where's your bilge pump

[ziggy]

so my bilge pump don't look to original equipment to me. it's a rule 500gph job.
when i got my boat it was loose in the very back of the bilge. i siliconed it in place. fine and dandy till now.

guess i have some epoxy smeared around at the very back of the boat (why, i don't know, not sure i wanna know if ya know what i mean). the epoxy came loose, bilge pump still attached to it. so now i got it cleaned and ready to reinstall, but......
i'm wondering how others have their pumps attached to the boat? also where is your placement of your pump?

it seems mine may be an afterthought. i'm pretty sure they came with bilge pumps. is there a different kind of pump that was oem other than my rule 500?

 

[Rscardina]

Re: where's your bilge pump

your bilge pump goes in the bilge!! hahah

But seriously, the best way I found to locate the best place to put it was to pour water into the bilge and see where she puddles the most... somewhere colse to that is about right..

As far as how to mount it...My pump has a small plastic stand it sits on so I glued down the holder and then set the pump in..using tie straps..

I'm pretty sure you can put any pump in so long as its rated for the application...gallons per hour etc...

 

[ziggy]

Re: where's your bilge pump

your bilge pump goes in the bilge!! hahah

thanks i'm hip to that part....

But seriously, the best way I found to locate the best place to put it was to pour water into the bilge and see where she puddles the most... somewhere colse to that is about right..

close is where i have it. is your boat a nineteen?

a pic of the bilge...

a pic from the starboard side looking port. the drain hole is where the paper towel is sticking out of. the clean white spot (right ft. fore ground of pic) is the pumps old location prior to it breaking free.

pic from port side looking to starboard. when the pump was mounted...

.My pump has a small plastic stand it sits on so I glued down the holder and then set the pump in

that's kinda what i was wanting to here. but i'm concerned about it being to high. the bligle of a nineteen ain't like no other bilge i've seen. likely due to the inner hull..

guess i'd put it back where i found it but am concerned about my method of attachment. silicon. the silicon didn't come free from the pump. the epoxy came free from the boat to inner hull. if i silicon it back in place, i may never get it free again either for replacement or cleaning..

 

[Rscardina]

Re: where's your bilge pump

Mine is not a ninteen...its a 20ft Aquasport.. but in my old searay the bilge pump was under the friggin engine...

what I have seen done..is grab some chicken wire and make a small stand for it..flare out the bottom so you have feet..and set her down thet way... allows water in but acts like a strainer too..

the other thing I saw my buddy do is he grabbed an old cooking grill rack so its just long enough that the rack craddles the pump at the desired height..

I would think you could see if they sell the foot on its own without buying a new pump as well..but I dont know for sure

 

[GilliganBoat]

Re: where's your bilge pump

Hey Ziggy--I believe mine looks to be original (1970 Nineteen). I don't have any pictures, but I am actually having issues with mine now. So...tomorrow when I dig in, I will snap you a few pics of where it is. It is in the lower pan, under the engine, on the gas tank side, attached with what appears to be a vinyl strap to the side.

 

[ziggy]

Re: where's your bilge pump

a pic would be great gb. is it similar to where mine is located at? same port side. down under the engine too. is that what your calling the pan? i'm interested in what is used to keep it fixed to the boat.

i'm also toying with the idea of a float switch. no idea if i can incorporate one. but i would probably be a good candidate for one. i sleep on board while i'm floating. a manual only bilge pump has always kinda worried me. i'll be looking fwd to your pics...

 

[dbkerley]

Re: where's your bilge pump

I replaced mine when I got the boat. I got one of those orange ones the looks like a coffee can. I don't remember the name. It's a 750gph and I didn't attach it to anything. I just slid it under the motor and let the hose wrap around. If I need to service it, I just grab it by the tail and pull it out. It has never turned over on me or slid out of position. I tried it that way because the one in my other boat was epoxied in place and I ALMOST NEVER got itout or the new one back in.

 

[ziggy]

Re: where's your bilge pump

I didn't attach it to anything.

i see.

mine was fixed in place, after it came un glued, it fell over. did that to me last weekend. rain, rain, rain. tried to use my bilge pump as i knew i had some water on board to no avail. couldn't go look to see why as it was raining cats and dogs and i was full enclosed. ya can't open the dog house when the aft curtain is deployed. anyways. great that's working for ya. myself, i think i want it fixed somehow. i'm working on the somehow now.... let ya know how it works out...

still want pics or other ideas, i can always change my tune as to how i'm being an engineer. and i sure am being an engineer on this one..

fwiw. i went down to the boat store today. looked at a real nice larsen. their idea was... they glued to small squares of wood, plastic???? to the bottom of the boat. screwed the bilge pump and auto switch to that... pretty high tech.....

