Introducing the PPPP - Portable Powered Pipe Pump

Several years back I built and installed an electric bulge pump for my Boreal Design Baffin. I did an extensive blog entry that can be found here.

While the idea seemed good at the time, I never had a reason to use the pump and I pulled it out of the boat a few months ago. The extra weight wasn't worth the effort!! Just recently I was speaking to Brian Duffett about a more portable pump that he had made for his boat. The pump was not fixed to the boat but rather could be moved from one to other or simply left home if not needed.

 But why would I even bother to build another pump system?

Last August we acquired a new double - a Glacier by Eastern Island Kayak.  Doubles are big boats that can take on a lot of water in the event of a capsize. Emptying one with a small hand pump will prove quite the task!!  Looks like an electric powered pump was in order and the wheels in my head started turning.

I knew that Brian's system was a two piece, i.e., the pump and battery were separate, but I was wondering if I could make a unit where the pump and battery were housed together. The answer is "yes" and the text and pictures below, hopefully, will show how I did this!!

I discovered that a Rule 500 GPH pump, with some slight modifications, will fit inside a 3.5" ABS pipe. This was a major hurdle overcome as I now I had the basis for a waterproof casing! I packed some high density foam around the pump body to make a snug fit!!

Foam around the pump.

I needed to make the seal around the pump watertight as the battery and switch was to be housed in the chamber above. I simply poured a layer of Aquaseal over the foam. Gravity took care of the rest as the Aquaseal filled in the small gaps between the foam, pump and pipe.

Voila!!  Nice and tight!!

I did not go with a manufactured waterproof switch but went with a method that Brian told me about. Brian simply took a patch of latex (I am assuming old gasket material) and Aquasealing it over the outside of the switch.. I drilled the round hole for the switch slightly over sized and then wrapped some gasket material around the switch, pushed it through the hole and pulled it tight. Sorry but no pictures of this but it worked like a charm. A few dabs of Aquaseal and I had a perfectly waterproof swithc.

Cap drilled for switch.

Switch without latex covering.

I used a piece of ABS coupling for the "body" of the pump unit. It fit over the bottom section holding the pump. The coupling is large enough to hold the battery and wiring. The top of the unit is a clean-out cap that screws in creating a watertight seal.

The unit laid together for fitting purposes.

 I went low tech and used a 12 volt lead battery. This one is small enough to fit inside the coupling.

Battery in place,

Looking down at the pump head.

I added a 90 elbow to the outlet after some testing on the water in St. Philip's. The hose was kinking at the outlet and restricting the flow slightly! The elbow will eliminate the kinking.

Elbow added and tether installed.

When I first built a system three years back, someone gave me a small solar panel for charging. With the incredible sun these past few days, there's been no issue with getting a good charge!!

Solar panel and battery!

Pump as seen in the boat.

Foam holding the pump in place in the FWD cockpit.

The pump was tested in a cooler full of water at home and the housing is watertight and it moves water incredibly well. See here for a demo video. It was given a "real-life" test on the salt water later that evening and it performed flawlessly - quickly emptying first the FWD cockpit and then passed to the rear to promptly empty that one. I have installed a tether to the pump as it does not float. 

I have built a foam 'holder" for the unit but this may evolve as we try the boat on the water.  

I am quite happy with this project, not just because of the fact that it worked out so well but because of the increased level of safety and peace of mind it brings. Cheryl and I have been working on our rescues but the thought of having to hand pump out a double in a rescue situation does not appeal to me!!!  Of course the pump can be moved about so it can be used to pump water from just about anywhere that the pump can fit - aquariums, fish ponds etc etc.

Father's Day Paddle, 2013 - A Pictorial

Here's a few pictures from the 2013 Father's Day Paddle in Cape Broyle. Wind was a factor but a great time was had by all.

Where: Cape Broyle

When: June 16, 2016

Who: 16 intrepid paddlers.

Rack'em Up!!!

This past Sunday, I finally got around to a project I've been threatening to do for several years now - an outdoor storage rack for the kayaks. The impetus to build a rack stems from where I have to store my kayaks normally. We have a 4 foot crawl space under our house. It has all concrete walls but a crushed stone floor. The furnace and air exchanger are housed under there, so it's very warm and dry. But the 4 foot ceiling makes it a pain in the rump getting boats in and out. Of course we don't have a full door which compounds the problem.

Access in lower right.

