Re: Bilge Pump Needed on 14' Jon Boat Tracker Topper?
1. Bilge pump or not, always have a bailer on every boat. The home-made scoop is the best for open-hulls like a jon.
2. When you get water in a jon boat, you get on a plane and pull the plug. That's one reason the plug is on the inside and can be manually removed, unlike a smaller bronze garboard plug. In really bad conditions you run with the plug out. Note: the plug should be tied to a piece of string attached to the motor so (a) you don't drop it overboard while running and (b) so you don't lose it.
3. On a boat that size a bilge pump is for convenience, or if you leave the boat moored and can't get to it to bail it out after a rain. As said, that's if you already have a battery; most small boats w/ pull starts don't.
4. if you have a bilge pump b/c you have a battery and you moor it, add a float switch. If you don't moor it and want it for convenience, just have a toggle switch. The less wiring and connections, the better.
5. Note that since you can't run the water out if your motor is broken down in a rain storm, the bilge pump may add a degree of safety, but so does the bailer. Chances are, in really bad circumstances, the bailer will be better. There is no more efficient device than a man with a bailer in a sinking boat.
6. Thiose plastic hand pumps work well, too, and I carry them on my boats with decks as a back-up to the bilge pump, and have needed it once.
