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My 2008 150 Montauk just had to have the bilge pump replaced. It burned out from seeds and detritis being caught in the impeller. I don't want it to happen again, and it is moored in a canal where there are lots of trees, mostly pine, and it accumulates lots of droppings.

In looking at the housing, it seems to me it should have a finer strainer. The holes are rather large, and let stuff through. Anyone have this problem, and added a finer gauge strainer? It would have to be fabricated I suppose.


The dealer said to buy a full cover and always use that. He is pricing one out, but it sounds like a lot of hassell to put on and off on a daily basis. Or is it no big deal?

Comments?
Larry

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You could attach screen (like you see in a screen door) inside the strainer. Cut a circle and dab some 4200 to affix.

If the bilge cover has slats, you could attach the screen to the underside of that instead.

A full cover would also solve this but try the screen first.

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A full mooring cover will keep the bilge pump free of junk and will keep the boat cleaner. It's amazing how much easier it is to keep the boat looking nice, rinse, cover, done.
Try the screen but I think the mooring cover is well worth the investment. I didn't think that until I got one.

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I hava a similar situation with my sport 15 docked under a "Weeping Willow" tree (lucky me). I'm not familiar with the new "Montauk 15'" floor layout but, what I did to remedy the problem was to take a thin piece of card board (or paper) and trace out the "Sump" box where the bilge pump sits (Rule 500gph), mark out notches for the wires and hose of the pump on the paper or card board, trim card board w/ scissor's until it fit's correctly over the sump pit. Then I just transfered the template (traced w/ pencil) onto a piece of 3/8" Plywood, cut out with a jig saw, painted to match floor w/ marine paint. It was a bit "rocky" over the bilge pump top but, it worked. The following year I improved it by making it out of "Heavier" 3/4" Plywood, and I put a hole for the top of the bilge pump in the plywood with a "hole saw" (a jig saw will work too). This cover also prevent's you from stepping in the hole (possibly losing your balance and falling) while fighting a fish at the stern (as sport 15 owner's know all too well). I think that this inexpensive "low tech" approach will work with many other models, while gloating in my "Jean-yuss-ness", I realized that I am probably NOT the first Whaler owner to ever do this. The "Guy's" are right, covering the boat is the best way to keep out dirt and debris, and keep the boat clean. Personally, I don't prefer the time it takes to uncover the boat, nor do I like the look of all the "Snap's" on the hull, I like to "fire up and go", if you don't cover the boat it will go through a bilge pump a season, I change mine out about once a year on avg. it's cheap, it's reg. maint. for me, this pump is ONLY 500 gph, and is designed to pump out rain water only, I keep a 5 Gal. bucket on board in case I do take a hard wave on board, it will bail out the boat much faster than that pump will, while i'm "NOT" sinking....hope this helped
mw

p.s. I think that "Whaler's" are like "Jeep's", they look better a little "Dirty" because, that mean's someone was having "FUN" !

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Thanks for the suggestions. I have glued screen wire to the underside of the bilge cover so that water will pass through, but the junk gets filtered out. Seems to work fine. This is a molded plastic cover, about 10x12 inches or so with slots in it.

Also, I am likely to get a mooring cover, and am waiting on the dealer to let me know my options. My areas of concern are that the cover would have to accommodate mooring whip lines, plus the bow, stern and spring lines. Also, how would it be attached? Will snaps have to be applied to the hull somehow, or is there a more elegant design solution? I think availability may be limited because the 15 Monatuk is a new design, and my boat has both bow and side rails which are quite high. Maybe it will have to be custom. We'll see.

Larry