Thinking out of the box

I thought some of you might appreciate some innovating bilge pump installation ideas. The owner of this boat asked me to take a look at his bilge pumps after a near sinking at the dock. Water had risen over the floor boards. These 500 gallon per hour bilge pumps were servicing a 40' boat, two total. One midship and the other located in the bow. Note the speaker wire, loosely twisted connections. The float switch cleverly attached to the flattens aluminum angle and the spatchula mount for the pump itself. The genius of this design is a couple of screws and you can access the pump without bending over. These pumps were supplied by a group 27 battery laying on a shelve unsecured attached with alligator clamps to a Sears Diehard battery charger. No thermal protection at the battery. The battery registered 4.3 volts. A red and white 16 gauge wire running 30 plus feet secured to the battery with wing nuts. The owner says just make it work, I don't care about any code. Oh and by the way can you make the engine run, I want to go cruising. Gas engine by the way.

I am amazed at the things owners do

You seem to have found a nice little second career during your retirement Steve. You seem from your posts to stay busy, get to fool around with boats, make friends, and maybe make a few extra bucks on get side.

Very nice!

Tell him to go F himself. But in a diplomatic way.

And y'all give me **** for having a Carver!!!!!

That's not normal?







Just kidding!

I thought it would be

ksanders said:

I am amazed at the things owners do

You seem to have found a nice little second career during your retirement Steve. You seem from your posts to stay busy, get to fool around with boats, make friends, and maybe make a few extra bucks on get side.

Very nice!

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I thought I would make a little money doing what I've done as a hobby for 55 years. Believe me this is a good way to take the fun out of boating. This just scratches the surface of problems with this boat. I seem to stay busy, I just replaced the stringers and keelson on a 40 ft houseboat due to dry rot. I've got it back together structurally and am now replacing paneling and floor coverings. Some of the things I've seen, it's a wonder more boats don't burn up. Wiring is unbelievable, some of it would make a house trailer electrician blush.

Baker said:

And y'all give me **** for having a Carver!!!!!

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What, that's not a picture of a Carver?

Originally Posted by Baker View Post
And y'all give me **** for having a Carver!!!!!

Capt.Bill11 said:

What, that's not a picture of a Carver?

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Hey... For GS, don't piss off the best girl-picture poster on TF!

Art said:

Hey... For GS, don't piss off the best girl-picture poster on TF!

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Baker, Art just called you a girl.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Art
Hey... For GS, don't piss off the best girl-picture poster on TF!

CPseudonym said:

Baker, Art just called you a girl.

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Craig - You're just trying to stir the shat here ~ LOL

Baker is best poster... of... girl-picture(s) is how I meant it!!

Can you purchase a total loss insurance policy on his boat.

Sounds better than a lottery ticket

Scary said:

I thought I would make a little money doing what I've done as a hobby for 55 years. Believe me this is a good way to take the fun out of boating. This just scratches the surface of problems with this boat. I seem to stay busy, I just replaced the stringers and keelson on a 40 ft houseboat due to dry rot. I've got it back together structurally and am now replacing paneling and floor coverings. Some of the things I've seen, it's a wonder more boats don't burn up. Wiring is unbelievable, some of it would make a house trailer electrician blush.

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Pretty funny but true.....I will be working and sweating/bleeding from working on my boat only to jump over to the towboat and work on it when the boss swings by with a new piece of gear only to be interrupted by friends who want me to swing by and give them a hand.

The slight distraction causes me to spend the next hour upside down and bent backwards reaching for some critical part that rube goldberg bounced under the engine.

at 20 years old I would have been hard pressed to do some of the things I have to do now physically...yep....more than once some days I mutter "I hate boats" and dream of the day I'm smart enough to sell everything, buy a mountain cabin and fish from the dock or the ONLY boat being a canoe with one paddle.

the best part of the bilge pump set up is how many other things are wrong .....and yet some believe that all boat systems must rival nuclear sub design and maintenance. Such things like all tinned wire and ratchet crimped heat shrunk terminal ends or long tailed hose barbs with 2 top of the line hose clamps rotated 180 degrees and finely torqued to the right spec are the only thing that will keep a boat afloat.

Good practices...but something less doesn't mean guaranteed and instant disaster....as the above pics were taken above water.
.

I do like the SS spatula for the pump mounting bracket.

Wonder how cheap boat insurance would be if the village idiots didn't own boats.

