Boats, Water, and Curiosity

Why is the bilge pump running?

It was a valid question. Over the months that First Light has been in the water I'm not sure we had ever heard the bilge pump run. But there was the water pouring out of the side of the boat. The pump running nagged at Deb for most of the day, prompting her to open the bilge cover and, sure enough, there was still some water in the forward part of the bilge where the pump is located. (The cover is an easy lift with one hand.) We talked about it for a bit and my thought was that the Air Con units make water that has to go somewhere. Into the bilge was the obvious choice. But the Air has been running for weeks now. Would it take that long to make enough water to trigger the pump? I really had no idea. Then Deb reminded me that she had spilled a bunch of water in the galley the day before, water that had to go somewhere and would be added to that coming from the Air Con. So there was the answer, Air Con water plus spill equals bilge pump running. Except that Deb wasn't completely satisfied that was the complete answer. Me? It works. Don't fix it. There are lots of other things to fix. Water collected in the boat. Water got pumped out of the boat. It's all good. 

But she wanted to look further into the system. Even though I was pretty sure all was well, looking into it further was also okay with me because; a) over the years I have learned that when Deb wants to look into something it is probably something that needs looking into and, b) it would be a “looking into” performed inside the air conditioned boat. I'm all for working inside the boat, especially when both the temperature and dew points outside the boat are hovering around triple digits. 

Since we were cleaning out the bilge anyway, cleaning out the shower sump  (located in the forward part of the engine room aft of the main bilge section) seemed like a good idea. We haven't been using the boat shower much since we have access to unlimited hot water showers just steps away. So finding a bunch of slimy water splashing around in that box was a bit of a surprise at first. But then I noticed that the Air Con drain tubes actually run into that same box. So...where did the water come from that set off the bilge pump? It could not have been just the spill, that happened the day before the pump came on. Also, it seemed like there was a lot of water sloshing around in the shower sump. In fact the water level was over the top of the float switch. Mmm... I pushed the little test lever on the side of the switch and nothing happened. Closing the “Manual Sump” circuit breaker in the main DC panel had the pump clearing the water in just a few seconds. So, good pump, bad switch.

I have no idea how many float switches I have replaced over the years, but add another to the tally. The Inland Waterway Provision Co. located just a quick trot away had one in stock. (I loves me some Inland Waterway Provision Co. Good folks and lots of stuff in stock that boats seem to chew through.) Wiring in the new one was a pretty easy task, and although the air in the engine room is not nearly as conditioned as in that in the rest of the boat, a fan was brought down to facilitate a cooling breeze. Still, insofar as boat projects go, this one was pretty straightforward. But poking around in that system also answered the water in the bilge question.

In First Light, the bilge area and the sump area are separated by a wall about six inches high.. If one of the pumps should fail, or the water coming in be more than one of the pumps can handle, the overflow will have both of the pumps doing their best to keep the boat from flooding. But that takes a good bit of water. With the shower float switch not working, the Air Con water filled that space and, eventually, overflowed into the bilge area enough to trigger that pump. But it took a couple of weeks of constant use to do so. Without Deb's curiosity being aroused who knows how long we would have been putt-putting up the ICW with only a single pump armed to move water off the boat?

It is said that curiosity is fatal for cats. But it is a good thing to have around on a boat.

I loves me some dry bilge :)