Do I need a bilge in my 170

[Anonymous]

OK, one more stupid quesiton.  The 17 i just bought, the previous owner said the bilge pump no longer works.  Anyone know how difficult this is going to be to replace?  Thanks!

[Wilson]

Shouldn't be hard at all, as long as you have access.  Find your old one and go buy a new one. You will see, add a float switch if you don't have one.  If there are anymore questions, let us know.

[steved]

Unless you have an enormous motor on the thing, you should really never need the bilge pump anyway as the boat is designed to be self-bailing. I have never had to use mine on my '82 22-2 ccp.

[Wilson]

You NEED a bilge pump!!!!!!!

A self bailing deck is not a self bailing bilge.  You start getting water in your bilge and you can't get it out fast enough, you are going DOWN!!!!

I recommend 2 bilge pumps with float switches and a manual on/off switch.  They should be directly wired to your battery so that even when the batt. switch is off they will come on.  Like when the boat is sitting at the dock and you are not there.  Something breaks and starts leaking down there...  you're in trouble without a pump.

[Anonymous]

Bilge pump is mounted under the rear access port (moon pie) on
the liner in front of engine. Easy to replace.

[RickK]

You NEED a bilge pump!!!!!!!

A self bailing deck is not a self bailing bilge.  You start getting water in your bilge and you can't get it out fast enough, you are going DOWN!!!!

I don't have a bilge.  Totally sealed up.  I used to have a 1ft sq bilge under the deck in the back, under an access "moon pie" but when I refloored, I didn't put an access hole back.  No way for water to get in now unless it comes thru the hull.  When I leave the ramp after a full day on the water I might have a couple of drops of water come out of the lower plug. I guess water could enter thru the anchor locker in the front or thru the gunnel rod holders which I cap off. Maybe I'm lucky???  

One time I was almost sunk by a roque storm cloud that chased me around Tampa bay and when finally catching me, filled my boat with water even though I had beached it to avoid sinking!!! All I had to bail with was a beer can (or 2)   . So I do agree that you need a pump to bail the deck though - my drain holes are under water most of the time.  I added a portable pump setup and it saved me during another roque storm cloud chase in Boca Grand.  I'd beached the boat again and run under a pier with my daughter (lightning galore) and it seemed like it took me 10 minutes with a 600+ GPH pump to empty the boat. Man, when it rains here....  Now I carry a 1000gph portable with a 1" hose that can extend over the back.

[osprey170]

IMO a bilge is a necessary safety device - I once forgot to put the brass plug in.  Didn't notice till I was a ways out and boat was very full of water in bilge area.  Put plug in and turned on pump to drain out - would've been very scary ride back without being able to pump out.  Would've been sunk if it had rained.

Pump should be easy to replace especially if your using the same type pump - I had to replace float switch before.  It was a peice of cake.

[Wilson]

Are there no drains of hoses in your bilge?  No thruhulls for hte baitwell?  If not then there is less danger, but if one of those goes bad or break... goodbye.  I would strongly recommend at least one.  How can you go wrong?

[JimCt]

My 170 didn't have a pump when I bought it this spring and by the fact that there are no thru-hull fittings, looks like it never did.  Any suggestions as to the best routing for wiring to the bilge area and routing out for the pump discharge line to get it well above the waterline?

[osprey170]

What year is your 170?  Mine is an '85 and had the bilge pump when I bought it.  If yours has the thru deck access panel (moonpie?) near transom then you should be able to mount one down there.  I rewired mine last summer and it was a PITA.  The wires run under the deck to the console - mine had a small hole drilled up by where the wiring/steering cable channel on starboard side meets the console.  From there the wiring ran under the deck to the bilge area.  The discharge was routed out the starboard side about 3-4 inches above waterline and about a foot from the transom.  It looks like a factory job since the bilge area appears to be glassed specifically for my type of pump and switch.  Mine has a rule pump (I think 800gph) with a rulematic float switch.  Setup works real good to bail and not have to think about it.

All the hose and wire routing is a pain but it's not impossible - I almost gave up trying to rewire but stuck with it and got it done.  It took awhile to get it right - some long arms and a small mirror help to see what your doing down there.  Make sure to use good wire so you don't have to do it again soon and seal all your connections.

[JimCt]

osprey170,  Mine's a pre-'72 170; there's no HIN on the boat; only a S/N.  

 There's no evidence at all that there ever was a pump.  I do have the std. 4" inspection plate aft centered below the engine.  Think maybe I'll glass in a thimble through the deck and attach hoses to that.  To keep the discharge line short as possible, will put the thru-hull for the discharge in the transom.  Will run wiring down the trough and shoot through a small hole which will be grommeted & sealed w/5200.

[Radioshop]

My 73 22.2 doesn't have a bilge pump either.  It's got a sealed bilge.  The idea, I think was that since the bilge was filled with floatation foam, if it took water, the boat wasn't supposed to sink.  My boat has no through hull fittings below waterline, except the garboard.

[osprey170]

I'm not sure how your older 170 is laid out, but it sounds like what your talking about should work fine.  I didn't run my wire through the trough because I felt like it would take more of a beating there and the other hole was already drilled out.   I'm not a big fan of drilling through the transom but I guess you don't have many choices down there.

How is your transom holding up after all these years?  Just curious how long I should expect mine to last.

[Anonymous]

my transon is fine, good and strong.  a few minot gel coat cracks, but its solid.  i have also heard that even with the bilge full the boat will float, so i'm not too worried about it.  at worst i can use a hand pump to manually remove water.  anyone know what the worst case scenario is if the bilge is full?

[osprey170]

Good to hear your transom is solid - I hope mine stays solid for a good long time...

I had my bilge pretty full of water once - it made the boat very sluggish and handling very unpredictable especially in choppy water.  Still floated good