Manual bilge pump

I have a manual bilge pump in the side deck of my Present 35 trawler. It has started leaking and was wondering what the best replacement would be. The pump is mounted in the deck in such a manner that you regularly step on the faceplate.

WHo is the mfgr? Parts may still be available. If it is a large capacity unit it may be well worth repairing. Many of the itty bitty pumps really don't move much water.
Another point to consider is how YOU can pump it if you really need it. A long handle that gives a lot of leverage in an easy to operate place will allow you to pump effectively for a long period of time.
I've seen manuals mounted in awkward to use positions that after several minutes will poop the operator out and then what. Yes they meet the regulations but not the intent. If you can't operate the thing and possibly for a long time then it is of little use.

Take a good look at it. Find the mfr. name if possible and model if possible. Post a photo or several here and someone may recognize it.

I think it may be a Guzzler. They offer a kit for several models that have a through the deck mount with a plate that looks similar. Take a look. There may be others but something twigged.

The Bosworth Co - Diaphragm Pumps

C Lectric nailed it. It's a Bosworth. I'd repair it or just replace it with another Bosworth.
This link shows the Thru Deck Mounting kit that matches yours.
http://www.thebosworthco.com/instructions/installing_guzzler_hand_pumps.pdf

"The Best" to me is the Edison bronze 2 inch.

Have seen 50-60 year old versions , in operation.

The question is not which is "best" as cost comes into the mix for most..

The question is how will the unit be used?

If its to slurp up the last bit of water from a well where the electric leaves an inch , most any diaphram pump is great.

IF its to keep you afloat pumping can labels , wood chips and other trash from a flooding boat , by far the Edison would be the choice.

However the pump location / mounting is as important as which pump.

Lifting water takes far more energy than moving water.

Ships will mount the pump very low and discharge into the water below the water line , to increase pump efficiency..
An idea that is hard to duplicate on most boats with manual pumps.

"Bestitis" is a great mental masturbation , but bring your wallet !!

I just got off the phone with Bosworth. A thru deck mounting kit is on the way today. Thanks for the heads up on where I could find this product. The pump is in great shape but the mounting plate is shot. : )

On second thought I should have checked Defender :}

I have a manual bilge pump in addition to 4 2000gph electric pumps. Often wondered how long I could realistically pump for manually, or would there not be other things to attend to if we were taking on water!! Seems to me a manual pump is not much use!!

I believe Chrisjs is correct.
I do have one on my boat, one of my projects will be to replace it with an additional electric using most of the hosing and "holes".

Seems to me a manual pump is not much use!!

The difference is many quality diaphram pumps will pump trash , the soup of paper , and all else that floats when the water is a foot or two over the cabin sole.

Diving to clear an electric pump in the bilge can call for a bit of courage , going down under the cabin sole structure.

Electric is great , till the batt dies , then its time for the pail.

FF said:

"The Best" to me is the Edison bronze 2 inch.
"Bestitis" is a great mental masturbation , but bring your wallet !!

Click to expand...

The saying goes "THE BEST BILGE PUMP IS A SCARED MAN WITH A BUCKET"

I used to carry a manual diaphram pump on my boat. I decided my time was better spent trying to stop the water from getting in than working a pump. I'll let the electrics buy me time to stop the leak.

"The saying goes "THE BEST BILGE PUMP IS A SCARED MAN WITH A BUCKET""
Brooksie, He better be a young and healthy athlete. Even a little 500 Rule will probably move close to 3000 pounds of water per hour.
I'm sure that would kill me.

Even a little 500 Rule will probably move close to 3000 pounds of water per hour.

Maybe , maybe not.

Remember the pump mfg measure the pumps ability to move water , with no lifting involved.

Thats great IF the pump is in the bilge pushing water out , (like a ship) but not UP as required on most boats.

The issue of Practical Sailor with the bilge pump tests might be an eye opener.

"Remember the pump mfg measure the pumps ability to move water , with no lifting involved."

I used 400 gallons per hour at 7.4 pounds per gallon to come up with "close to 3000 pounds of water". Any of the boats we're talking about are likely to have a bigger pump than a little Rule 500 anyway.

The point is 400gph may work moving water flat , but lifting the water 3-5 ft will reduce the capacity by a large amount.

Most boats with 4 big electric pumps can not overcome a 2 inch hole 2 ft down.

