The bilge..or is it a sump?

[lonokai]

I went to the docks this after, to do some more of the continual cleaning of my E-27.

I took my ShopVac and proceeded to suck up the disgusting water in the bilge (or is it?), when it started spraying all over the inside of the cabin this, after I have spent days cleaning it up!
I immediately turned off the vac. I had sucked up a couple of gallons of water...and there is still more. I have work to do there....but it was getting dark and I had to clean the stinky mess I had just made.
That took the better part of an hour and I think I have removed all of the offending water from the cabin. Luckily only a little sprayed on my newly dry cleaned cushions. :0

So the question is this.....I thought the bilge ran the length of the underside of the cabin floor and that it was all essentially the same depth...may a little more at the aft end. I had no idea it was that deep.
Is this what's known as a sump? please see the attached crude drawing I just made. We are looking from the side of the boat.

And, is it save to put the bilge pump deeper than it already is?

 

[bigd14]

Hey Eric- You have found the sump behind the keel, which extends almost to the bottom of the keel. Probably holds 5 gallons of water. Once this is empty, if you put a bilge pump at the bottom of it you should never have any water in the "bilge" (flat part under the sole). Keep in mind this is sort of a weak spot in the boat, so try not to ram anything at high speed in reverse!

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?2826-Ericson-27-Achilles-Heel-Keel

 

[lonokai]

RE: The Sump Behind The Keel

The Sump Behind The Keel sounds like an eclectic movie of some kind.

So...I need to empty that sucker out, and clean it really really really good. Is the sump there to collect all that water? (I thought thats what the bilge was for).

And THEN, I can lower the pump down into the cavernous depths of the sump hole.

You think it's advisable to reenforce it? Ive read in the post you included that someone planned on epoxy...and I read someone else used cement?

As they say in L.A. "oi vey."

Eric

 

[bigd14]

I personally decided not to reinforce the area. There are not many rocky areas in the area we sail and the likelihood of it happening is low. Just something to be aware of.

Yes, empty that sucker out and throw a bilge pump a the bottom. I put a small bilge pump a the bottom of the sump, and another larger one at the top of the sump in case the little one got overwhelmed or jammed.

And then, figure out where that water is coming from and start sealing it up! You should be able to get to a mostly dry boat eventually.

 

[Afrakes]

E-27 bilge

My 73' 27 had slight bilge leak which I discovered after the first season I owned it. It had always been a northern boat so I assumed that the PO had forgotten to add the proper amount of anti-freeze to the bilge for winter storage and as a result had caused a very slight freeze related crack. I thoroughly cleaned the very deep bilge, washed it down with acetone and laid in a couple layers of cloth and resin to coat the bottom and side walls. That stopped the leak. I set up the bilge pump with a quick disconnect so that it could be easily removed over the winter so the bilge could be filled with anti-freeze. I used a Water Witch switch mounted in the upper third of the bilge to automatically control the amount of water that accumulated. Due to the vertical lift to the transom outlet there was always about 5" of water in the bilge. I didn't use a check valve in the system as I thought it would put too much strain on the pump.

 

[Kingfisher]

Suggest you move your pump and switch to the deeper portion of the bilge well. I have a star board L shaped bracket I fabricated, the pump and the float switch mount on the foot of the bracket. Your diagram keeps a lot of water in the bilge with the mounting so high. The more forward hatch allows you to inspect the compression post foot area, just aft of that you may find and depression from manufacture of the keel, may look like a nut is missing, or something like that but I understand it's from the manufacturing process. I get a slight bit of water here from drip down the inside of the mast wires in heavy rain. Other than that the "upper bilge" should be dry.