Bilge pump size question

[a70eliminator]

I had my little 16' MFG about 3mi out on Erie last weekend, the wind and waves had picked up and alot of spray was getting into my boat, inland if I ever take on water from rain or swimmers I simply pull the plug while on plane and empty it out, well it was too rough to plane out with whitcap 4'ers, my boat has no bilge, I was thinking of just secureing a small pump to the aft deck surface against the transom, I have a 450gpm laying around that would be better then nothing, what GPM do you normally see in a small 16' runabout fish-n-ski?

 

[rbh]

Re: Bilge pump size question

as long as its out of the way, use what you have.
are you going to wire for both auto (with float) and a manual toggle?
and I remember something about removing any carpet from underneith
rob

 

[arks]

Re: Bilge pump size question

Yeah, a 450 (GPH, not GPM ) should work fine.
I have a 375 GPH in my 14 foot Jon. It does a good job with a standard float switch (no manual override). I wired it direct so I can shut off all other power to the boat when it's sitting.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Bilge pump size question

Ayuh,.... With Bilge Pumps,...

Anything is Better than Nothin',... Bigger is Always Better....
And,...
Redundancy is a Good thing....

Musta been a Wild ride, eh,..??

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Bilge pump size question

It was definately time to get off the lake. My buddy weighs about 330lbs and my kicker motor was spraying out a fan of water right back into my boat, most being caught by the splashwell but a certain amount got into the boat. My max load is 1350 motor and gear.
Main motor 230lb
kicker 5.5 55lb
2 battery 30lb ?
me 160
buddy 330
2 anchor 25 lb
misc gear 25 lb
Total about 1000 lbs. safe, but I didn't feel comfortable, being Nov. with winds picking up on Erie.
I was stern heavy until I had "hughey" move forward then it was better but still listing to port a bit.
It was an experience not soon forgotten that's for sure.
Thanks for the input, I'm going to make it so all I have to do is throw a switch at the helm.