Pressure pump...

psneeld said:

If you have decent bilge pumps...it takes awhile to sink a boat from a hose.

While I agree that fresh water should be turned over regularly...fearng city water is just not rational.

5 times in the last several years I have had a hot water hose break with nearly 100 psi dock pressure (that's why the hoses were breaking along with that it was spare but cheaper hose). The 1000gph bilge pump always maintained the bilge level so low that the second bilge pump never came on and sounded the alarm....even on overnight hose breaks and maybe longer.

While being careful is important, fear comes from a boating community with little real world experience....and it gets passed along as urban legend by mouth and internet now.

After 11 years in the towing/salvage business....I'll bet I have worked on at least 200 at the dock sinkings...not one of them was from a dock hose left on that filled the boat.

Click to expand...

I lost count of how many vessels I have "unsunk". I have also lost count of how many vessels have had issues with auto pumps that failed , plugged up. or a fuse dropped.

To suggest that there should be no fear of plugging a vessel into a endless supply of water at 100 psi ? Into a system not designed for that?

Just makes me go HMMMMMMMMMM.

Just sayin.

Sunk for some time in our marina:



You'd think they'd at least salvage the sails.

OFB said:

I lost count of how many vessels I have "unsunk". I have also lost count of how many vessels have had issues with auto pumps that failed , plugged up. or a fuse dropped.

To suggest that there should be no fear of plugging a vessel into a endless supply of water at 100 psi ? Into a system not designed for that?

Just makes me go HMMMMMMMMMM.

Just sayin.

Click to expand...

Just calling'em like I see them..out of all the sunk boats I have dealt with (11 years salvage business)...none were because of a fresh water hose to city water. Not saying that it can't happen...and I recommend turning it off when away for a couple hours....

It's just that so many use their tanks (which has it's advantages too)...but one should not be fearful of plugging into city water. It should be regulated where it enters your boat (a normal situation but not guaranteed on all boats). Even a burst hose will take a day or two with just one wimpy bilge pump working let alone several pumps and batteries on a battery charger.....maybe a hose that has popped off will be worse but still not fatal right away for a properly outfitted boat...

If you are cruising or living aboard and around the boat every day....fear of the city water system just means you don't know or trust your boat and maybe a little maintenance is in order.

If you are cruising or living aboard and around the boat every day....fear of the city water system just means you don't know or trust your boat and maybe a little maintenance is in order.

Some folks live in harder winter areas where tank water is the norm as hoses have to be left in (usually) the marina shower to be thawed .

Once your tanks are the norm its no big deal to never user a pressure from the dock setup.

Esp cruising where some docks have water that seems recycled from a public pool .

Always a delight to finally taste good water , and then refill the FW tanks.

There are 120v and 12v solenoid valves should someone be too lazy to secure a faucet at the dock.

The RV store will have pressure regulators ($35 for the rebuildable unit) that will reduce the pressure to boat limits , some places are over 100PSI at the dock, most than most plastic tubing will take.

For washing machines there are devices that allow modest water use , but shut down at a blown hose situation that are only $10 at a real plumbing supply .

Thread creep, we are now on city water hook up.

For years when I am in a marina I have used a standard garden house timer that turns off the water flow after 200 gallons of flow. Thus once a week I have to reset the timer, but in the event a hose breaks inside the boat I am only at risk for 200 gallons. In addition I use a standard boat inlet/regulator which drops the pressure down.

Marty