Self bailer/elephants trunk advice

[hard1]

Trunk is good to have. Like Scary Des says, you might never need them...but one day...... Best RIB design is jet drive, sloping floor and open transom. Never any water in the boat ever.

[Rogue Wave]

get Jimbo to give Britt a call and scrounge the Hypalon of us! we have some blue you can use.

if you want self bailers *urgghhhh! then try inflatable boat supplies

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Chopppywaters

i still think the bilge is good enough

You've lost me there Chops. Bilge and Donkey's Knob are not the same thing.

[Richard B]

I'm assuming that choppywaters thinks that an electric bilge is enough to clear water out of the boat?

[Jimbo]

What do you take me for, some sort of secretary

Will call Britt tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

get Jimbo to give Britt a call and scrounge the Hypalon of us! we have some blue you can use.

if you want self bailers *urgghhhh! then try inflatable boat supplies

[limeydal]

Thing I'm not sure about is how best to deploy the donkey dong
Seems most of the time the bilge pump will take care of business.
The only time I really need is ,if I get swamped and then leaving the helm and
going to release the dong line is the last thing I want to do

Anyone ever rigged up a valve to a switch on the console that can be flipped and opened in an instant or is that open to too many safety issues.

Just a thought

cheers Dal

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Mollulnan

Since when did a Donkey's knob become an "Elephants Trunk"?

Actually it's Donkey's Dick and it is used for Jerry can spouts like this

http://www.mattsavage.com/bits/jerry_can/GJC002.jpg

For more definitions see here

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...&defid=1183097

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

What do you take me for, some sort of secretary

Will call Britt tomorrow.

Thamks I did not want to publish her Phone number cos you know how shy and retiring she is!

[Chopppywaters]

Originally Posted by Mollulnan

You've lost me there Chops. Bilge and Donkey's Knob are not the same thing.

my bad i wasnt sayin they are. I meant that i think the bilge pump would be enough rather than having donkey knobs or elephant trunks or giraff necks or whatever u wanna call them (made the last one up )

[Richard B]

Bilge pump enough? No!

There are several problems with electric bilge pumps:

1. They aren't fast enough! If you have a boat full of water, even the fastest pump won't clear it out in a decent time.
2. The float switches can (and do) stick.
3. Electric pumps can fail.

[Daniel]

The very design and idea of an elephants trunk is such that is collapses when water is not flowing through it - which makes it, kind of, water tight.

Certianly this is always enough to stop water getting back in for short periods when stopped, or even mored up during lunch or similar.

They only need to be "closed" or tied up when leaving the boat for an extended time, like overnight.

[hard1]

Electric bilge pumps are not salvage pumps, they are not designed for continuous use and will burn out. If you go to sea or anywhere the weather is likely to be changeable (for the worst) and cut up rough miles from a safe haven, install bilge pump (for bilge) 2 X 3" trunks, and manual Whale Gusher type pump. This last is not essential, as one scared man with a 3 gallon bucket can shift more than all these methods put together. As for operating the trunks, take a trip line through jam cleats to suitable position. Drop the trunks, motor home safely and clear all the water you will get on-board in serious weather. If you're not keen, splash out and buy another 4 disco bilge pumps.

If you never flood it, then you're just not driving it hard enough!

[brian eiland]

Originally Posted by hard1

...... Best RIB design is jet drive, sloping floor and open transom. Never any water in the boat ever.

I have been thinking along these lines for some time now as I searched for a
short, wide, open-transom tender/dive craft that could be carried (two of
them) on the front deck of a 65' gamefishing catamaran of my design,
www.RunningTideYachts.com.

I was seeking a relatively small tender craft that comfortable could carry 4/5 persons with some dive and/or dive/fishing gear. Too many of the existing RIBs are too confining in their interior space, particularly those made to conform to road towing widths. I wanted two persons to be able to sit on the tubes across from one another, and yet still have the leg-room to clear a central straddle seat that might house the jet ski type power plant. That would call for a fairly wide craft with a central hull that could house the water jet. A very wide craft needing a central water hull rules out the cat configuration. I could have a transom for its structural contribution, but it could be open to allow for immediate evacuation of any water that might swamp it as a result of a large wave washing over the bow stowage area of the mothership. With width I could accommodate the people without excessive length and thus keep the boat size small for the continuous hoisting service it will see.

[codprawn]

Have a look at zapcats - probably too small and not a jet but may give you ideas.