Umbrellas, naval officiers and...

[doris]

I'm not so sure about the use of the bilge pump for removing dregs of lpg gas.
1. No electrical equipment should be switched on or off when you suspect leaking gas.
2. Pumps designed for moving liquids are generally not much good at moving gas at atmospheric pressure.

I thought we were talking about a bit of physical labour here. Believe me a whale will get rid of a lot air.

 

[Blueboatman]

Re Sarabande, David Lewis

Yes indeed!
Though some years ago, especially poignant was his description of personal, ah hem, plumbing at work in subzero temps..just how do you get a one inch piece of hosepipe (sic) through two inches of insulated clothing?
Funnily enough I remember that he was rolled and dismasted (more than once perhaps?) in a steel boat and without recourse to outside help, a medically trained man and all round very level headed 'top bloke' imo.
Not sure I would measure up at all, but I do carry 2 bilge pumps+the identical loo pump +I aspire to an engine raw water divert valve-that diesel motor can really shift water at full bore-and buy you useful leak-finding time, I would hope..

 

[lenseman]

Well, my boat was left unattended for 8 weeks whilst I was looking after Mum in hospital and after.

I returned to the boat to find about 200 gallons of Essex water slurry coming over the floorboards. . . . . . This winter they will be supplemented with a GSM text alert system.

Who sells those?

 

[peter radclyffe]

... can I add bilge pumps to the list?

When did a bilge pump ever save a GRP sailing yacht?

I cannot imagine any situation where a bilge pump would be more effective than a frightened man with bucket in saving a yacht. Why do we bother with these devices?

how many ships have been saved by bilge pumps

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Stuff I have wondered about: -

1. Plastimo telescoping boat hooks.
2. Slatted floors in inflatable dinghies.
3. A lifejacket with no inherent buoyancy and only an oral inflation tube when used in cold waters and one is asthmatic.
4. Old vehicle tyres stowed for that occasion when one needs a "useful" fender, snubber or drogue. On the other hand an old inner tube is extremely useful.
5. Hemp rope.
6. Official "Fire" buckets painted red and annotated "Sand" and "Water" filled with said contents (dragging this up from memory but I think they were part of being a "Part 1 Registered Vessel" in the past, might be wrong, but it was sail training vessel stuff).
7. Anchor swivels.
8. Fluxgate hand bearing compass.
9. An Electronic wind strength and direction indicator.

 

[maxi77]

BoB

in the case of 1 we find that when the boathook is being used in tension long is usually good and conversely when in compression short is OK. So far it has worked.

as far as 3 is concerned in my days as a casing officer in a black messenger of death we always half inflated then when worn on deck. I don't think they were ever reaally meant to be self righting just more comfortable to wear than the old capoc ones.

 

[snowleopard]

BoB

in the case of 1 we find that when the boathook is being used in tension long is usually good and conversely when in compression short is OK. So far it has worked.

SWMBO insists on using it as a lever, pivoting it on the deck edge, when lifting a mooring buoy she then wonders why it won't slide back in again. Should I get a stronger boathook or a stronger woman?

 

[maxi77]

SWMBO insists on using it as a lever, pivoting it on the deck edge, when lifting a mooring buoy she then wonders why it won't slide back in again. Should I get a stronger boathook or a stronger woman?

I would have thought the choice was stronger boathook or weeker woman. On balance I suspect you will find that stronger boathook is cheaper.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

... can I add bilge pumps to the list?

When did a bilge pump ever save a GRP sailing yacht?

I cannot imagine any situation where a bilge pump would be more effective than a frightened man with bucket in saving a yacht. Why do we bother with these devices?

I was glad I had a bilge pump early spring 2008.

I had gone out towards Nab from Portsmouth, and my pal suddenly called out that we had water covering the sole.
"Pump!" I said to him, as I handed him the handle to the cockpit pump, and I'll get below and try and sort it.
Although the stern gland had been checked by me, it had completely come adrift and needed me to get into a very difficult place to reattach.
Just me and one bucket..... no chance!
I now have an automatic bilge pump.

 

[srm]

...

When did a bilge pump ever save a GRP sailing yacht?

When the engine started to pump sea water into the boat.

Last time I used the bilge pump to shift a serious amount of water was when draining fresh water tanks to clean them - got a much better flow of water by disconnecting the fresh water pipes and letting the electric bilge pump dispose of it.

Also, very useful and convenient if you have a leak of any sort - water down the hatch etc. I would need a couple of tons of water in my bilge before I could get anywhere near it with a bucket. Its also a way of keeping the carpets dry on flat bottomed, shallow bilged, modern yacht - perhaps it doesn't 'save' them but it keeps them a bit more comfortable.

Try reading the Fastnet report, lots of GRP yachts shipped vast quantities of water. Much of it through locker lids and hatches. A sensible precaution for offshore yachts is a bilge pumps that can be operated with all hatches closed to maintain watertight integrity.

By all means remove the bilge pump from your own boat, but don't ask others to be so foolish.