HELP! Midship Bilge on 2007 28TE Flushdeck

[Shark]

As I continue to explore the systems and bilge on my new 28TE, I am at a loss regarding the bilge amidships. The fwd bilge pump is under a hatch in the cabin and the aft pump is right near the rudder post- no problem. But after tracing out overboard tubing and listening for the motor by manually switching it on from the helm (in very limited, short bursts since she is dry) I found it (well, kind of).

It appears that the pump is located beneath the fuel tank, just aft of the centerline mounted 4D battery. The battery is mounted right against a bulkhead that seperates the gas tank and battery. I did not have time to remove the battery and box, but after peering in from the side, it looks like only a small hole was drilled for the tubing. Therefore, from the forward compartment (near the battery) the pump is inaccessible because it is behind battery box, and quite possibly behind the bulkhead. From the other side of the bulkhead, it is inaccessible because the fuel tank sits on top of it.

Somebody please tell me I must be mistaken, or the trick to get to the pump.

Thanks!

[craw_daddy]

Can't be much of a help, except to say that I use the manual bilge to get the little bit of water below the engine..

[JackK]

Funny this topic came up now.

I just spent two days tracing down a draw on my batteries. With the battery switch in the off position, I was getting a 0.25 to 0.5 amp draw on my main battery (center line mounted).

We tracked it to the bilge pump circuit and suspected a bad pump switch. I checked the aft pump and the forward pump no problem. I did the same as you and pulsed the pump to try and find the midship pump. Not feeling overly strong and tired from crawling around in the bilge tracing wires, I felt around the battery a little. I believe there is a notch in the bulkhead beneath the battery that allows access to that pump.

While pondering how to gain access, my friend asked, "Do you lose your time and presets on the radio when you shut off the batteries?". No I don't - the draw was the am/fm radio. The unswitched power for the radio is wired to the bilge pump circuit. Not so sure that is to code but at least I found it. I stoppped looking at the bilge pumps so I never did remove the battery to gain access to the mid-pump.

Not sure I really helped but I feel your pain.

Jack