From: Richard Harrington

To: Gary Hirsch ; Monique/André Girard

Cc: Uncle Al Schonborn

Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 10:53 PM

I've never made a fixed installation like Gary has (see below).  I have seen that done by the Brits.  In some of the waters where they sail, there are situations where there is strong tide against wind, or tidal overfalls; these can put lots of water into the boat fast.  So they look at being able to sail and pump at the same time.  There have been a couple of times where I would have liked to have done that, but most of the time just pumping out after/before sailing is all that's needed.  The biggest thing that bugged me about what the Brits did was all the hoses running underneath the floor boards.  So not knowing exactly what to do, and like Gary, not wanting to install through-hull fittings, I mounted my pump on a board that I can fasten to the thwart top.  The hoses I use are the clear, stiff plastic water pipes you'll find in a marine store.  They can be readily slipped onto and off of the inlet/outlet pump fittings, but stay in place without clamps.  I stick the suction hose into the floorboard hole for the bailer (either side) and pump the discharge over the side deck.  The pump can be operated this way while sailing also, but it's not too great.  I'll take some photos.

With regard to the permanently installed hook up, I don't see why two pumps (port/starboard) are necessary for the average cruising situation.  If you have just one pump and want to pump out water, just put the boat onto the desired tack.  Ninety-nine percent of the time this shouldn't be any problem.  If pumping out while not sailing, heel the hull to get the bilge water onto the desired side.

DICK


André,

I mounted a permanent bilge pump on each side of my boat this winter.  I first saw a similar setup on page 37 of the Wayfarer Book (paragraph 2.23).  I have a block under the gunwales that was used to reinforce the ply where the oar locks are fixed. I mounted the Whale pumps (image below) to those blocks.  I didn't put any holes in the gunwales, but instead mounted the pumps under the side deck where they are out of the way for sailing.


I had lots of rain in Kentucky a couple of weeks ago and the pumps came in handy.  I have attached hoses that can be moved/directed wherever needed for pickup and discharge.  I was glad for the movable intake to enable me to pickup along the centerboard or when sitting on the gunnel to heel the boat well over, in which case the water pools on the side and I can pick up there also.   I really would like to figure out some way for a permanent discharge though.  The only solution that I can think of is to put a thru-hull fitting out the side of the boat, but I am reluctant to do so at this point.

I can take some pictures tomorrow and send them to you.  I am trying to get the boat set up for single-handed cruising and am curious about your plans.  I think that a good way to start is to buddy boat single-handed.  Maybe we can find some interesting venue to do that.

Gary


André Girard wrote:

Gary,

 

... I certainly would appreciate pictures of your installation. I was also wondering about the best location for the discharge tube.  It might be that the only good solution is to cut a hole in the side, but I am also very reluctant to do so. For the time being, I will probably simply find a way to hold the discharge tube in position over the gunwale. If Dick or Al has a better suggestion, I would certainly appreciate it (see Dick's reply above).

 

André

André,

Pictures as promised.  I have one of these on each side of the boat.  The main guts of the pump is really up under the gunwale (black portion with hoses attached on either side) and the blue and white portion are there to position and hold the moving parts that operate the bellows...

Gary