il_papa wrote:

My first time in here so please bear with me.

The bilge of my 24 foot sailboat is constantly filling up with
rainwater - in Denmark where it really can rain! Try as I might, I
can't seem to locate all sources of the rain water.

The bilge is located directly under the front end on the cockpit
(Drabant 24 - for those who know the boat class), with the deepest part
of the bilge being directly up against the rear of the cabin. There is
a retractable cabin draw (about 2 feet/60 cms deep) that slides over
top of the bilge - the bilge is rather shallow - maybe 3 inches/7.5 cms
deep.

I really want to keep the drawer, as this is where the battery is
located, and I would prefer to have short wire lengths from the battery
to the switchboard. Keeping the drawer, however means that I am unable
to install a bilge pumps such as the Rule 500, as there simply isn't
enough vertical freespace.

There appears to be enough room under the drawer to lead a ½" - 1"
pipe to the deepest part of the bilge, but what kind of electric bilge
pump could I use in such a situation, and what could I use on the
intake end of the pipe to reduce the amount of debris coming into the
pump, i.e. a filter of some kind?

I put a bit of fiberglass screening over the end of the hose intake and hold
it in place with a hose clamp.

I'm also using a Whale Gusher manual pump, but if you have a lot of water
to pump, it could get tiresome. Great for the arm muscles though.

Sherwin D.



Any tips appreciated...