Raider 16 Electric Bilge Pump Fitting

I have been mulling over an electric bilge pump for some time for the my Raider 16. The Raider 16 cuddy has a shelf over the bilge area to help keep the tank away from the water, but also to support the weight of the tank. There is a manual bilge, but these can be a bit of a pain, and lets face it... who could be arsed...

I was contemplating pulling out the shelf in the bilge area but after quite a bit of looking I found one of these pumps from Whale.
http://www.whalepumps.com/marine/product_list/8/55/

They are a perfect fit in behind the shelf in the bilge area. I managed to mount this one beside the existing manual pump hose pipe.

Here is the housing beside the manual pump hose


You can see how thigh you are for space here


Here is the pump installed.



The next decision was how to plumb it up. I really didn't want to have a second through hull connection, so I bought a y splitter.... They when thinking about the plumbing I realised that I needed a valve with a selector switch to maintain backpressure.....doh. If I installed the y splitter I simply would have pumped the water back into the bilge area.

Back to the chanderly store to pick up a y valve with selector... The bits and pieces were now starting to cost way more that the bilge pump....
Back into the boat to have a look. No matter how I tried I couldn't get the y valve to fit nicely, as it had to be fitted near the top of the transom and it is a bulky piece of plastic...... sh!t...

I then decided to bite the bullet and just fit a second through hull outlet. Back to the chanderly store to pick up some more water pipe and a through hull connection. The Good thing was I has so many other bits to give back I was able to buy a nice outboard lock with the left over cash....

After a few nervous phone calls to Jim I was back in the boat and ready to cut a hole in my boat. I didn't have a hole saw small enough (26mm ish) so I decided to go the old fashioned way and make a few holes with the drill and then use the jigsaw to finish off. I then used a file to get a nice smooth finish. I know no one will ever see it, but I had to be 100% sure it was a good job. This way worked out really well and I would advise this way rather than going with the hole saw route. I got a perfect circle finish with no gelcoat chipping. I put a little silicone on the thru hull fitting and pushed it through and tightened the nut on the other side..... I was actually really pleased with the finish and was now starting to think why all the messing with y valves and all that Sh!te....

Two outlets




Inside view



After this it was just a simple matter of running in the water hose. I followed the route for the manual pump hose and just tie wrapped the two pipes together.

This turned out to be very neat.



Next was the wiring. I was not happy with the thickness of the existing wiring provided with the boat. It was basically just some thin household electrical cable. I'd say it is about 3mm sq. I was worried the heavier draw from the bilge pump. As I was extending the bilge cable to the switch panel, I decided what the hell, let's kill the two birds with the one stone. I had a rummage around work and managed to fins some 7mm and 8mm blue and red cable. Blue was to be my negitive. I put some black electrical tape at each termination point just to "keep it to code" as our US friends might say.

Here is the thin cable


Here is the new cable attached to the battery.




I am really happy with the result.... I still think cutting a hole in a perfectly good boat is a daunting task, but if you measure twice (or 4 times) and cut once, you'll be fine.

Thinking back, I should have went the with the second fitting from the start and saved myself a lot of messing around, but I got there in the end.

Oh yeah,,,

Here is a pic of the outboard lock I picked up




Kev

Tasty Work!

Hi Mac,
Great pics.

I did exactly the same in my explorer. Fitted an electric bilge & and a manual one, with two seperate discharge pipes.
I put runs of silicone around the 'inside' of the outlet spouts also, before sliding on the pipe just to prevent any internal leaks (where the pipe slides on to the outlet - under the jubliee clip).
You should try and use 'self-amalgamating' tape on the electrical connections, as it will bond together to itself over time, making a watertight seal - I found standard insulation tape tends to peel off once it dries out. Amalgamating tape is difficult to find and it can be pricey, but worth it in the long run.

Also, a small bit of vaseline on the battery connections & terminals should prevent any corrosion.
I also discovered the other day that 'Motorbike chain-lubricant' is great for the trailer, to stop rusting & corrosion etc. I sprayed it around the hub nuts etc. yesterday, so we'll see....

I love the idea of the outboard lock! - never knew such thing was available.
Must have a root around for one now!.... How much did it set you back?

Cheer for the info SM. I'll have a spy for some of that tape.. The connection are crimped anyway. The tape is just a cover.

The Lock I got from Union Chanerly in Malahide. They are in Cork at well. I think it was €50. I will be going at the breaks and hubs in the next week. I plan on using Wurth HSS2000. It's a spray on grease that leaves a thin film of grease where it is sprayed. Great for covering those parts that are dunked from time to time.

Kev

€50? Cool.
Thanks for the info.

The Motorbike Chain spray is apparently identical to what you use - except it won't fly off when the wheels start turning - nor will it drip off after contact with water etc.
I still think vaseline could still be the best of them all, but sure I'll see!!

Got some great stuff from Wurth in Finglas yesterday. Got some spray on grease for disk brakes... Good to 1100 degrees Celsius and non drip as well. I will put up a post on the stuff tomorrow.

Kev

...sounds like you want to launch your raider into a kettle!?

Just want to make sure I can get some greese all over the hubs and brake linings...... Man I hate rust.

Kev

New at the boat game but this is what we did.

There happened to be a bolt in the transom holding the steel transom plate right above the well so bent a bit of steel into a bracket mounted the pump to the bracket and bent in such a way it sits in the bottom of the well nicely.

Also toyed with the idea of mounting the pump to a plate that would fit neatly into the bottom of the well and using some adhesive fix it in place ( not permanantly ).

Enjoyed that read! nice and neat work kev

Cheers Tony.

very tasty work kevin and i like the look of that lock will have a bit of that