Tamrow
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2016
- Messages
- 95
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Chesapeake
- Vessel Make
- Mainship 30 Pilot II
On a long, multi destination cruise on my 2003 Mainship 30 Pilot the this past week I became nervously aware that the thru-hulls for the forward and midship bilge pumps sit about 3 inches above the waterline. What is concerning is both pumps sit below the waterline by several inches and the hoses have no loops. In fact the hoses have no incline at all and pretty much run directly down into the bilge below the waterline. This is obviously an original design flaw by Mainship. I probably should have caught it when I was purchasing it last November but I'm even more surprised my surveyor didn't flag this. Another surprising thing was the previous owners must have recognized the water accumulation but never addressed it for 13 years. The way it came to light to me was no matter how much I dried the bilge there always seemed to be more water in the bilge each time I arrived at a destination. On one part of the cruise I leaned over the gunnel to check the thru-hulls relationship to the waterline and realized the thru-hulls were often submerged. The water seems to back flow slowly if it's calm and faster if its rough. Since the bow on my Mainship rides fairly high in the water when cruising, the water doesn't pool and initiate the forward or midship pumps, it collects at the transom where it's kind of hidden unless the rear deck hatch is opened. At one point the high water pump at the stern initiated and the alarm sounded for a few seconds. It's a high water pump but with the bow up it really doesn't take a lot of water to raise the float switch as the water pools at the transom. When the boat slows, the water runs forward and most of it gets pumped out by the midship pump at the rear of the engine. I am planning to remedy the issue with a vent loop for each that rises well over the waterline. I am hoping for some advice from someone who has dealt with this type of issue on their boat even if it is not a Mainship. I have included a couple of images below for reference. Thank you.