[Rhodes22-list] Bilge Pumps -- Not

Tue Jan 10 08:11:16 EST 2006

I used to own a wooden catboat, and understand that borax can inhibit wood
rot but it never slowed down mold.  The only answer is to remove or
minimize one of the three components.  I used to open the cabin on my old
boat to find such an abundance and variety of mold species that I was
afraid to get rid of it all for fear that some environmental group would
come after me for killing an endangered species.

All kidding aside, if you have wood stringers and a damp bilge, the very
best thing you can do for yourself is go to RotDoctor.com and buy their
clear penetrating epoxy sealer (CPES).  It is a bit expensive, but it
really does work to inhibit rot and even stop the beginnings of rot and
strengthen the remaining wood.  I am fortunate to have the fiberglass
stringers, but if I had wood I would soak them in CPES.

Bill W.

             "Peter Thorn"                                                 
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             01/10/2006 05:47          Re: [Rhodes22-list] Bilge Pumps --  
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Bill,

You are not alone.  However, I'm more a member of the Dry Bilge Club than
an
Anti-bilge Pumper.  I don't think automatic bilge pumps keep a boat dry
enough.

Apparently Stan now builds boats with fiberglass stringers, but most boats
have lots of wood down there:  stringer joists and plywood floors.
Cellulose (wood), warmth and moisture are the three key ingredients needed
for mold growth.  The only key ingredient that we can control on a Rhodes
22
is water in the bilge.   Ignore a small leak or attend to it only with an
automatic bilge pump, seal up the cabin, introduce a few of the right kind
of mold spores, let the boat sit and simmer (at a mooring, dock, on the
trailer, wherever...) warmed by the sun and what have you got?  A mold
machine!

Prevention is much easier than the cure for a moldy bilge.  Bilge pumps
always leave some water under the pump's intake.  An electric pump could
leave 1/4" or so of water in the entire center stringer section.  I use a
plastic poultry baster and a sponge to get up every last drop if any water
is found there.

I'm not sure if salt water helps prevent mold growth.  Most older boats
sooner or later get rainwater incursions through the ports.   I've heard
Borax can be used to reduce mold growth too and was thinking about placing
some in the bilge.  Has anyone tried this?

Regards,

PT

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Effros" <bill at effros.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 11:05 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Bilge Pumps -- Not

> Dave,
>
> I'm the anti-bilge pump person on the list.  I think they're silly and
> provide a false sense of security--sort of like draping a St.
> Christopher's medal over your rear-view mirror, and thinking that will
> protect you when you run red lights.
>
> Your boat won't leak any significant amount of salt water.  The thing
> that can alter that is if you do something really really dumb.  If that
> happens, salt water will come pouring in, and the toy size bilge pumps
> that will fit into our bilges will be completely overwhelmed in 10
> seconds.  Think New Orleans.
>
> You may get some fresh water leakage from rain that doesn't drain
> properly.  If that is happening, you ought to know about it, so you can
> prevent it.  Don't let some silly little pump mask a minor problem so
> you don't know about it until it becomes a major problem.
>
> The actual output of these little bilge pumps is pathetic.  I own one,
> but I never use it.  Instead, I use a manual $20 plastic bilge pump sold
> at West Marine.  I store it in the sliding compartment under the Port
> Settee.  Whenever I get more than a spongeful of water, I use the
> plastic bilge pump.  In a few minutes it will pump out more water than
> the 12v pumps will pump in an hour.  Literally.
>
> If you would like to borrow my 12v bilge pump you are welcome to do so,
> along with a small jumper battery I keep lying around.  Fill your
> bathtub with 6 inches of water.  Put this pump into it, and empty the
> tub into your bathroom sink with the bilge pump.  Tell me how long it
> takes.  Let a little water keep dribbling into the tub, and the pump
> will never drain it.  Then the battery will run out of juice, and you'll
> be in the same position you would have been in with no pump at all.
>
> Most boats will sink once enough water gets into the bilge and cabin.
> Ours won't.  But none of us has enough batteries on board to sustain a
> pump indefinitely while the water is pouring in.  If the worst happens,
> you will wind up with a wet cabin, find the hole in the hull, plug it
> up, and bail out your boat, or pump it out with a pump much larger than
> anything that will fit in our bilge.
>
> I check the bilge every time I go out to sail.  If there is any water in
> it, I taste it to see if it is salt water or fresh.  Sometimes I keep
> the bilge bone dry.  Other times I leave some water in it because it
> acts like water ballast in rough seas, and can make the boat less
> tender.  If I've got any kind of problem with water entering my boat, I
> know it right away, because I always check the bilge and I see problems
> before they get out of control.
>
> The extra plumbing and wiring running into the water is just more stuff
> to go wrong.  For every "the bilge pump saved my boat" story you'll hear
> on this list, there is another--"the water came flooding through the
> sink outlet and flowed directly into my bilge" story from someone else.
>
> Not to mention what our salt water does to the moving switch parts, pump
> impellers, and hoses full of stagnant water--seems to me Bruce had
> trouble with his brand new engine one year because things were growing
> in his cooling system and no water was shooting out of the coolant
> tell-tale.  The same thing can happen to your bilge pump plumbing--only
> you'll never know, because you'll never check.
>
> Your boat won't leak.
>
> KISS
>
> Bill Effros
>
>
>
>
>
> David Bradley wrote:
>
> >Today's list traffic on water leaking triggers a question for me on the
> >necessity of an electric bilge pump.  I am finalizing my "gadget specs"
for
> >my new R22 and would appreciate your advice.
> >
> >I noted in the archives that a preferred arrangement is to plumb through
the
> >sink drain, which makes snese to me.  But I didn't see a clear consensus
on
> >whether an electronic bilge pump is actually needed -- there seemed to
be
a
> >stronger sentiment for just locating the source of leaks (not that the
two
> >are mutually exclusive).  Is this a must-have, a nice-to-have, or just
> >another nuisance gadget?
> >
> >And if so, any other recommendations?  Practical Sailor just reviewed
them
> >and picked the Water Witch, an all electronic model available at
Defender.
> >
> >Thanks, as always,
> >
> >Dave Bradley
> >__________________________________________________
> >Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
> >
> >
> __________________________________________________
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