another possibly ridiculous question

[Lee St.Clair]

I'm going over every facet of this craft as it is new to me. I am trying to locate the bilge pump. The manual says nothing about it. I think I see the discharge vent on the side but can get to the area to see where the discharge tubing leads to. I can turn it on and hear it is running. I know I can p0robably put water in the bilge and see if it pumps but I want to go farther than that. I wish to remove it, disassemble it, replace impeller if possible. So maybe some of the Cobalt 190 guys knows where and how to do this. In my past years of boating with much larger craft, I can't remember how many times I've seen guys take on water only to find that the bilge pumps didn't work. My Grand Banks yacht had 3 of them and I tested them often.

[dustinm]

Most all of them i have seen are under the engine.

[Big Block Power]

Most all of them i have seen are under the engine.

Yes you will not want to remove it unless it doesn't work. Fill up the bilge and try it. It's tight in there in that little boat. It will be in the middle by the transom under the oil pan. I can see and get at mine and I still wouldn't want to remove it. I'll let the boat sink before I remove mine.

[Lee St.Clair]

Thanks guys . I did look in the area you mention and sure enough, there it is right where BBP says it was. Why in the world would they put it there? A better place would be closer to the front of the engine where you can get to it. I'll fill her up with water and check it out. If it doesn't pump water as needed , I have no idea how I could ever get it out. What I think I'd do is abandon it in place, buy a new one and put it right in front and under the engine.

[Big Block Power]

Yep I was just going to say buy a new one and mount it where you want. You should be able to get to the original wiring easy enough and run new wire to the new pump.

[bruceb58]

Its where it is because the way the boat sits in the water...stern low.

[Lee St.Clair]

One would certainly think that but the fact is, it has a suction hose from the pump right back to about the centerline of the engine. Therefor putting the new pump up front and still use the suction hose it amounts to the same thing.

[bruceb58]

One would certainly think that but the fact is, it has a suction hose from the pump right back to about the centerline of the engine. Therefor putting the new pump up front and still use the suction hose it amounts to the same thing.

I have seen a lot of bilge pumps and have yet to see one with a suction hose. I am sure they may be out there I guess. The types of bilge pumps that you normally see are just a hard centrifugal vane impeller so they pretty much have zero suction capabilities.

Have a picture of it?

[Lee St.Clair]

It's raining today but when it quits, I'll uncover the boat and try to get a detailed picture of it. The only way I can see how they got that pump where it is , had to be when the engine is out.

[Norris_Boating]

I don't know much about bilge pumps but do know pumps in general, the longer the intake hose (suction hose) the more work the pump does and decreases it's throughput. Not sure moving it a few feet would make a difference one way or another it just depends on the quality of pump.

[Big Block Power]

It's raining today but when it quits, I'll uncover the boat and try to get a detailed picture of it. The only way I can see how they got that pump where it is , had to be when the engine is out.

It's real easy when it's like this!

[Lee St.Clair]

Holy catfish! A plumbing nightmare. I hope they plan on labelling that stuff so someone can figure out where stuff is coming from and where it is going.

[Mike in SC]

Are those pumps for ballast tanks for a surf boat or something?
Looks like the middle seacock may not be able to fully open with that hose arrangement.

[Big Block Power]

Yes that was a surf model.

[Lee St.Clair]

Every story has a beginning and an end. I could not get a decent picture of the area under the engine. I did verify that the hose I see in the bottom of the boat that I thought was the intake hose for the bilge pump, is actually a crankcase vent hose. In the very bottom back of the boat there is a deal that the underwater lights and the drain port exist. Then about 3 inches above that sits the bilge pump. I put the drain plug in and put about 4 or 5 inches of water in the bottom. To my surprise, the bilge pump took off automatically even with the switch off. Once the pump took almost all water out , it shut off automatically. It does also come on when the bilge pump switch is turned on regardless if there is water or not. So the bottom line is , everything works first class and finally ready to go. Many thanks to guys here for the assistance and comments. A good ending.