An engine driven 2 inch pump would have a hard time too.

"...but lifting the water 3-5 ft will reduce the capacity by a large amount."
Lifting the water 3-5 feet will reduce the capacity of a scared man even more.

The Rule 500 will move 360 gallons per hour at 1 meter, 3.3 feet.
That works out to 2664 pounds of water per hour.

Are you seriously saying that a scared man with a bucket is the best bilge pump?

I guess now we are into life rafts or dinghies!!! I have a bucket and a bilge pump in my RIB!! Not sure about the LR supplies - perhaps a folding bucket??

This is a "manual" pump

Are you seriously saying that a scared man with a bucket is the best bilge pump?

My point is TRASH is present every time real de watering is required, and the pump must either pump trash , or be really eaasy to clear.

A guy with a bucket doesn't have the same problems as a bolted down pump that clogs under a couple of ft of water.

The electric jobbies are fine for small leaks , but FLOODING is a whole different problem.

And requires different equipment , installed in advance.

Saturday I had an experience that relates to this discussion. I was invited to fish a tournament on a 43 foot sport fish. The target species was swordfish. We hooked a very large fish and after it had taken most of the line we were forced to back down on it to recover some line. Large amounts of water came into the cockpit through the freeing ports, a couple of hawse pipes in the transom and over the transom.

The owner asked that the engine room be checked for water and there was very little.

He asked if the bilge pumps were running and they were. About ten minutes later he asked for it to be checked again and there was about two feet of water over the floor boards.

At this point it was thought by some that the water was coming in through the starboard engine and it was shut down.

It turned out that the water had entered the boat through the deck hatches that had bad gaskets. The rubber flaps over the freeing ports were bad as well.

The freeing ports ended up at or below the waterline and had to be plugged with shirts and life jackets before the water stopped gaining.

There was a large fish box recessed into the deck under a hatch. There was no pump in it and it was full with several hundred pounds of water. This is where buckets came into play. The fishbox, about the size of a bath tub, was emptied by two young men with 5 gallon buckets. The fishbox floated as the water came out which told us the compartment below was flooded. It impressed me how fast they could move water. The buckets were handed to two more young men who continued bailing. There were a total of 12 people aboard with about half being young males. I have to admit they were moving as much as the two medium size bilge pumps. I don't know how long they could have kept it up and I know I couldn't have moved much water that way, but four or more young men can move significant amounts of water.

The Coast Guard had been called as soon as the water was detected. In about forty minutes we had a cruising sailboat, Sea Tow, a Coast Guard boat and Tow Boat US along side. They arrived in that order. By the time they arrived we had controlled the flooding and the pumps were making very slow progress in dewatering the boat. The owner had Tow Boat US coverage and asked Sea Tow to stand off and we did not want his help. He was pretty pushy insisting it wouldn't cost any more for him to pump us out. The boat owner didn't buy it and as the imediate danger seemed over he decided to wait for Tow Boat US.

In the end the Coasties boarded us with a 3" gasoline driven pump that made pretty quick work of getting most of the water out. Their pump drew air when the water was down to about six inches. Our pumps removed the rest. The Coasties and both commercial towers stood by while we restarted the engines in case we needed a tow.

I learned that buckets are not useless if man power is available.
More pumps are better than fewer pumps.
Bigger pumps are better than smaller pumps.

The pumps were not blocked by floating debris. The few things that were in the bilge either wouldn't have blocked the pumps or they were floating on top of the water. They must have run continously for over two hours.

The owner is now considering the purchase of a gasoline powered crash pump.

I'm going to suggest more or bigger electric pumps and a manifold that would allow him to pump the bridge with his two big (2") engine cooling pumps. I think if we could have used the engine pumps we would have cancelled the Coast Guard call.

The Coast Guard is a first class outfit. The crew was profesional and polite. They refused the beer but took the offered cold water.

Oh yeah, once the flooding was controlled, we landed the fish! It was a big Threasher Shark hooked in the tail. He was released but he didn't look good after an hour or more on the line.

I have often read of modifying the engine's raw water to help drain the bilge in an emergency. Mine, a Cummins 210hp, doesn't seem to pump much water. I never checked how much, what would be typical on a trawler engine? 165-250 HP.

Steve, I have a Cummins 210 hp engine as well. It has a Sherwood 1-1/4 rubber impeller pump. I don't have the figures for the Sherwood but a similar 1" Jabsco is rated at 23GPM (1380 GPH).

