Water in bilge question

[socalmike]

New to us 28 te seems to always have water in the bilge. I am ok with some water but trying to figure out why the bilge runs the entire length of the boat. Has anyone built a bulkhead to seal the center portion of the bilge to keep the water from running forward? I was considering doing this and sealing off the bilge just below the batteries to prevent the water from running forward. Seems as if the mid ship bilge pump is the lowest spot anyways. Any suggestions? Just dont think there is a need for water in the bilge in the cabin.

Thanks

Mike

[Tree]

Why not fit another pump?

I have, as do everyone else with 28's the same issue - the mounting of the forward bilge pump sits about 6" above the lowest part of the bilge so all the water will never pump out (about 8 UK gallons) so I fitted a small pump that sits right in the bottom of the Vee of the hull, pumps into the shower sump and then over the side.

I simply spliced a cable into the shower sump feed, ran the cable up to the bulkhead aft of the bowthruster and fitted a fuse there on a terminal block. Fitted the pump behind the tube for the bowthruster and ran a new cable up from the pump to a foot switch which is hidden away under the carpet under the table.

Drill a 3/8" hole in one of the spare outlets in the shower sump and then ran small diameter hose (think it was 5/8") from the shower sump back to the pump to connect the two.

All i do now is pump the forward bilge with the main pump till no water comes out then switch the shower sump on and put my foot on the foot switch to pump out the remaining water - bilge stays nice and dry now all but a tiny amount which is probably only a cup full or so.

I have a larger capacity pump in the shower sump (760gph) and a smaller pump (360gph) in under the table. the cable that is already there is more than man enough to take the extra load of the second pump and the main pump at the same time.

[catalina_mike]

I re-did my bilge pumps as well. My thought is it is a little wet but if something really bad happens in the bow area then I'm going to need all the help the other aft pumps can provide. The PO actually removed the aft pump and used the wiring for a wash-down pump. New wire ran three pumps again! I'm just getting use to it. The source of my water appears to be the rub rail joint. Next haul I will remove it and reseal the connection of the two halves of the vessel.

[Russell]

My previous 97 model had a solid bulkhead below the companionway so there was no way for water to run into the forward bilge. Just before entering the no wake zone I would flip on the rear pump. When coming off plane the bow pitches up and all the water was pumped out. If I forgot to do that the water would sit below the hatch in the pilot house and it would not run back to the bilge pump.
I bought a small bilge pump to mount forward of the shower sump for my 05 model thanks to reading a prior posting from Tree. I suppose a check valve will be necessary otherwise if the shower is ever used the water would run through the hose to the bilge.

[Tree]

Russ, I've used the shower a few times since installation and the pump in the sump seems to cope with it, although I did fit a new pump when the boat arrived as the previous one was burnt out.

[sneakers]

socalmike.........i am in the process of doing exactly what you describe. tired of cleaning the whole bilge when i have a little spillage changing the engine filters. it appears that the lowest point in the bilge with the boat at rest is around the bulkhead between the cockpit and the cabin. that is where i am going to divide the bilge and reinstall my bilge pump float switches and bilge pump intake screens

had to cut access holes in the bottom of the cabin step locker and also the bottom of my batterybox to get access to the bottom of the bulkhead

[socalmike]

Great info. Thanks. I will seal off the bulkhead so no water forward of the battery box. Any pics would be great. Mike

[doughat]

Catalina_Mike, before you tackle the rub rail looking for a leak, I'd suggest checking the anchor locker drain holes, if you haven't already. I was getting a lot of water in the forward bilge after heavy rains, and was planning to do the same as you with the rub rail. Then I saw on the forum where someone mentioned the problem with the drain holes. It turns out that in some cases the drain hole is drilled through the fillet in the bulkhead to hull joint, and if the fillet is not solid, water from the locker will seep through the gap and down the inside of the hull. An easy fix with a little cleaning and some good caulk.

[catalina_mike]

Catalina_Mike, before you tackle the rub rail looking for a leak, I'd suggest checking the anchor locker drain holes, if you haven't already. I was getting a lot of water in the forward bilge after heavy rains, and was planning to do the same as you with the rub rail. Then I saw on the forum where someone mentioned the problem with the drain holes. It turns out that in some cases the drain hole is drilled through the fillet in the bulkhead to hull joint, and if the fillet is not solid, water from the locker will seep through the gap and down the inside of the hull. An easy fix with a little cleaning and some good caulk.

Thanks for the tip I will look again but it develops port side when we are out running and I haven't noticed it from the was guys. But I will take a look!

[sneakers]

socalmike see pictures of hole thru bulkhead. the 1 1/2" PVC pipe is removed. i tried using a rubber plug in the PVC pipe but bilge water seeped around the pipe . fiberglass does not stick to PVC. will install a plywood plug and glass it in

[socalmike]

I looked at our set up today. I will build a bulkhead aft of the battery shelf. Glassed plywood attached to the battery shelf and 4200 the seam where it meets the hull. Dry forward bilge.

[Jeremyvmd]

My forward portion of the bilge also gets water but the PO installed a pump up there with a dedicated through hull. It's dead now so im planning on replacing it with one of the rule low profile 900gph pumps...might be easier to just add a bilge pump rather than block it off. I suspect even with it blocked off water will still find its way up there but now it's stuck there with no way to move around. But I could be wrong...

[socalmike]

I thought about that as well. I looked at it today and mine has a pvc pipe running underneath the batteries to the forward bilge. Anyone else have this. I was thinking of just plugging the pvc pipe. I have a bilge pump in the cabin floor but it sits way too high to do any good.

Mike

[catalina_mike]

As soon as you get underway it runs to the stern of the vessel. It is annoying to have the water in there.. If it really bothered me I could add a special pump like the low profile mentioned above to help out the situation. I had to pick my battles and right now I'm over it. I throw a dish-washing soap packet as others have recommended on this site and got over it. For now!

[Russell]

I now have a small bilge pump in the forward bilge connected to the shower sump as Tree recommended. It was easy to install and it works like a charm. I tapped into the shower power lines so when I switch on the shower at the panel the small pump starts. When the water raises the shower sump float switch the water is pumped overboard. Very little is left in the bilge. I will have to add an on/off switch to turn off the small pump to use the shower alone but that is easy to do.