Thoughts on bilge pump though-hulls

[Divecoz]

To have pumps...... or no pumps is a each to his own... we have the gamut represented..
Chances of my boat will sustaining a hole is what , 1 in a million? I dont buy lottery tickets ...But I have 3 pumps.. I bought mine at a HUGE discount! If I had , had to pay retail ? No doubt I wouldn't have what I have. But I have done that a lot.. Rich I can get you 40 to 60% off this entire line of products, what do you want?? EVERYTHING THEY MAKE!!! I did it with Scuba Gear.... I was getting just that, 40 = 60% off list and I now hahahaha after selling off much of what I had , I still have 3 , 4 , maybe 5 complete sets hahahaha...I am afraid to look....
If I have to pay some rediculous list price ? No Way ... Huge discount? I am all over it..

[seahouse]

Hi Chris!

Wow 1/4"! That's a lot of wear- what year is your M?

I guess what I was asking was how much over 1.250" did you have to machine the ID on the Delrin bushings to get a slip fit? Or maybe you just did trial fits directly on the torque tubes until the fit was right?

Sounds like leakage in this area is a non-issue, though.

Hey Crikey!

Did you price those composite bushings? They look ideal.

-Brian.

[Crikey]

Brian, No... I never got that far yet because my initial contact with an outside salesman didn't get returned. I think I threw a curveball with a request for a custom length and flange size which (he said) would have a waiting time of five weeks. Told him to go ahead with the quote, and never heard back. What I will do next is use their web site and request a direct quote through the factory fairly soon.The composite thrust washers (1.25") were said to be only a couple of bucks or so (?) and the main issue with the bushings was one of factory backlog.
At this point I have to reassemble and must put this aside for the holiday period. Looks like fall before I get there again.
This does look like an amazing alternative to a SS bushing/bearing, and which has an incredible load and wear rating as well as a small amount of flexibility inherent in the design. I'll post prices along with this mod when I finally get there...
Feel free to beat me to it.
Ross

[u12fly]

Hi Chris!

Wow 1/4"! That's a lot of wear- what year is your M?

I guess what I was asking was how much over 1.250" did you have to machine the ID on the Delrin bushings to get a slip fit? Or maybe you just did trial fits directly on the torque tubes until the fit was right?

-Brian.

Brian - My boat is 2006. When I bought it, the owner no longer had the trailer and the boat was living in the water...maybe with the rudders down. Anyway, my delrin blocks are 3/4" thick. I had the rudder torque tubes out of the boat and machine fit the to a "very tight" fit. Because they twist against water loads the additional friction from the delrin is undetectable, so if you can slip the rudder torque tube into the delrin bushing you are good to go. The outer dimensions of my blocks are square, I think I used 2 1/2" blocks, anyway I bonded and fiber glassed the delrin blocks into place. The material can be purchased at TAPs Plastic, they usually stock delrin sheet, which is what these are cut from.

[Russ]

I've been in Real Bad Weather Twice. Worst one I was ( auditioning for the part of Lt. Dan ) and was under sail and I was taking on quite a bit of water for well over 1 hour . My 3 pumps took pretty good care of me.

How were you taking on water? That must have been some really nasty weather and you are still sailing.

[Divecoz]

Bad weather was ..Once in 30mph to well over...... GOD Only Knows..... with following seas at times, washing in over the transom and other times on a tack, and bashing thru waves that crashed on and then washed over the cabin deck, an had me calf deep in water at the wheel!! All the while under sail.. That was SW Fla.coming out of Pelican Bay to storm cover behind Gasparilla Island .. Another time Not as bad but again under sail coming in off Lake Michigan.. I've also been Swamped twice, no less, coming into the harbor.. HUGE Power Boats coming in HOT and ....shutting down at the entrance and @#$%^&*( dang near ) running me over !!
I have takn on water...... thru Ever Hole in and around the transom , and some, "Coming out of Pelican Bay" , thru the companion way..

I've been in Real Bad Weather Twice. Worst one I was ( auditioning for the part of Lt. Dan ) and was under sail and I was taking on quite a bit of water for well over 1 hour . My 3 pumps took pretty good care of me.

How were you taking on water? That must have been some really nasty weather and you are still sailing.

[Crikey]

I have great affection for some of these giant ' powerboat' guys! Sometimes they soooo do it on purpose....
Happened to me last year in some quest to make the last lock (Rideau Canal) before nightfall. Spun me 360 deg and I totally wished I had a repeating paintball gun on board!

I would have 'signed' him....

[dvideohd]

Crikey... Clearly.....

you have the makings of another Great Mod!!!!

Mast Mounted Paintball Machine Gun..... You could store a lot of balls in the mast..... neon pinks and yellows would have the perfect '60s feel to it, as well....

[K9Kampers]

Mount a potato cannon in your boom for targets aft!!!

[Crikey]

Problem is - I have the gun, just don't have any balls!

[K9Kampers]

There are talking balls and there are action balls...

[Gater Dunn]

I have great affection for some of these giant ' powerboat' guys! Sometimes they soooo do it on purpose....
Happened to me last year in some quest to make the last lock (Rideau Canal) before nightfall. Spun me 360 deg and I totally wished I had a repeating paintball gun on board!

I would have 'signed' him....

this is the gun for you http://youtu.be/-xoSdPInXbo

[Russ]

Bad weather was ..Once in 30mph to well over...... GOD Only Knows..... with following seas at times, washing in over the transom and other times on a tack, and bashing thru waves that crashed on and then washed over the cabin deck, an had me calf deep in water at the wheel!! All the while under sail.. That was SW Fla.coming out of Pelican Bay to storm cover behind Gasparilla Island .. Another time Not as bad but again under sail coming in off Lake Michigan.. I've also been Swamped twice, no less, coming into the harbor.. HUGE Power Boats coming in HOT and ....shutting down at the entrance and @#$%^&*( dang near ) running me over !!
I have takn on water...... thru Ever Hole in and around the transom , and some, "Coming out of Pelican Bay" , thru the companion way..

Wow! Like I said, after all that you are still sailing. I've known plenty of sailors caught in some bad weather that scared them off from boating totally. You certainly make a good case for having a bilge pump.

As for the power boater, you should have reported him. He's responsible for his wake and splashing another boater is illegal. My dad had a Seadoo splash him and got him totally soaked. He called the Marine police who met the jerk at the dock with a citation and a mandatory court appearance.

[u12fly]

Hey U12!

Sounds perfect! The Delrin will reduce friction and will address the slop to the degree that the tube is round. How much out of round did you find they were? ...

...
Looking forward to your posts.

-Brian.

Brian: I posted pictures of the rudder bushings which I installed in my boat on the MOD page:
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/in ... ?view=1508

Chris.