2. Bilge pump
Possibly fused separately and not connected to the main breaker... but
directly to the battery.

You are exactly right. Although the panel in the boat has a slot for
bilge pump, the slot is not connecting to anything. The wiring for the
bilge pump actually goes directly to the battery switch and bypassing
the panel.


You probably should have two feeds to the bilge pump. One, automatic,
through a float switch that is connected directly to the battery. The
other wire should go from the battery to a switch at the console
(appropriate fusing employed) and thence to the bilge pump. Thus, you
have an automatic bilge pump with a manual override.

Yes, indeed the boat is supposed to have both automatic and manual.
But the manual doesn't work. This is one of the reason why I need to
review the wiring in my boat.

Jay Chan