking a low volume pump if there ever was a hull breach.

.

What kind of foam makes a good plug? Would memory foam work or some other type? I have a memory foam mattress topper on the master bed so it’s available in an emergency.

 

[eagle419]

I have 3 water tight bilge compartments, with an auto pump and a switched scavenger pump in each.

There is also a high capacity main engine driven fire/bilge pump with input & output manifolds.

Plus a manual fire/bilge pump on deck, also with input/output manifolds.

This setup is inherited from the boat's commercial survey past, but I reckon it's the bare minimum for this old wooden boat.

On my (long) list is a portable trash pump, plus upgrading the three auto pumps.

 

[bridaus]

Bridaus - I'm surprised you aren't aren't intimately familiar with your bilge pumps. Especially if it has been running daily. I'd be somewhat concerned about where the water is coming from.

I know where two are, and I'm in the act of getting familiar. Boat is new to me, and even after purchase it was a few hours away. Just got my hands on it, going through it stem to stern.

I know where the water is coming from (rain/deck leaks). I'm not sure it runs once a day, the check valve (I know) is busted and water runs back down in. I don't think it's really ejecting very much water at all. That's another thing I need to get a handle on. I'm first tending to dangerous wiring.

 

[eagle419]

What kind of foam makes a good plug? Would memory foam work or some other type? I have a memory foam mattress topper on the master bed so it’s available in an emergency.

Google TruPlug.

They're good for circular or irregular holes, can be compressed by hand and are easily trimmed and shaped.

Memory foam might also be good for this purpose, but imagine searching for and finding your leak, then getting back to your berth, then stripping it down to get to the mattress, then grabbing a suitable knife, then cutting out a suitable shape, then taking it back to the leak, then recutting to size, then stuffing it in the hole/breach.

All too stressful for me - I keep tapered softwood plugs at each through-hull, and several TruPlugs.

Not cheap, but in a flooding emergency who's counting?

 

[Fletcher500]

Good reminders about having tools on hand to seal a hull leak. I have two foam plugs, water proof putty material, and that’s about it. Finding the leak in the hull with water in the bilge would not be easy, and if it happened at night...yikes.

On a related subject, Rescue Tape should be on the list. We used two rolls to seal a fairly significant leak in an exhaust riser offshore 3 years ago. Drove the boat 125 miles back to Port and it held. Can be used for hoses, and other things

 

[AusCan]

This article shows a few methods of stemming the flow during a hull breach.

https://www.admiralyacht.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/crash-test-boat-sinking.pdf

 

[eagle419]

Here's my extra roving 'flooding box' with spare plugs, waterproof putty, rescue tape, knives, plug hammers etc etc.

Too much preparation is never enough.

 

[cardude01]

I have a toilet wax ring. I’m set!

[emoji15]

 

[Fletcher500]

I have those same red, conical, plugs. Has anyone ever used one to seal a hull breach? How did it go?

 

[Bill Wells]

bilge pumps

I have 5 electric on three batteries, one manual. I also keep a can of roofing
tar, one of slickseam, and assorted wooden plugs and battons.

Luckily I have never needed anything beyond the bilge pumps..

I have a wooden boat.

 

[GoldenDawn]

Bridaus
Here is how my KK42 is configured for pumping:

1. Forward compartment has a 1,000 gal/hr pump. The bulkhead is solid so this compartment is not connected to other parts of the bilge.
2. There is no bilge pump in the centre compartment and it drains to the engine room.
3. The engine compartment has a pump in the sump below the stuffing box. This is a diaphragm pump w a check valve. There is also a 1000 gal/hr pump under the engine, which is never used because of the diaphragm pump in the sump - unless there is a very bad leak. I also have a raw water intake bypass to the sump so could use the engine raw water pump by shutting off the thru hull and opening the line to the sump (have never tried this).
4. The lazarette drains to the engine compartment and has no pump.

