Frank,
It is possible that your Whale manual pump needs to be serviced… particularly if it has been unused for a long time. My 25 is a very dry boat and the Whale pump in the cockpit is the only bilge pump I have ever needed; every six months or so I need to pump out a gallon or two of water. I was having the same problem you report – heck of a long time to get the air out of the suction hose. I bought a kit for the pump and replaced the seals, flappers, and diaphragm a few years ago. No more problem. Turns out the rubber parts were getting pretty still from age and – I presume – oxidation over the years. Rick Brass Washington, NC From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Eric Frank via CnC-List Sent: Wednesday, May 2, 2018 2:23 PM To: [email protected] Cc: Eric Frank <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Stus-List C&C 33 MK II Bilge pumps My CC 35 II (1974) also has a manual (Whale) bilge pump in the cockpit, and I notice that sometimes I have to pump very hard to suck the water from the bilge up to the pump so it starts pumping. Presumably there is some leakage of water past the intake valve with just air in the system - at times it’s a real nuisance although I very rarely use the manual pump. So perhaps an electric pump in the bilge in series with the manual pump located quite a lot higher in the cockpit would be good for priming the manual pump, which would then not require the battery to keep pumping. In Cats Paw, that is not the arrangement: two separate pump lines going to two separate thru-hulls. But after reading this on-going discussion, I wonder if maybe some owners have implemented that arrangement. It is comforting to know that it’s possible to go on pumping even if the battery has run down. Eric Frank Cat's Paw C&C 35 Mk II Mattapoisett, MA
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