Best washdown pump ?

We are looking for a powerful deck washdown pump to hose off the poop from our new Newfy puppy.
There are many types, I am not sure where to begin.
I am looking for a high volume / high pressure pump that can handle fresh water and salt water. I prefer 120 VAC but 12 VDC would work.

Any recommendations ??

I have two 12V Johnson AquaJet 5.2 pumps. One in the lazarette that's freshwater and piped to the cockpit and the bow, the other is in the bow and serves as saltwater washdown. I use quick-connects so I can switch the hose between seawater or freshwater on the bow, another quick connect is in the cockpit and has a hose attached and hanging. That hose is used daily - dogs!

The pumps are a perfect match for the purpose, good pressure, adequate volume. In 10 yrs no problems. With 12V they're ready any time. No need to go to 120V, plenty of pressure. Use them to wash down the boat away from shore. They're about equal to most shore side hose connections for pressure & volume.

My father has a Newfy puppy, you may need something more industrial. Perhaps get one from a fire boat. Good luck w the new pup

Take a look at the Jabsco 82605 series, 70 psi and up to 6 GPM.

Shallow well pump from big box store , low cost and plenty of pressure for 1 inch hose to blast deck and chain mud off.

120V and is self priming so can be mounted above WL.

$120 and up.

TJM said:

We are looking for a powerful deck washdown pump to hose off the poop from our new Newfy puppy.
There are many types, I am not sure where to begin.
I am looking for a high volume / high pressure pump that can handle fresh water and salt water. I prefer 120 VAC but 12 VDC would work.

Any recommendations ??

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So, am I to understand that (I assume) you would never think of pumping your black water tank overboard inside the 3-mile limit but your dog's poop, well, that's okay to put in our waterways?

catalinajack said:

So, am I to understand that (I assume) you would never think of pumping your black water tank overboard inside the 3-mile limit but your dog's poop, well, that's okay to put in our waterways?

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Oh c’mon.

I washed bird crap off my boat in the marina the other day. Thank god I wasn’t reported.

FF said:

Shallow well pump from big box store , low cost and plenty of pressure for 1 inch hose to blast deck and chain mud off.

120V and is self priming so can be mounted above WL.

$120 and up.

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The cheapies seem to have brass impellers, how do they hold up in salt?

Steve91T said:

Oh c’mon.

I washed bird crap off my boat in the marina the other day. Thank god I wasn’t reported.

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So, your big dog poops and pees as much as any human and that's okay to wash overboard? But, you would never think to pump your black water tank overboard, of course. I see no difference. However, it irks me that large and small municipalties dump raw sewage in our waterways (heavy rain) while our boats, collectively, are a comparative pittance. Last fall, the City of Burlington, VT pumped 2 million gallons of partially treated sewage into pristine Lake Champlain. Still, I comply.

"The cheapies seem to have brass impellers, how do they hold up in salt?"


OK from what I have seen above the WL they drain when off , a decade of use would only be a buck a month

CatalinaJack I understand your position and passion and I was tempted to respond with comments about seagull poop, but I will not.


I will take your comment as an education tip to the lesser informed. We DO scrape the carpeted deck of solids and dispose of in our head, which is regularly pumped out by pump out boats and treated legally. The washdown pump was to rinse the deck clean so as to not violate the "Clean Air Act" of fowl odors in the sunny afternoon.
Honestly thank you for bringing up your point.

Many folks I have seen purchase a hunk of astro-turf and teach the pet to use it at home.

They fit a grommet in one corner.

They show it to the pet on the boat , where after deposits, tossing it overboard and dunking it a few rimes gets rid of solids and liquids and odors.

I am told Swans create as much waste as a human per day.

So if you wish to be enviromentally friendly , have a Swan for dinner.

I just want to see pics of a full grown Newf on a 41' President!

Swans, one of the nastiest birds around and they taste fishy.

I had a free 1 HP pool pump from when we had a pool. The entire insides are plastic. Has its own builtin strainer basket.
You can get a high flow volume (of course depends on diameter of the hose), but pressure is maybe 20 to 25 psi. I use it due to it being here, it works. I got some hose adapters ordered from HDepot. I split the output fore and aft to separate hoses. The volume of water flow is limited by the hose diameter. It certainly does not work like city water pressure of 60 -80 psi, but it works ok.

