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Why don't boats have bilge siphons?
- Thread starter IDoSeaDoo
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Boats are required by law to have powered bilge pumps and powered ventilation systems. Ski's get a CG waiver on both probably because of their small size. Personally I would rather have powered bilge pumps over the bailing systems, for several reasons, the main reason self bailers only work when you're underway, and at best they only work marginally. I have bilge pumps in my ski's. Kevin probably knows more about this than me. [MENTION=43374]Coastiejoe[/MENTION]
FinnExplorer
Active Member
Explorers came with bailers.
Don't know the laws round there, but i'd think the bilge pumps are more powerful in what they do as Lou said earlier.
Don't know the laws round there, but i'd think the bilge pumps are more powerful in what they do as Lou said earlier.
Lou pretty much nailed it...
Bilge pumps are not required in a boat that can't hold enough water in it that would either capsize it or sink it. Also not required for water tight compartments that create a situation where the compartment is basically unaccessable..
MUCH goes into boats that do not go into jet skis. By that, I am referring to the administrative aspect. Boats carry an entire different type of liability and as such, require an unbelievable amount of legal stuff that goes into actually creating something that floats and carries humans around. Dewatering is one of the lower aspects in recreational boats but it is still a required input. As a boat is much like a house and can carry multiple people on-board, they need to have a means to dewater if the boat is "dead in the water". A ski can only carry what it is rated for which is normally 3 or less. And, you MUST have a PFD as the skis is not designed to be a floating means of life support such as a boat is even if it is damaged. Many boats will not sink but will swamp. So, even with a hole in it you have a semi-floating item to hold until you are rescued, skis are not legally designed in the same way. So basically, skis are normally used in-land or close enough to shore that you can abandon them and swim to shore. Boats are designed to be used lake wide or ocean wide. You will NEED the boat to survive even if it swamps.
Bilge pumps are not required in a boat that can't hold enough water in it that would either capsize it or sink it. Also not required for water tight compartments that create a situation where the compartment is basically unaccessable..
MUCH goes into boats that do not go into jet skis. By that, I am referring to the administrative aspect. Boats carry an entire different type of liability and as such, require an unbelievable amount of legal stuff that goes into actually creating something that floats and carries humans around. Dewatering is one of the lower aspects in recreational boats but it is still a required input. As a boat is much like a house and can carry multiple people on-board, they need to have a means to dewater if the boat is "dead in the water". A ski can only carry what it is rated for which is normally 3 or less. And, you MUST have a PFD as the skis is not designed to be a floating means of life support such as a boat is even if it is damaged. Many boats will not sink but will swamp. So, even with a hole in it you have a semi-floating item to hold until you are rescued, skis are not legally designed in the same way. So basically, skis are normally used in-land or close enough to shore that you can abandon them and swim to shore. Boats are designed to be used lake wide or ocean wide. You will NEED the boat to survive even if it swamps.
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As a side note,,, more boats have sunk due to an improperly installed bilge than any other reason. More specifically, most manufactures have installed the output line from the bilge below the water line of the boat. Within the line is a check valve so that water will not flow into the boat. If this check valve fails, the water flows very efficiently into the boat and through the bilge pump and then into your bilge/hull. I have seen tests done with the bailer systems and the main reason they are not used in a commercial aspect is due to their failure rate and the liability of the cost to human lives.
IDoSeaDoo
Well-Known Member
I see, I thought that maybe it was a legality issue. Thanks for clearing that up. I like my bailers. I find that the challenger's auto-bailer worked only half the time and if it took on a couple gallons, they would just stay there. Also, because of the placement of the bilge pump, it would never get all the water. The skis on the other hand sucked anything out automatically and usually only left a few pints of water behind. I think I will keep the bailers as well as the bilge pump when I do the Challenger upgrade.
PS: the bailers might not seem like they work that good, they DO WORK. One time, my ex gf didn't put the boat plug into the GTS (despite me telling her to). Just on a hunch I asked her if she did what I told her, like 10 min after we left the dock ,and she goes "well, I didn't see it". So she just didn't bother to find it, got on the ski and off we went. Upon finding out about this (in the middle of the sound), I open her seat and there water was almost up to the carb. I quickly plugged it up and a few minutes of riding later, the water was all gone. Goes to show that the bailers might not be as fast as a bilge pump, but they do work, and are virtually trouble free.
PS: the bailers might not seem like they work that good, they DO WORK. One time, my ex gf didn't put the boat plug into the GTS (despite me telling her to). Just on a hunch I asked her if she did what I told her, like 10 min after we left the dock ,and she goes "well, I didn't see it". So she just didn't bother to find it, got on the ski and off we went. Upon finding out about this (in the middle of the sound), I open her seat and there water was almost up to the carb. I quickly plugged it up and a few minutes of riding later, the water was all gone. Goes to show that the bailers might not be as fast as a bilge pump, but they do work, and are virtually trouble free.
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