Why Nearby Bilge Pumps Go Off Randomly--Are Boats Sinking?

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
This highly important question by me was lost in the recent forum fixes.

A bilge pump that goes off periodically in a slip would mean that water was continually entering a bilge. A power or pump failure would have interesting implications.

So, why do several newer boats around me periodically spurt water, a sound hard to miss on a calm morning in a marina?

The best answer the forum could come up with was that such bilge pumps only operate while I am there; if I am not there, they remain silent, and water does not enter boats. Therefore, if I stay away, no boats will sink.

I tried it, but it was unsatisfying, even though my wife thought the proposal was excellent.

So today I ran down an owner whose boat was busy spewing water on a quiet Sunday morning.

He said that Hunter boats, up until about 2000, were fitted with refrigeration systems that used sea water as part of the cooling system.

If the refrigerator is left on when the owner goes home, that sea water is expelled periodically.

He believes most such fittings, and water spurts, are located rather high on the topsides of such boats, as distinct from the usual locations of bilge pump outlet fittings.

Anyhow, I now know one more thing I previously didn't know, and was probably common knowledge to most.

Nobody leaves AC on when they go home; refrigerators, yes.
 
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