Bertram33 User Forum

Originally Phoenix had three bilge pumps.. two had switches located on the flybridge and were powered via a breaker in the main electric panel labeled "Electronics" (as was everything else on the flybridge.. running lights, horn, spotlight, etc, etc..). The third was powered via a dedicated switch in the electric panel drawing power directly from the stbd main breaker. There was also a high water bilge alarm with the horn mounted on the flybridge. Poor practice? Definitely!! But.. knowing the previous owner's actions nothing on the boat surprises me any more. I have rewired all three pumps to draw power directly from seperate batteries.. one from each engine battery, and one from the generator battery, which will be upgraded to become the house power battery. I plan on locating the three new auto/off/on pump switches on a dedicated panel in the salon, along with a new (second) high water alarm. I will keep the present high water alarm on the bridge. My question is.. do I need to have redundant bilge pump controls for all three pumps on the bridge? I have not planned on doing this, my rationale being if I was down in the salon I could see into the bilges and know if I needed to manually pump them.. if I was on the flybridge I couldn't. But.. the boat is run from the bridge.. and if I sensed something wrong I would have to leave the bridge and come down into the salon to manually start the pumps if the float switches stuck. But.. if I was on the bridge I might not have known there was something wrong in the bilges anyway until too late. I hope with three independant (all Rule 2000) bilge pumps, and an alarm on the bridge and another on the switch panel, I am well covered. Comments everyone? Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com New owner.. 1983 FBC! Finally!!

Frank, Mine had the three Rule 2000 pumps too. The aft pump has a manual/auto switch on the bridge which I find helpful. When I first start to take the boat up onto plane, I typically flip it to manual and look down at the aft port side to see if any bilge water that has run to the back pumps out. Once the water stops pumping I flip it back to auto. I am in the process of adding some additional pumps. I may add a safety pump (Rule 2000) to the water tank compartment, but I'm going to add a back-up 3700 GPH pump in the engine room and/or in the aft compartment, with the float mounted slightly higher than the standard one, so that it would only trigger in an emergency. With the new thru-hulls and strainers they're installing with the new engines, I'm also having them set up as emergency crash pumps. One close call makes you become overly cautious! Brian '90 Bertram 33' FBC Never Say Never Guilford, CT (Homeport) Kinnelon, NJ (Home)

Forgot two other things: 1. Mine has three high water float swithches located aft, engine room and forward bilge all wired to bell alarm on bridge. 2. My engine room and forward bilge are wired direct to battery, only one of them (forward bilge?) I think has an auto/manual switch mounted on the electric panel, but I never move it from the auto position, the other has no switch. Brian '90 Bertram 33' FBC Never Say Never Guilford, CT (Homeport) Kinnelon, NJ (Home)

Brian has stated what i would have.especially the part about the manual switch on the bridge getting any bilge water out when you get underway.

Do all you guys with the newer boats have your different compartments sealed off independantly? Al 1978 33 FBC NITES OFF

Al, On my boat the compartments are sealed from each other. That is, the water can flow from the engine bay to the stern but not forward to under the cabin.

Frank, My '89 has 3 pumps. 1. Fwd in the compartment right in front of the Head door. Wired to Port Bat. thru a Auto/ON switch on 12V Elec. Panel. 2. Midships in engine compartment. Wired directly to both main batteries. No separate control switch. 3. Aft behind the Gen. set. Wired to Stb. Battery. Auto/ON switch on Bridge. Always "hot". and will light if pump engages. (This saved me 2 times on broken hose clamps and a blown transmission cooler.) I have high water alarm switches on all 3. Gene Dugan

Thanks all.. I think I will keep my present arrangement with all 3 bilge pumps wired to 3 seperate power sources, with all three switches on a panel in the salon, plus add a 4th pump in the aftermost area with a switch on the flybridge. Additionally I will keep the high bilge alarm on the switch panel and the second high bilge alarm on the bridge. This will allow me to have manual control of one pump and an alarm while at the helm, while having most of the system functional and monitorable from the salon. Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC!