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Bilge pump

This is a blurb I wrote a few months ago and had saved as a draft. I forgot that I hadn’t published it. So a bit late but here it is.

The reason we went up to the boat for the last few days was to clean her up a bit and get the bilge pump working again. A few months ago the bilge pump had come on continuously and for some reason couldn’t be turned off. I’m not sure that Angela even knew it was the bilge pump as it is a really nice diaphragm unit that sits up in the back of the engine compartment and doesn’t really look like a what you would think a standard bilge pump would. It ran for a  day or two before she found out where the noise was coming from. It’s pretty quiet when running dry. Finally she just cut the power line to it to get it to turn off. I think what happened is that the automatic switch went bad or the control panel for it went bad and left it running.

Me in the engine compartment reconnecting the power to the bilge pump.

The new panel I ordered to replace the old one.

The Sea-Dog 422035-1 provides an audible and visual means of warning that water level in your bilge is beyond your bilge pump float switch level and it has a control switch to select between automatic and manual mode of the bilge pump.

I am planning on getting two

JOHNSON ULTIMA AUTOMATIC FLOAT SWITCH Patented Mirus field effect detector cells producing micro-electrical fields that detect disruptions caused by water and fluids. Detector cells are totally sealed and are never in contact with water, will not corrode and are not affected by oil or foreign debris. […]

REINFORCING SIDEDECKS: s/v Gracie Emmett DE32

Gracie Emmett DE 32 is for sale. Email: de32ge@gmail.com (see following link for extensive photos and detailed boat inventory):

http://downeasteryachts.com/forums/boat-profiles/de32-gracie-emmett

REINFORCING SIDEDECKS: s/v Gracie Emmett DE32

By: Duane Nealon

The side deck sections along the cabin area have clear spans with no bulkheads or built-in cabinets to give support to the underside of the side decks. These deck areas always flexed, a condition that was attributed to lack of support.

Recently, a prospective buyer was convinced that the flex in the deck was a sign of deck delamination and core deterioration. Within days, a fiberglass expert was called in to assess the situation. Several core samples were taken on each side of these areas, which concluded that there was no delamination or core deterioration.

However, the thickness of the fiberglass and core on these sections of the side decks was relatively thin, approximately ½”, which was surprising because when installing a cabin top head vent, chain deck pipes, and the cockpit hatch, the core samples were much thicker (3/4” – 1”).

The approach taken for this project was to remove the interior layer of fiberglass and reinforce the side decks from the underside. This approach was made much easier as the result of the removable Spectropile headliner that was installed (see recent Gracie Emmett headliner article), and the fact that there were no interior built-ins that had to be dismantled. Step one was to cut and remove the interior layer of fiberglass below deck.

(Another possible option would have been to cut the interior layer of fiberglass on three sides to inspect the core and signs of delamination or determine if there was any latent moisture, thereby, allowing the forth side of the fiberglass panel to remain intact and provide a convient hinge to reattach the fiberglass […]