"Vito" wrote in message
...
Jim Woodward wrote:

.... Guess what -- the pump draws 5 times that, so the switches
fail predictably after a couple hundred days of use. This is a long
time for the typical rec boat, but a nuisance for the live-aboard.

My bilge pump switch is powered up 24/7 whether I'm aboard or not, so
why would it die faster if I lived aboard?

I think the idea was to compare live-aboards with trailer boats. Like you,
my bilge pump is on 24/7. And whilst I'd like to say that I check the boat
every week, the reality is that two or three weeks can pass without my going
near it. There are an awful lot of things that can go wrong in a 45 yr old
wooden boat moored in salt water - and on my last boat, one of them was a
leak caused by electrolysis eating some copper nails. The electrolysis was
mostly caused by - you guessed it - insulation failure on a Rule float
switch.
Of all the discussion on this topic I like best the suggestion of raising
the switch above water level and gluing a block of foam to the float.

My new ( 1959) boat is big enough so I can add a second battery. Whilst
that adds some issues on charging ( I think I'll have a push button which
brings in a relay which parallels the batteries for charging, drops out when
engine is off -- ) it means I can reserve the existing battery for engine
starting, running lights etc, and put the non-essentials like a radio, auto
bilge pump ( the boat has two, plus a manual one .. ) on the second
battery. I could even add ... Well, there goes my idea of a simple
system! Fortunately there are lots of similar boats in the creek and we
look after each other.
DF