Ted

Good point Ted. Or maybe much higher rates for high risk boat owners, and give "us" a break!Course, in a few years the Gov would pass a law showing why it's unconstitutional to charge one boater more than another- then thankfully regulate it so that it becomes "fair". I digress.....
Scary, great shots. I like to think outside of the box myself at times?️️


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

Larry M said:

I do like the SS spatula for the pump mounting bracket.

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It's really not a bad idea for those hard to reach or very deep sumps. No real difference than using a custom bent metal pump mount.

Forkliftt said:

Good point Ted. Or maybe much higher rates for high risk boat owners, and give "us" a break!Course, in a few years the Gov would pass a law showing why it's unconstitutional to charge one boater more than another- then thankfully regulate it so that it becomes "fair". I digress.....

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I have always thought insurance was the ultimate of socialism. Ya know, spread the risk among all of us.

Knowing how much I complain about servicing the bilge pumps, and then reading this to the Admiral, she's hidden all the spatulas.

healhustler said:

Knowing how much I complain about servicing the bilge pumps, and then reading this to the Admiral, she's hidden all the spatulas.

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Even the one in the grill set?

It even better being longer...

Capt Bill nice....bad boys club for sure with that one...

psneeld said:

Even the one in the grill set?

It even better being longer...

Capt Bill nice....bad boys club for sure with that one...

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Hey it's cheap, SS, easy to bend and you can pick one up any Walmart. What's not to like? And if you get one designed for BBQ grills it would even reach deeper.

Donsan said:

I have always thought insurance was the ultimate of socialism. Ya know, spread the risk among all of us.

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Talk about Spreading the Risk!!!

A year after the really bad hurricane losses a few years ago in south east my boat insurance suddenly doubled. Took me some time on phone to SAFECO HQ to work past the BS and get straight answer from a VP. The insurance rise on west coast was due to east coast storm losses. Our boat is docked and used in a very protected area of SF Delta... again, talk about spreading the risk!!!

BTW, my ins agent had not a clue and did not know how to find the answer...

that charger on a gas boat is an explosion waiting to happen and an stray current problem right now. Check the underwater stuff.

I'll definitely keep the spatchula mount in my bag of tricks

Capt.Bill11 said:

It's really not a bad idea for those hard to reach or very deep sumps. No real difference than using a custom bent metal pump mount.

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Probably true, this just hit a funny bone.

Oh it's just the begining

bayview said:

that charger on a gas boat is an explosion waiting to happen and an stray current problem right now. Check the underwater stuff.

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No fire extinguishers, no engine room blowers, no battery boxes, no thermal protection on the house bank, no battery disconnect or switches, no through hull bonding, it goes on and on. The new owner claims to be a experienced boater, bought without a survey, seems to know it all, doesn't listen, what can I say.

Scary said:

No fire extinguishers, no engine room blowers, no battery boxes, no thermal protection on the house bank, no battery disconnect or switches, no through hull bonding, it goes on and on. The new owner claims to be a experienced boater, bought without a survey, seems to know it all, doesn't listen, what can I say.

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KaPow... Blub, Blub, Blubbbb!

If you've been working on his boat and it goes kapow with injuries or death, especially if you're being paid, make sure your insurance umbrella policy has a few million bucks at least. People look around for someone to pay for their loss.

mike66 said:

If you've been working on his boat and it goes kapow with injuries or death, especially if you're being paid, make sure your insurance umbrella policy has a few million bucks at least. People look around for someone to pay for their loss.

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which is why I only work under some businesses insurance umbrella or only work on friends boats for free....can't afford to run an insured business in my situation....

I know I can still be named in a law suit...heck some people with their experience will be included in a lawsuit for NOT jumping in and helping correct the bozos out there.....let alone elbow deep and trying to fix stuff....

I'm not being a Debbie Downer here, cause we all love our boating. But a guy up the street from me had a house full of twenty year olds (children and friends ) all die in a fire traced to faulty wiring in the renovation the owner did on his own.....not only is he ruined emotionally but jail time and bankruptcy as well. Be careful out there. I can laugh at the speaker wire running up to the anchor light that I replaced this year, but the situation described is beyond scary to me.

Scary-did you actually type "no engine room blower"? In a gas boat? And the guy wants you to start the engine? I think I might charge admission and then join everyone on the sea wall watching while he starts it himself! Take bets on how long before the BOOM!

Relistically..... an engine room blower does not make you blow up.....gas vapors do...

A quick sniff of the engine room is worth all the blowers on the planet.

Yes...yes...there should be a blower or two....