Bilge Pump help

[Toonribber]

Hi Guys

I have an Avon 560 which I only manage to use for a couple of weeks a year as its now in the south of France. It's stored on land and only goes into the water for the time I'm there, however, I find the hull fills with quite a lot of water which isn't too much of a problem as its pulled out after 2 weeks and drained.

Problem is this year I'm going for a month so think I need a bilge pump. Just not sure how it's fitted. Do you cut away the upper deck grp and sink it into the void in the hull?

Any help appreciated

[Xk59D]

When you say hull do you mean the deck or hull?

If you have water in the hull then you have a problem somewhere that needs sorting ASAP.

No water at all should be in the hull.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Toonribber

Hi Guys

I have an Avon 560 which I only manage to use for a couple of weeks a year as its now in the south of France. It's stored on land and only goes into the water for the time I'm there, however, I find the hull fills with quite a lot of water which isn't too much of a problem as its pulled out after 2 weeks and drained.

Problem is this year I'm going for a month so think I need a bilge pump. Just not sure how it's fitted. Do you cut away the upper deck grp and sink it into the void in the hull?

Any help appreciated

If you want to fit a bilge pump below the deck (and don't have a hatch) then you will want to:

(1) Cut a hole for a small hatch - big enough to get your hand in at least.
(2) Sea the cut edge.
(3) Fit the hatch.
(4) Put wiring in (which may involve drilling a hole inside the console?) using a gland for any through deck fitting that will be exposed to the elements or flood water if you take a big wave. You need at least a live and ground feed, but if you want an auto pump normally you will want a third "manual" live feed too.
(5) Wire those in to switches (e.g. OFF-ON-Auto).
(6) Wire to the pump and fit pump via hatch.
(7) Connect the outlet from the pump to suitable sized hose, and feed through a deck fitting and then probably over the transom.

(Alternatively you could fit a manual pump - if its a very small amount of water you could even use a very small fitting and pump like this and this).
Bear in mind you need the pump pickup to be where water collects.

If that all sounds like too much hassle then it might be easier to work out how water is getting under the deck and seal up the gaps.

[Toonribber]

Thanks for that.... It clarifies that I need to form a hatch and locate the pump underneath. Just out of interest what sort of depth is the void in the deck/hull typically?

[Xk59D]

the void on a 560 ( i had one identical to yours) is about 10" deep from memory at the back.

i would urge you to find the culprit as if it is fresh water you only need to sika round all fittings probably.

[Toonribber]

That's great I now have a plan. Thanks all!

[Iron Dials]

Hi Toonribber.

Before going to all that trouble and cutting into the deck it may be worth spending a couple of hours trouble shooting.

I have Adventure 620, which had water in the hull. Turned out the previous owner had bilge pump fitted in the deck sump at the transom. The "craftsman" who fitted it drilled straight through the deck, didn't seal screws when fixkng bracket.
Subsequently a screw sheared and leak developed.
A simple fix of closing the offending holes properly and refixing bilge pump is solution.
It's being done right now and we'll be on the water in a fortnight.

As suggested above I'd find the leak-treating cause rather than symptom so to speak.
If the leak is below waterline then potentially the problem could become worse, the integrity of the deck could be stopping water coming up into the boat at present. Creating an opening will just let the boat sink deeper into the water if the pump fails.

Is the seal on the bung ok? Is the bung installation sound?
Check all deck fittings and reseal as necessary.

Hope this is useful.

(Of course, there are much more experienced ribbers than me on this forum who may have the benefit of experience that I don't. )

[Toonribber]

Interesting. There may be possible water ingress around the Bing as there is a bit of grp damage around the keel here due to a too shallow recovery!!! I know this needs attending to but still fancy some form of bilge pump.
I like the idea above of a small access seal/ Bung and a hand pump.

Any recommendations on what sort of Sikaflex to use when fitting into the deck etc. ?

[Toonribber]

That was Bung by the way!