Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

[tpenfield]

I did a bit of search for discussions on this sort of topic, but did not come up with much.

So, I figured that I would pose the question . . . here is my boat on its mooring for the season



With the significant rains that we've been having over the past couple of weeks, a fair amount of rain water has worked its way through the mooring cover onto the rear seat and eventually into the bilge. I will probably be able to address the issues with the mooring cover to get it to shed rain water better, but there will still be some issues with water in the bilge on occasions. That's one of the disadvantages of being moored versus trailering, you don't get the opportunity to 'pull the plug' after each use, etc. (I don't have a trailer for this boat anyway).

The bilge pump will get much of the water out, but there is still some left that the bilge pump does not get out. I used my hand pump, but the access into the right spots is tough . . .

Soooo, I was figuring that if I got one of those 12volt portable wet/dry vacuums, maybe I could suck the remaining water out. ???

Wondering if anyone has tried that sort of thing or has other methods . . . TIA for any comments, etc.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

why bother? all moored boats end up with that last bit of water the pump won't suck up. Not a problem.

If it bothers you, do a slow start to get the bow up and flip on the pump.

Bilge pumps are designed to let some water accumulate before they kick on to conserve the battery.

BTW do you have bottom paint?

 

[Dawg'sLife93]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

BLACK & DECKER 100 WATT CAR POWER INVERTER-POWERS UP TO 0.87 AMPS on eBay!

and

Shop Vac 1.5 Gallon HangOn Wet/Dry Vac - Walmart.com

I have been using those 2 things lately on my boat, while I've been working on it. WHere I have to park it, it's hard to get the bow high enough to drain all the water out of the bilge. The combo works great and I got my vac on sale for 19.00, so about 40.00 bucks for the pair.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

BLACK & DECKER 100 WATT CAR POWER INVERTER-POWERS UP TO 0.87 AMPS on eBay!

and

Shop Vac 1.5 Gallon HangOn Wet/Dry Vac - Walmart.com

I have been using those 2 things lately on my boat, while I've been working on it. WHere I have to park it, it's hard to get the bow high enough to drain all the water out of the bilge. The combo works great and I got my vac on sale for 19.00, so about 40.00 bucks for the pair.

You are using those exact two together? I'm thinking maybe you typed the wrong inverter? There is NO way a 100 watt inverter will power a shopvac, the running power draw of that exact vac is rated at 6.5 amps. (780 watts). Startup current will easily be double that.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

BLACK & DECKER 100 WATT CAR POWER INVERTER-POWERS UP TO 0.87 AMPS on eBay!

and

Shop Vac 1.5 Gallon HangOn Wet/Dry Vac - Walmart.com

I have been using those 2 things lately on my boat, while I've been working on it. WHere I have to park it, it's hard to get the bow high enough to drain all the water out of the bilge. The combo works great and I got my vac on sale for 19.00, so about 40.00 bucks for the pair.

I am surprised the pair work together.
That Vac is rated at 6.5 Amps (800Watts).
It should draw 200-400 watts in light service.
The 100 watt inverter is a might small for that.

 

[Dawg'sLife93]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

You are using those exact two together? I'm thinking maybe you typed the wrong inverter? There is NO way a 100 watt inverter will power a shopvac, the running power draw of that exact vac is rated at 6.5 amps. (780 watts). Startup current will easily be double that.

I am surprised the pair work together.
That Vac is rated at 6.5 Amps (800Watts).
It should draw 200-400 watts in light service.
The 100 watt inverter is a might small for that.

I copied & pasted the wrong link, sorry.

200 Watt Continuous Power Inverter

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

why bother? all moored boats end up with that last bit of water the pump won't suck up. Not a problem.

If it bothers you, do a slow start to get the bow up and flip on the pump.

Bilge pumps are designed to let some water accumulate before they kick on to conserve the battery.

BTW do you have bottom paint?

BLACK & DECKER 100 WATT CAR POWER INVERTER-POWERS UP TO 0.87 AMPS on eBay!

and

Shop Vac 1.5 Gallon HangOn Wet/Dry Vac - Walmart.com

I have been using those 2 things lately on my boat, while I've been working on it. WHere I have to park it, it's hard to get the bow high enough to drain all the water out of the bilge. The combo works great and I got my vac on sale for 19.00, so about 40.00 bucks for the pair.

You are using those exact two together? I'm thinking maybe you typed the wrong inverter? There is NO way a 100 watt inverter will power a shopvac, the running power draw of that exact vac is rated at 6.5 amps. (780 watts). Startup current will easily be double that.

Thanks for the replies so far . . .

Yes, high performance, eco-friendly, anti-fouling bottom paint. (white)

I'd like to be able to fully drain/pump the bilge out as desired. Having some water continually in the bilge makes it more difficult to determine if there are any slow leaks from the outdrives, thru-hulls, etc. So, I would vacuum the residual amount up as desired.

