December Update

Over the past month I have been busy with the upgrade and preparation of  Sparrow for my trip next spring. Projects that I have been working on are; Replacing my navigation/anchor light (located on top of  the mast), Replacing the deck lights ( located on the bottom side of the spreaders), Hooking up the Newport diesel heater (located in the salon), Building a full enclosure for the cockpit area, and re-plumbing the bilge pump system (more on this later).
       I am trying to get the outside boat work done or mostly done while the weather is still decent. My plan is that when the winter weather arrives then I will work either on the inside of the boat or on the electronics, a lot of which can be setup and played with on the bench.
      Now back to my bilge pump setup. I have an upper and a lower bilge. I have a bilge pump at each level. Both of these are fed into a one way check valve and then connected together via a PCV WYE connector. The output of this connector goes to a 1-1/8" hose which leads to the stern of the boat.At the stern  the hose is fed into a PVC manifold along with two other output hoses. The other two hoses are a 1-1/2" Manual bilge pump hose, and a 5/8" RO water system hose. The purpose of the manifold is to reduce the number of holes drilled into the hull.
      The check valves, for the most part, are used to prevent the bilge pumps from cycling. That is once the bilge pump moves the last of the water below it up the hose, it will shut off. Now the water in the hose will flow back through the hose back into the bilge. At this point the bilge will turn on again, and there you have cycling. Another purpose for the check valves is to prevent the water pumped from one bilge pump from returning to the bilge via the other bilge pump when the other bilge pump in not running.
      Another feature of my bilge pump system is that the upper bilge pump has an alarm connected to it. In this way, if the alarm (which is a chime) comes on, then I will be alerted that a serious problem might exist.
      One more point: one reason that I am so involved with my bilge pump system is that I was using the Shields series 141 multi-flex hose, which is very easy to install, especially through tight areas. Problem with this hose though is that after a few years the hose becomes very rigid. That is to say, the hose that you could tie a figure eight in when first installed will crack on you if moved after sitting for a few years. This happened to me just before I was suppose to take off on my trip this year. I have now begun to use the Shields series 148 white vinyl hose. This hose is not as flexible as the other, but is a lot sturdier, and with a little ingenuity can be moved through tight areas.

      BTW, One more feature of a well constructed bilge pump system would be to have a high water alarm. This alarm would be positioned just an inch or so above the high water bilge pump. This alarm will sound if either the bilge pumps are not running, or they can not keep up with the amount of water entering the boat. Also the wiring to this alarm should be separate from the bilge pump wiring.
   See Photos.