The pressure output of electrical (fixed rpm) centrifugal pumps is determined by impeller diameter. A pool pump going to be around 3.5 inch, and a higher pressure well pump 5 to 7". Bigger diameter means greater force slinging out the water.

I also had a McDonald cast iron shallow well jet pump, but I thought being iron would rot away in salt water in a few years. I even thought could i seal the metal to prevent that, but then why bother. I don't think I could.

Farm animals near water, the waste flows right into the water off fields.

Lesson learned. when asking for the best wash-down pump, leave out the "why"!

catalinajack said:

So, am I to understand that (I assume) you would never think of pumping your black water tank overboard inside the 3-mile limit but your dog's poop, well, that's okay to put in our waterways?

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I'm assuming he's talking about hosing off the poop stains or the chronic diarrhea that often accompanies Newfie pups. In any case, I wonder if anybody has ever done a study on the percentage of offshore water pollution that can be attributed to dog **** on an annual basis.

Washdown pumps

After much research (due to the failures of 2 Groco pumps and one Jabsco pump), I purchased the 12V Johnson unit. Frankly, the recommendation came from the folks at Fisheries Supply in Seattle. They said they have fewer returns and fewer problems with the Johnson. It's easier to install than the others, seems to have a more robust pressure switch, and has worked flawlessly for 18 months. Stop messing around looking at other options, go buy this pump, because I've spent all the time installing replacements that didn't work well, and I've done the research for you. Good luck.

By the way, my mother raised Newfoundlands, we often had 3 full sized dogs in the house (that's why Suburbans were invented). They are great water dogs!

Just to keep everything in perspective, to paraphrase WC Fields when asked why he didn't drink water "...because fish crap in water"

Good luck everyone, and best wishes for the Holidays.

Jacques Burgalat said:

In any case, I wonder if anybody has ever done a study on the percentage of offshore water pollution that can be attributed to dog **** on an annual basis.

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I think I'll apply for a federal research grant for that one. Probably around $10M should do it.

Enough of this dog ****

I am planning on installing a fore deck wash down pump. Tee'd off of my raw water connection to my forward head.


The three pumps I am looking at, all 12 V and 70 PSI are:


Johnson Pump Aqua Jet 5.2 GPM 70 PSI Washdown Kit CS 12V 82906-0092
made in USA



Jabsco Hotshot series, 6 GPM 70 PSI, 64534CL, made in Mexico



SeaFlo by Victory TM45507, made in China


There has been on recommendation on Johnson pumps above. Any other thoughts on the above pumps or problems associated with the teeing off off the forward head supply?

I am so glad this came up. I am planning to do the Loop with my 100 lb Rotti-Lab in a small trawler. I thought about the poop problem and shuddered at the thought of taking him to shore before coffee every morning.

One more thing checked off my "You better learn this boating stuff List" before I buy a boat!

Get a cat problem sorted.

Look at this good boy. No cat is going to leap into the water to fetch a ball or keep me safe from pirates or squirrels....lol

Liz said:

No cat is going to leap into the water to fetch a ball

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No cat would be that stupid

or keep me safe from pirates or squirrels....lol

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No pirates or squirrels here and squirrels can't swim anyway so can't get on the boat.

Cat doesn't crap on the deck
Keeps birds away so they don't crap on the deck
And she eats any small raw fish we throw her way so almost costs nothing to keep.

You live in Oz! I was there for Rotary Convention a few years ago. Loved Australia.

However, you have HUGE spiders and Bo chases and eats them along with flies and mice and chipmunks. Actually has yet to catch a chipmunk.

Hope you will not be using it in a NDZ

Cats prefer open top composting toilets (litter box) to pooping on deck.

This is a pop n scoop household.

Has anyone put artificial turf in the shower and taught dog to poop there? Then just into the toilet and flush away.

Liz said:

Has anyone put artificial turf in the shower and taught dog to poop there?....

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I see squishy traps for the unwary.
(Wayfarer, stop reading now)
Our biggest spider is the Huntsman,hairy but harmless. I scoop them up in a towel and put them outside.The next size down funnel web is not harmless,you get treatment or you die.

BruceK said:

I see squishy traps for the unwary.

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Barkers nest's.