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Peggie Hall
 
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Default Boat Sank due to Syphoning Effect

Gary wrote:
Yup, my cousins bilge pump started syphoning and sank his boat.


I don' TEEENK that's what happened...for a couple of reasons: bilge
pumps don't bring water INTO the boat, they remove water FROM the
boat...and the thru-hulls for bilge pumps are above the waterline. So
unless there was already enough water in the boat to put the bilge pump
thru-hull under water, there's no way that a siphon can start in a bilge
pump line.

The water that sank your cousin's boat had to be coming in somewhere
else...and either the bilge pumps clogged and failed, or they kept
pumping till they drained the batteries and died...allowing the boat to
fill up and sink. Or, the water was coming in faster than the bilge
pumps could keep up with it. Or any combination/all of the above.

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://www.seaworthy.com/store/custo...0&cat=6&page=1
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304