 

[ziggy]

Re: where's your bilge pump

my engineered bilge pump holder....

what i have here is a drink holder for a boat, the size that fits a full foam koozy. bent it out just a bit for larger dia. and the pump fit to the bottom of the holder.

took a L bracket and bolted it to the handle of the drink holder.

took a piece of anlgle iron and screw it to the L bracket. this made the mount hole vertical.

this is bolted to a pre existing hole in the inner transom shield.

it hangs just above the bottom of the boat, pretty much in ft. of the main drain pipe from the ski locker to the bilge.

now i'll see if it does work in the field.

yes it does operate and i suppose i could try it by filling up the boat.... maybe?

sure was a bummer to work back there. i didn't know my elbow bent backwards as far as i had to bend it to turn wrenches... sure is tight working in the very back of a nineteen...

if it works, i should paint it and some of the hardware is stainless, some not. i'd think all stainless would be in order.

good thing is. remove the one bolt that holds it to the inner transom shield and the pump can be removed... albeit, it's not so easy to get the that one bolt..

i'm still interested in how others have theres mounted, if they're mounted... ... db...

 

[H20wens]

Re: where's your bilge pump

Hey Ziggy,
My 71 has the same pump. Mine is not mounted to anything - just laying in the bilge. I like your mount idea. Have you run this by the guys at AristoCraft?

 

[Ricks Project]

Re: where's your bilge pump

Hey Ziggy,
Pretty sure the pump in mine was not original. It is a auto\manual pump meaning there is a switch up front to turn on the pump but there is also a float in the pump to work automatically. The pump is a quick disconnect type that the bottom can be screwed down and then the pump snapped onto the base. It was located in the pan under the engine.

When I put the pump back, I'm going to silicone seal the screw holes to hopefully keep water out of the foam. If the pump needs work, it will un-clip from the base.

 

[ziggy]

Re: where's your bilge pump

interesting that several folks just have the pumps laying in the bilge. when i got my boat, that'st the way mine was too. just didn't seem right to me. just food for thought. in my old set up, glued to the deck. 'if' i took on water, which i usually don't, but it does rain and there are other ways to get water inside a boat. i would sometimes have enough to get the bilge pump to discharge. i had enough last sat. too. but with the pump on its side. it didn't do any work. no discharge. it should have.

I tried it that way because the one in my other boat was epoxied in place and I ALMOST NEVER got itout

that's why i didn't want to glue/silicon the base in place. granted, mine comes apart for servicing like rp describes. but if i wanted to replace it. i'd have to get the base un glued somehow. hence my engineering.

Have you run this by the guys at AristoCraft?

nope. i was hoping AristoCraft would see this thread and shed some light on how they came from the oem. so far. everyone has aftermarket it seems. me included.

It was located in the pan under the engine.

that's the second comment about the pan under the engine. i don't have a pan under my engine. or any particularly flat spot in which to mount a pump. nor a lowest point that would be suitable for mounting either. the lowest point on my nineteen is the trough that runs between the pipe from the ski locker to the actual drain hole in the boat itself. everything is curved mostly. what is this pan. perhaps eighteens have a different bilge set up than the nineteens?

i still would like to consider a float switch since i overnight onboard. couldn't find a switch locally that i liked and still don't have a plan of any kind as to placement of a float switch.

 

[mufflerman]

Re: where's your bilge pump

do any of you aristocraft guys know how the back seats are supposed to look on a 1969 19ht ?:

 

[dbkerley]

Re: where's your bilge pump

Honestly Ziggy, I was only going to leave mine unattached for a short while. I was going to use a float switch and mount the pump remotely using a pickup tube and screen for easier service. It just never fell over or gave me a reason to change it.

 

[aristocraft]

Re: where's your bilge pump

ziggy, i keep my bilge pump in my garage so it doesnt fall over in the back of the boat
J/k will take pics and explain later....

 

[Ricks Project]

Re: where's your bilge pump

Ziggy,
Here's a pic of "The Pan" we were talking about. Of course mine is an 18 and will be different but hope it explains where we are talking about. These shots were taken from outside the back of the boat looking forward. Battery spot on starbard side and gas tank spot on port. On the bottom left of the second pic you can see the spot where water would be routed out the drain plug hole. The third pic is actually taken through the transome.

 

[ziggy]

Re: where's your bilge pump

thanks for the pics rp. yep, no pan like that on a nineteen... life would be easier to mount a pump and float switch with that pan.

 

[motherofdog]

Re: where's your bilge pump

Hi Ziggy,

Our bilge pump is screwed in directly under the engine-not sure if it's original, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. We too have an "pan" under the engine, but it's a paint roller pan! Came with the boat when we purchased it.

The location seems like the best place for the pump since the engine is so heavy and when there is gas in the tank, that section is even heavier.

Having said all that - we've got 2 bilges in the 62 Cris Craft, and 39 GarWood. Being wooden without new 5200 bottoms-they need both.