I have lights at the helm that come on when a pump comes on but generally would never notice them. I am going install an alarm on the forward compartment pump and on the high engine room pump as these two really should never come on. If they do, I have a serious problem.

 

[Sangraal]

3 12 v bilge pumps and 1 120 v pump. Oh and shower pumps for what it’s worth.

 

[Alisske]

I have two. They are Jabsco Utility Puppy 3000 units, mounted out of the bilge with two switches in the bilge. (One lower than the other). Gets me 20 gallons a minute.

Two is typical, but I put a Y valve in my water intake with a strum box down in the bilge. (I run a small 26 downeast groverbuilt, That has an access plate in the deck where I can access the Y valve easily). Sort of a SHTF bilge pump using the raw water pump as a pump. If things got that bad, and the two other pumps were not keeping up, I’d throw the Y valve in a last ditch attempt to de-water the boat.

 

[tozz]

KK42 is my focus, but this might be fun for the whole forum...



I have two confirmed (and labeled on the bridge/panel), but I feel there is a third emergency (I know, "feel", but the PO didn't know anything about the boat, so I've had to discover many things myself.



My aft is in the deep well behind the engine. The front one I only know by the through hull and it running about once a day, I haven't found it yet, but haven't looked hard yet.

We have a total of eight bilge pumps (the 6 shown in the Pic plus another in the locker in the swim grid) plus a whale gulper shower sump pump and an stb engine-driven emergency bilge pump is designed to use engine water pump to pull selectively from any bilge.

We keep two spare rule units and a spare gulper onboard.

 

[ceherro]

Bilge Pumps

Your KK42 could have 4 bilge pumps.
Our KK39 has 4. One forward that the chain locker drains into and is located under the floor beneath the bed.
Number 2 is located beneath the hatch that accesses your plumbing.
Number three is in the engine room.
Number 4 is in the lazarette.

 

[hpogue123]

I have 4 in rib separated compartments and 2 shower sumps. They are sized assuming the largest thruhull I have falls out in their area. I assume the combined reserve ability can handle any minor hull breaches as well. Here's an easy table I use found Googling.

 

[IntoTheBlue]

Bilge Pumps

Have 3 - Forward, Mid and Aft - all with float switches. These also all have a switch at the helm. I have one more high water in the engine room (below the engines) with a float switch and alarm.

For extreme emergency, my sea water intakes to the engines have a hose and strainer to the engine floor and the valve can be changed from pumping sea water in to pumping water out through the engine raw water pumps.

 

[ReefDean]

On my wooden Grand Banks 42 I have a total of 4 bilge pumps. Two 2000g/h 12v, 1 1200g/h 12v, 1 4000g/h 120v. Also have a bilge alarm set up on a separate float switch. Can't remember for sure on the size but I think the two shower sumps have 600g/h pumps. With everything running I could pump 10400g/h less head pressure losses.

 

[Fletcher500]

I have 4 in rib separated compartments and 2 shower sumps. They are sized assuming the largest thruhull I have falls out in their area. I assume the combined reserve ability can handle any minor hull breaches as well. Here's an easy table I use found Googling.

I did some quick rough calc's and verified those numbers in the Table with Q=K(root P) and an estimated K factor for the hull openings. They are pipe flow formulas, but probably within range .433 psi/foot adds to the water flow quite a bit with only a 4 ft. depth change.

 

[cardude01]

I have 4 in rib separated compartments and 2 shower sumps. They are sized assuming the largest thruhull I have falls out in their area. I assume the combined reserve ability can handle any minor hull breaches as well. Here's an easy table I use found Googling.

Damn. That chart is pretty eye opening. I think I can handle a 1.5” hole 2’ under water, but anything bigger than that and I would be in trouble.

I bought an emergency 110V trash pump that I can (hopefully) quickly deploy into my bilge— it’s 65 GPM. It requires the generator to run so I would have to get it in place fast before the generator area gets flooded.