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?

Any tips appreciated...

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...

Thanks for the tip, sounds like an ok filter solution.

I have looked a bit more on the net and found a bilge pump called the
Whale Supersub 500, which has a low profile ... about 2"/54mm high.
There might be enough room for it.

Anyone have any experience with this pump?

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?

Any tips appreciated...


You may not have room for a pump, but you have room for a hose. The
solution is to mount a pump near the through hull you will use to
discharge the bilge water (and run a loop higher than the through hull
so that when your boat is heeled over you aren't bringing seawater
aboard through your pump). You then rig a hose from the bilge pump into
the bottom of your bilge area, and you can put a screen on the hose to
keep from sucking debris into the guts of the pump. The benefits of
this arrangement are two fold. 1) very few immersible pumps will draw
the water down completely. There is normally about an inch left (and
you might not have enough vertical clearance for a ffloat switch to
work properly). The hose will draw the bilge down a bit more than a
submersible pump. 2) You can use a pump of far more serious capacity
if you aren't constricted by the dimensions of the space under your
cabin sole.

Thanks Chuck, I have been leaning towards this solution while being
incredibly inactive at work today. Your suggestion of using a hose will
mean that I can really reduce the bilge level.

I have a very serious mechanical bilge pump which a previous owner had
hidden behind a bulkhead (that was a surprise I can tell you). I may
just use this instead and mount it in the transom and place a through
hole out the back of the stern.

The intake hose will be long though, can this be a problem? From what I
have read, it seems to be more important that the outlet hose is short,
which will be with this solution. Will I need to mount a non-return
valve on the intake hose?

il_papa wrote:
Thanks Chuck, I have been leaning towards this solution while being
incredibly inactive at work today. Your suggestion of using a hose will
mean that I can really reduce the bilge level.

I have a very serious mechanical bilge pump which a previous owner had
hidden behind a bulkhead (that was a surprise I can tell you). I may
just use this instead and mount it in the transom and place a through
hole out the back of the stern.

The intake hose will be long though, can this be a problem? From what I
have read, it seems to be more important that the outlet hose is short,
which will be with this solution. Will I need to mount a non-return
valve on the intake hose?

Distance and lift both reduce the rated capacity of a bilge pump. The
farther you have to push or draw water and the higher you lift it, the
fewer gallons per minute you will actually pump. In your situation you
will not be able to avoid some length and lift, so be sure to install a
larger pump than might be "adequate" if your hose runs were short and
flat.

In my personal opinion, a non-return valve on the intake hose is
probably not necessary.
Yes, you will get some runback from the hose into the bilge after the
pump shuts off- but any restriction in the hose created by the mere
presence of the valve will reduce capacity.
Better a 1/4 of water in the bilge and a pump that might be better able
to keep a distressed boat afloat until some serious help arrives than a
perfectly dry bilge and a compromised pump.

Make sure to select a "self priming" pump for your application.