Bilge Pump Issue Resolved

Ever wander down the dock at a marina and notice water coming out of a hole in the side of a boat's hull? Water drains out of small holes called scuppers that can be for removing gray water used for washing hands, showering or doing dishes. These scuppers also allow the overflow of fresh water when the holding tank is full.

One other reason might be that the bilge, that place deep down in the lowest bowels of the boat, has filled to0 full of water and one or more of the boat's bilge pumps have turned on. Bilge pumps are rated as to the number of gallons of water they can move in a certain amount of time. On my boat, for example, I have two 500 gal./hour pumps and one 1500 gal./hour pump. When all are working that is 2000 gal./hour of water that can be removed from the boat. Sounds impressive but in the worst of conditions, I'd probably be heading the boat to the nearest shore to run it aground before it sank. Or, there is always the dinghy if an immediate exit was necessary.

My point in writing about this blog is that I recently had issues with one of my pumps that lead me to have to have some service done. We docked in our home slip last weekend after a tour around Bellingham Bay. After a near picture perfect landing, I shut down the engines and headed down the ladder to the main deck. A whirring sound could be heard coming from the engine room. We pulled open the hatches and peered in to discover what sounded like one of the bulge pumps was running. No amount of effort could get it to stop. Our only solution was to cut one of the power wires before it drained the batteries. I called my electrician and he came by this past week to take a look at it. While he was at it I suggested he look at the third pump hidden under the floor of the master stateroom which had never worked.

The results? He explained that something had been pulled up into the pump that wouldn't turn off and got the switch stuck in the on position. A little Simple Green cleaned it up and that problem was solved. The pump under the stateroom floor was a more serious problem. The float switch on it was dead and the pump was on its last legs, so it needed to be changed out completely which he did. $250 later, problem solved and I learned a few things as well. We are now good to go. Another of the older devices on the boat has been fixed and or replaced and The Key of Sea is that much more safe. The sad thing is that it is one of those "can't-be-seen-improvements" that homeowners always talk about like a hot water heater instead of say, new carpet. Oh, well! BOAT--Bring Over Another Thousand! You warned me, Rick!
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