I was thinking of the 12volt portable wet vacs, something like this. . . .

Stanley 1-Gallon 12V DC Hang-Up Wet/Dry Vac - Walmart.com

I don't want to go to the trouble of having an inverter, etc. My only concern is that some of these 12volt wet vac's are not well reviewed. So, I'd have to do some research on the best brands, etc.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

Every day I find more reasons to be happy I bought an indoor dry slip...

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

I think it goes without saying that these vacs do not have marine type motors and that any fuel vapor must be out of the bilge before even thinking about vacuuming.
I for one would use a little hand bilge pump, one of those ones with an extension tube. Then follow up with an old towel. I have one of those pick up grabber tools that has about a 3 or 4 foot reach. I shove the towel down under my motor, drag it up and wring it out over the side til I am either happy with the bilge or sick of cleaning.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

I'll tell you about cleaning. I had my motor out this past winter and I detailed the bilge while it was out because I was confident that the engine oil leaks would be gone this summer.
Well the engine is fine but I hadn't noticed that my power steering was leaking too:facepalm:. So I fixed that Saturday.
Now it's time to clean the bilge again.
Cleaning is what I do between outings, to avoid using fuel.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

Thanks for the replies so far . . .

Yes, high performance, eco-friendly, anti-fouling bottom paint. (white)

Ah, the white fooled me.

OK since you are not satisfied with the normal amount of bilge water found in boats, how about getting a high performance, eco-friendly sponge to resolve your concerns?

 

[gtochris]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

You will always have water coming in from somewhere with a cockpit cover, my bilge pump gets a workout and I know my float switch works good however I get the residule 2-3" of water the pump cant get.

I sometimes use a bucket/ sponge to soak it up IF it's expected to be a dry few days or I'll leave the hatches/ engine cover open to allow the sun to dry it up a bit. In the end- a boat kept in the water will always have something in it, especially a 33ft.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

Ah, the white fooled me.

OK since you are not satisfied with the normal amount of bilge water found in boats, how about getting a high performance, eco-friendly sponge to resolve your concerns?

:thumb: I have one for the forward 'mini' bilge, but wanted to go a bit more 'high-tech' for the main bilge.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

I think it goes without saying that these vacs do not have marine type motors and that any fuel vapor must be out of the bilge before even thinking about vacuuming.

Yup, I would probably have the vacuum unit topside and go into the bilge with the hose and most likely an extension tube to reach the places where I would need to suck up the water. Regardless, i would have run the blowers, opened the engine hatch, etc. The typical 15-20 mph 'breeze' in my harbor tends to purge any fumes once the hatch is opened.

I'm thinking that if I can easily get virtually all of the water out of the bilge, might might be prone to actually clean the bilge during the season.

BTW - For oil drips and spills, I use those oil absorbing pads that are sold at the marine stores. They seem to work pretty good at soaking up the oil so I don't leave an oil slick when the bilge pump goes on.

 

[ajax5240]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

One of those Sham-wow chamois and an old person grabber may work just fine. They soak up a lot of water and you can wring em out pretty easy. That may get you dry in a few minutes.

 

[emilsr]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

I'd probably go with a hand operated bilge pump. We've got one of those cheesy wally world 12v shop vacs....I wouldn't recommend it. If you lived closer I'd give you ours just to get it out of the garage.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

Yup, I would probably have the vacuum unit topside and go into the bilge with the hose and most likely an extension tube to reach the places where I would need to suck up the water.

Don't be lulled into thinking that is any safer than the Vac down in the Bilge.
The Vac Hose will be pulling air and any fumes from the bottom of the Bilge.
The Vac uses this Air/Fumes to cool the motor, and all of it blows right on the Sparking Brushes!

The Sponge and Bucket are sounding better every minute. :joyous:

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

consider one of those super-soaker water guns that are like a big pump; people use them to pump out bilges or other water removal, and you may be able to attach a piece of tubing to it as well. I watched a guy out in the middle of the river bailing his boat out with one just the other day!

I carry a hand pump on my boats but you'd probably need a long one and they aren't flexible.

 

[Campylobacter]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

consider one of those super-soaker water guns that are like a big pump; people use them to pump out bilges or other water removal, and you may be able to attach a piece of tubing to it as well. I watched a guy out in the middle of the river bailing his boat out with one just the other day!

I carry these on my kayaks all the time



Amazon.com: Water Sports Tl 750 Stream Machine 24 and #8221, Barrel (Colors May Vary): Toys & Games

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

consider one of those super-soaker water guns that are like a big pump; people use them to pump out bilges or other water removal, and you may be able to attach a piece of tubing to it as well. I watched a guy out in the middle of the river bailing his boat out with one just the other day!

I carry a hand pump on my boats but you'd probably need a long one and they aren't flexible.

Gosh Darn it . . . I cleaned out the garage last week and tossed a couple of those super-soakers away . . .