Newbie questions on bilge pumps

Sorry this may seem dumb, but I am new to boating.

Is a bilge pump necessary on all boats? I am going to have a 15x44 jon boat. Does the bilge pump out water that leaks in the bottom?

Thanks for your patience-

A dumb question is one not asked!!! or a dumb question beat swimming back to the dock.

I grew up with a simple milk jug with the top cut out for a bailing bucket. I personally have put bilge pumps in all my boats the last few years. Thankfully my last few boats never leaked enough for a bilge pump to pick up. The need for them has derived from the torrential afternoon thunder storms we get here on the gulf coast. It can put 6" of water in your boat in a few minutes. I've also gotton about 6" of water in my boat from nose plowing through a wave caused by idiots skiing.

In my 14', I didn't mount the bilge pump. It stays in an compartment. If I need it, I pull it out.

Good to know-

Are there any types/brands that are better to have than others? I am really green here...

I have always had good luck with the ones you can buy at wal-mart (Atwood Tsunami). The more GPH (gallons per hour) the faster it will drain yer boat. I think they are about $20 for 500 GPH. Good luck.

You don't need one. I put one in my 1542 just for the convenience.

It's a "crap shoot" if you need one or not. They are good to have, but you can survive without one. I've actually taken on more water from rain than anything else. Guess that's lucky for me....and even with that water....I still didn't turn the bilge on. I've certainly read about cases where it was good to have one though. Like I said...."crap shoot". Guess it depends on how much stock you put into the old saying, "Better SAVE than SORRY".

TomKat said:

Sorry this may seem dumb, but I am new to boating.

Is a bilge pump necessary on all boats? I am going to have a 15x44 jon boat. Does the bilge pump out water that leaks in the bottom?

Thanks for your patience-

Click to expand...

A bilge pump is not necessary, especially for small boats, but having some method of removing water from the boat while on the water is required safety equipment in many (if not most) areas.

A bilge pump is an efficient but more expensive way to handle the problem, a milk jug cut off at the top is a cheap but effective way to handle the same problem.

justnortherns said:

TomKat said:

Sorry this may seem dumb, but I am new to boating.

Is a bilge pump necessary on all boats? I am going to have a 15x44 jon boat. Does the bilge pump out water that leaks in the bottom?

Thanks for your patience-

Click to expand...

A bilge pump is not necessary, especially for small boats, but having some method of removing water from the boat while on the water is required safety equipment in many (if not most) areas.

A bilge pump is an efficient but more expensive way to handle the problem, a milk jug cut off at the top is a cheap but effective way to handle the same problem.

Click to expand...

Unless you got a problem with leaky rivetS

I think I can afford one, if I ever get rained on it might be a good thing to have

TomKat said:

I think I can afford one, if I ever get rained on it might be a good thing to have

Click to expand...

Agree.....for 20-30 bucks....it's worth it.....to me at least.

Would a bilge have saved those 2 guys on the Mississippi that capsized this week? they were in a boat just like mine

TomKat said:

Would a bilge have saved those 2 guys on the Mississippi that capsized this week? they were in a boat just like mine

Click to expand...

I think it would be uesless in a capsize situation. It would be good if the boat gets swamped (which is a more likely scenario than a capsize IMHO). The main reason I put mine in was to deal with rain.

justnortherns said:

TomKat said:

Sorry this may seem dumb, but I am new to boating.

Is a bilge pump necessary on all boats? I am going to have a 15x44 jon boat. Does the bilge pump out water that leaks in the bottom?

Thanks for your patience-

Click to expand...

A bilge pump is not necessary, especially for small boats, but having some method of removing water from the boat while on the water is required safety equipment in many (if not most) areas.

A bilge pump is an efficient but more expensive way to handle the problem, a milk jug cut off at the top is a cheap but effective way to handle the same problem.

Click to expand...

Unless you need to concentrate on something else, like an emergency. The purpose of the bigle pump is to remove water, however the advantage is that you dont have to worry about it. You can concentrate on other things, emergency run back to shore, medical emergency on board, etc. The odds you wont need it, about 99 to 1. However when you do need a bilge pump, it becomes priceless, especially in an emaregency... Kind of like a fire extinguisher. You pray you dont need it, however its there just in case.

Better to have it and never need it, than to need it one time and not have it.

Think of it as an insurance policy with a one time payment for the premium.

The main reason I put mine in was because I often find myself fishing in the rain. Water can accumulate pretty quickly in a flat bottom jon. I would rather flick a switch than bail by hand.

Hanr3 said:

Unless you need to concentrate on something else, like an emergency. The purpose of the bigle pump is to remove water, however the advantage is that you dont have to worry about it. You can concentrate on other things, emergency run back to shore, medical emergency on board, etc. The odds you wont need it, about 99 to 1. However when you do need a bilge pump, it becomes priceless, especially in an emaregency... Kind of like a fire extinguisher. You pray you dont need it, however its there just in case.

Click to expand...

Very good points, I appreciate that a bilge pump is efficient and allows one to concentrate on more pressing tasks. However, I think I'll keep a manual bailer around as well just in case (fortunately it doesn't take up any weight). The one issue that bothers me is that a bilge pump has to run off a battery, whereas a manual bailer does not.

In an electric-motor only environment, for example, an emergency is also the time when battery use requirements will likely be the most stressed. So, if one wants to be really careful, it might be best to have both manual and automatic bailer options available.

Never thought I would need one till this summer when I put a hole in the boat (and this was on a lake I've fished for years) it was nice to be able to turn on the pump allowing me one less worry. This gave me the chance to call the rangers office so they could assist me if I couldn't make it back to the ramp. Boats since been repaired and may never need a bilge pump again. But I'll have one just for the peace of mind.

As said above, darned handy when bad things happen or just to pump the boat down before running back to the ramp...

One thing to consider, even a 500gph isn't very much water when bad things happen... It's only a 5/8" hose and loses performance fast the longer the hose run is.

Jamie

i was kokanee fishing one day last summer,a waterski boat flew past me about 30 feet behind. the wake came right over my transom,i had maybe 2 inches of freeboard after that.no chance of bailing without sinking. all i could do was pin the throttle towards the dock. i sank 5 feet from the beach. put in a bilge pump.

I read somewhere an easy way to remove water in a boat is to run WOT (if gas powered), pull the rear drain plug. The water should drain on its own. Does this work?

Tony