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The teenie tiny bilge, with drain plug, measures about 4.4 x 4.5 of clear space. Does anybody have a recommendation for a pump with a float switch that will fit in this space or what does anybody use? I occasionally leave the boat at our community dock over the weekend and when it rains (which it always seems to on those weekends) I have to go down to the dock to turn on the current pump etc.
Thanks.
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y489/oldfatdog/Boston%20Whaler_zpsoa2gqcde.jpg
You can find many that perform a cycle where they turn on at set intervals, if they detect resistance then they stay on until resistance is gone. No need for a separate float switch.
When I had my 1976 13' I had Dri-dek tiles on the whole deck. I zip tied a bilge pump to the tile above the bilge. It was a manual pump but one with a float switch would have worked too.
Overnight, who cares as it is self-bailing? Longer- it takes more time to clean the boat than to have put it back on the trailer, which takes all of five minutes.
I do not leave my Whalers in the water anymore. #soggywhaler
With the 40hp Johnson on it the bilge drain is below the water level so it isn't self bailing in this instance. I will probably do as dburton does and mount the smallest footprint pump with an integral float switch just above the bilge if it will not sit down in it.
Wal-Mart sells a small Johnson bilge pump that easily fits in the sump. It comes with a check valve which you can discard during assembly if you don't want to use it. You can buy replacement "core" assemblies to repair the pump if you need them. I replaced an old Rule pump in the sump with the Johnson. It needs a float switch to operate so I was able to reuse the Rule switch already installed next to the sump.
I don't like having an on/off switch on a bilge pump so I wired it directly to the nearby battery. If I want to pump out any water before the switch floats high enough to activate the pump I just reach behind me and lift the float until only a little remains in the sump.
