That time a dock neighbor told me my bilge pump hose was rigged all wrong

I've been living on my sailboat down in Marathon for about 8 years now. Last summer a retired marine mechanic named Tom was helping me pull my engine and he pointed at my bilge pump setup and just shook his head. Said I had the hose looped too low and it would backflow any time I hit a wave. I'd been doing it that same way since my first boat in the 90s. He showed me how to run it up high near the deck then back down to the thru-hull. Cost me about 12 bucks for new hose clamps and it has never given me trouble since. Anyone else get schooled by an old salt on something they thought they had figured out?

3 comments

3 Comments

bettymurphy20d ago

Old Tom had me reroute my anchor light wire after seeing it chafing on a shroud.

simon_wood7219d ago

Chafing on a shroud" is exactly the kind of thing old salts catch, @bettymurphy. I read somewhere that a lot of electrical fires on boats start from wires rubbing like that. Smart move.

kim.emma19d ago

Huh, never woulda thought about that but it makes total sense now.

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