If you feel that isn't worth doing consider driving a bigger pump off the engine with a belt. Take a look at the Jabsco 51270-9013. It is a 2" pump that moves 4100 gph @ 10 feet of head @1500 RPM.

I've had this discussion with sail boaters and most of them use 3/4" pumps that pump about 500 GPH. They don't feel that is worth the effort.

After reading insurance stats I decided to take a 110vac 1 1/2" float activated pump off the shelf of my shop and install in my boat this summer. Won't be very handy away from the dock without an inverter but insurance stats indicate sinking at the dock is more likely.

Belt driven or PTO pump off the engine would be a nice feature for underway.

HopCar-many years ago, we had a similar experience with the USCG. We were bringing a 65' Trumpy from Mystic, ultimately down to SC. The first leg was Mystic to NYC. Once out of the Mystic River and into LI Sound, we sprung a garboard plank and the water got up to the engines, over the oil pan. We called the USCG and they showed up in a hurry in a 41 footer with 3 gas pumps. Those 3 pumps could not lower the water level, so they helicoptered 2 more, one of which would not start-but once the 4th got going, we got ahead of the water and managed to get the boat to a yard in Conn and get it lifted. Never thought I would want to kiss a guy in an orange thermal suit (it was December), but I just about kissed the first guy over the rail! The funniest part, once we knew we weren't going to sink, was that one poor Coastie spent the entire process seasick as a dog, leaning over the rail! He was so apologetic and embarrassed!

That was 22 years ago and I have not thought about having a gas pump on board since, but after this discussion, I may think about it.

Please think very carefully with regards to using the main engines COOLING pump for dewatering.

A dewatering pump off the engine on an electric clutch can be a life saver and also be used as a back up raw water pump for the main. Along with fire fighting. Choices.

Two 6 gal pails and a couple of motivated guys on a sinking boat will move tons of water. Bin there done that.

OFB, you're right. The cooling pumps are a last resort for when the other pumps aren't doing it. It shouldn't be a problem if you keep track of your engine temp and keep an eye in the bilge. Of course you'll be watching the bilge!

My thought is that with a good strum box on the intake and going through the sea strainer you're not likely to have a problem. If the boat is going to sink, you might as well risk some damage to the engine to try to save it.

"...also be used as a back up raw water pump for the main."
I hadn't thought of that but I like it.

Craig, In my ill spent youth a friend got a summer job keeping a houseboat afloat. It was equipped with several 110 volt sump pumps because it leaked like a seive.

We would come down to the boat several times a week to find pencil size streams of water squirting into the "basement". I would stick a stiff wire out through the hole so my friend could find it. He would mix up a stiff batch of cement that would stick and set under water. Then he would dive down, find the wire, shove the wire back into the boat, scrape off the growth, and slap the cement into the hole.

We kept the houseboat afloat for several months that way.

"After reading insurance stats I decided to take a 110vac 1 1/2" float activated pump off the shelf of my shop and install in my boat this summer. Won't be very handy away from the dock without an inverter but insurance stats indicate sinking at the dock is more likely."

Depending on the pump/motor construction an isolation transformer might be required .

FF said:

"After reading insurance stats I decided to take a 110vac 1 1/2" float activated pump off the shelf of my shop and install in my boat this summer. Won't be very handy away from the dock without an inverter but insurance stats indicate sinking at the dock is more likely."

Depending on the pump/motor construction an isolation transformer might be required .

Click to expand...

Interesting. These pumps are submersible and rated for use on non GFCI protected outlets safely.

What am I missing?

Butt pucker moments.

Yup dockside issues when folk have left the scene.

I look over at a neighbors boat early in the morn. Don't look right. HMMMMM

Where is the boot line it looks way too clean. HMMMMMMMM sip coffee. No boot line hmmmm.


^&*&% she is sinking.

I jump into action, run around the dock with "manual pump " and fixins.

Break the lock on the hatch and proceed down into the cabin that's full of water with pick up hose in hand.

Bam ! warm FUZZY feeling , Butt puckers as my foot goes into water.

Should have pulled the dock power cord before boarding said boat. I backed out unplugged boat and had it dewatered before owner arrived.

I have two 110 V sump pumps I use all the time. But be careful with there use , how they be plugged in etc etc.