Keel Pocket De-watering: 31TE

[Pitou]

In the interest of sharing:

This past spring I decided that once and for all that I would address the water collection that occurs in the keel pocket of my 31 TE where the the shaft seal is and get things dry.

I have had a rain water / washdown water collection issue in the keel pocket as all owners of single screw 31 TE's have which is common with single screw inboard boats that have a keel pocket.

Albin had originally installed a 750 gph Johnson Low Boy bilge pump with 3/4 inch discharge hose. Both the pump and float switch are forward of the shaft seal beneath the shaft. Right out of the gate I replaced the Low Boy pump cartridge with a 1,250 gph pump cartridge. If starting from scratch and installing a thru hull I would go with the Low Boy 1250 with the 1 1/8" discharge and appropriate thru hull, which is always something that can be done in the future. The pump and float switch was originally mounted on a piece of painted plywood in the keel pocket bonded to the bilge with adhesive. I replaced the ply with starboard. This bilge pump takes care of all but the last 3/4 to 1 inch of water in the keel pocket. This had served me well, but there has always been that small bit of remaining water. Therefore, I needed a solution.

I finally rectified the remaining water with a SeaFlo dry bilge system this past spring. It utilizes a timer and not a float switch. I set it to pump 3X per day for 5 plus minutes and I also switched it for manual operation, but have found that I never need that feature. I am going to reset it to 1X per day as it is only for pumping the very last bit of water which I only get from heavy rains or maybe from washing down the boat with water infiltration through the cover board rod holders.The SeaFlo is doing its job .. Finally a dry keel pocket!

For those that are not familiar, the SeaFlo utilizes a suction foot with a sponge set inside the foot and it rests directly on the bilge floor and I have it tucked right up tight to the forward side of the shaft seal. The sponge ensures that no debris is picked up by the very narrow 1/4" suction hose leading to its strainer and then to the unit pump before being discharged to the shower sump, in similar fashion as the air conditioner condensate. The SeaFlo unit was conveniently mounted to the plywood bulkhead aft of the starboard fuel tank with the strainer mounted between the suction foot and SeaFlo unit with a zip tie to a plastic tie mount screwed to the fuel tank tray. I ran the discharge hose up the outer starboard side of the bilge along the exhaust, through the engine compartment and ultimately through the bulkhead under the deck of the shower in the head and then across over to the shower sump beneath the center hatch in the cabin floor. I did upgrade the discharge hose that came with the unit to reinforced clear pvc tubing/water hose.

Keep in mind that the SeaFlo unit is not intended to be a bilge pump, but to get any remaining water left behind that the bilge pump with float switch always leaves behind. To secure the suction foot I ran a roughly 3/8 x 3/8 x 5" / 6" piece of starboard screwed to the starboard base piece for the Low Boy pump extending aft and then screwed to the Seaflo suction foot containing the sponge to keep it securely in place.

I hope that this helps anyone contemplating solutions to remove any standing water in their keel pockets or even removing water from that pesky location under the dinette on the 28 TE.

Keel Pocket Pump . Alarm.jpg

SeaFlo Mounting Description.jpg

75304.jpeg

Johnson Low Boy.jpg

Johnson Switch.jpg

[Jkraft]

Great write up Kevin! I love my Seaflo Dry Bilge, in my opinion, if there is one upgrade we should be doing to this boats, this is a major one. Cost isn't half bad either.

[GSSeattle]

That is a great solution! I don't think the Seaflo Dry Bilge existed a few years ago when I essentially did the DIY version of that in my 28

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12846&start=15

[Pitou]

That is a great solution! I don't think the Seaflo Dry Bilge existed a few years ago when I essentially did the DIY version of that in my 28

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12846&start=15

I remember that thread and "was going to" follow the Panbo home made build and it just never happened. Other projects took precedent and you're right the SeaFlo system was not around yet.
Between JB and me stumbling into some other online material the SeaFlo hit my radar in 2021 and I'm happy to say it was done in 2022. The all in one SeaFlo for around $150.00 in a self contained unit made it easy and worked for me.

[Nancy]

Thanks for posting this, Kevin. I think this is going to be the solution in our 35CB as well. There is presently no bilge pump in the keel pocket.