[Rhodes22-list] Reply to Bud on bilge water

Bill Effros bill at effros.com
Tue Nov 22 08:46:47 EST 2005


Bud,

I'm with Ed on this one.  Water in the bilge of an R-22 is a warning to 
find where the water is coming from, not a reason to create a path for 
more water to get into the bilge.

Bilge pumps that will fit into our bilge are a joke.  They are the size 
of the pump Stan uses to pump water into the sink.  If you have an 
electric sink pump, turn it on and note how slowly it fills the sink.  
If any large amount of water gets into your boat it will overwhelm your 
bilge pump in less than a minute.  Your bilge pump will never catch up, 
it will just totally drain your battery, or break down trying.

Meanwhile, you have created a path for more water to get into your 
bilge.  You think the little pump is going to pump all the water out, 
when actually it is far more likely to allow more water in.  Hence all 
the check valves, etc.

Think of your bilge as just another instrument on your boat.  Check it 
every time you go out.  If any water gets in there, figure out where it 
came from, don't just pump it out and forget about it.

Bill Effros

ed kroposki wrote:

>Bud,
>	Rhodes 22's are not supposed to have water in the bilge.  This has
>been a recurring topic for over six years on this list.  Have you researched
>the archives to see possible causes?  The water seepage can cause more
>serious problems.  
>	I had the same recurring problem after heavy rains.  I could not
>determine the cause until I was sitting in the cabin during a heavy
>downpour.  After the thunder and noise of heavy rain, I heard a plunk,
>plunk, of dripping water.  Low and behold water was dripping in from the
>cockpit.  It was running along the bottom of the seats and over the bulkhead
>and dripping into the back of the cabin on the inside of the bulkhead.  Why
>was that happening?  Well a previous owner did not like water accumulating
>in the seat trenches and drilled two drainage holes so that water would drop
>onto the cockpit floor.  One fix for a problem caused an unanticipated
>problem.  
>	Rather than just plug the drain holes, I attached tubing to drain
>the water directly to the cockpit floor.  Now only occasionally after a rain
>which wets the hatch do I get water in the bilge.
>	What I am saying, the best approach is to solve the cause.  Make
>like Sherlock.  But first look into the archives and find the numerous
>previous discussions of the problem.
>
>Ed K
>Greenville, SC, USA
>
>__________________________________________________
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>
>  
>


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