As such, these past number of weeks, I've been leaving the boats outside between paddles. Not wanting to put them directly on the ground, I put them on our lawn furniture. I've been alternating between the Point Bennett and the Black Pearl, so that means I've been taking up our only two sturdy lawn chairs. Which means you have to me moving boats should you wish to sit. Not an ideal situation now that the weather is warming up and folks want to suit outside.

The Black Pearl at rest!

On Saturday, I had Cheryl's Baffin out doing some work on her seat. Add one more boat to the mix. Then on Sunday we thought we might get the Glacier (tandem) out for a run so I pulled that one out of the basement as well. Suddenly I had four boats out in the garden - two on the lawn chairs, one laid out on the picnic table and another on the basketball court. This was getting a bit much!! Time to take action.

I quickly doodled up a plan for a rack and we headed off to Home Depot and Princess Auto for some supplies. I started at around 3:00 and by 8:00 that evening everything was all done.

I decided not to go for a work of art but rather a cheap,dirty and sturdy structure. As such, I went with a frame of pressure treated 2x4. I really liked the idea of using webbed slings so I worked that into the design.

As with almost all my projects, I just started cutting and putting it together "as I went along". That golden horseshoe is still in place as things fell together without a hitch.

I figured that a rack to hold four boats was sufficient. We have six but the other two are used much less frequently and can remain in the basement. If need be, my SOF can fit in the middle but I'm not so inclined to store that one outside. One other design consideration was the need to make bottom rack wide enough to accommodate the extra width of the Glacier.

The build was pretty straight forward framing, so no need to go into detail. I will discuss some of the more unique details, though.

Loaded up!

I decided to go with nylon slings rather than solid wood bars with foam or some other cushioning. I knew that Princess Auto was one of the best places for prices on webbing and such. I was not disappointed. I picked up a 3" x 27' tow strap for 24.00.  I could have bought a 2" wide one for 14.00 but I liked the idea of the extra support from the wider strap. I figured that 10.00 could be amortized easily over the life of the rack!! I toyed with the idea of using wide washers and nails to hold the straps in place but decided that small blocks of cedar and galvanized nails would provide a better clamping force. They worked out just grand.

Cedar block to hold sling.

Block #2.

Do you think 5400 lbs is enough??

An empty sling.

Empty sling #2

I really like how slings conform to the shape of the deck or hull depending on the orientation of the boat on the rack. My rationale is that the strap will shape to the deck/hull shape rather than the boat wanting to conform to the shape of a solid beam. Good enough reason for me!!

The Black Pearl

The Point Bennett. Notice the deck is covered in yellow pollen.

There's one more thing that I've been using our lawn furniture for - drying mitts and booties. The back slats on the chairs are great for slipping the mitts and booties over but these pieces of gear tend to smell and who wants that behind your head when you sit down?!!?!?  So why not incorporate a drying function into the storage rack? I had a short piece of plastic conduit - enough to make two mitt dryers. The test worked great so I'll add a few more for other mitts and booties. Just to show you that I think too much, I decided to go with conduit rather than solid dowel because air can travel up the inside of the conduit for better drying!!!

Mitt drying attachment!

Side view!!

A much neater and visitor-friendly back yard!!

So that just about sums up the project. Total cost was under 100.00.  (60.00 for wood and nails, 30.00 for strap).  The next plan is to devise a simple canopy to protect the boats from direct sunlight. But that is another day.

Thanks for dropping by,

Sean

Bending the Bomars

The Bomar deck plates I installed in the Black Pearl never kept out the water like I hoped they would. Sometimes they would remain "relatively" dry while other times, they would leak like freakin' sieves!! It was starting to get on my nerves.  You see, the Black Pearl is a very low volume boat and is, first and foremost, a roller. In other words, the decks (and hatches) are almost always either awash or completely under water. Leaky hatches are not a good thing in this type of craft!!!

I could never figure out why sometimes the front would leak while others it was the rear. That is, until I looked at one of the hatches and saw that it was slightly bowed. In other words, it could not get a good seal. So, depending on whether I had that plate in the front or back (they are not tethered) that is where the most leaking occurred

With this knowledge, I decided to take out the twist and make the hatch perfectly flat. Which I did. But after some testing, it was still leaking. The hatches, while tight at the toggle handle and lip opposite, were pretty slack on either side. I decided to take it one step further and put a pronounced curvature in the hatches. With the side of each hatch slightly curved down, once the handle was clamped down, the sides would be forced as well. In theory anyway.

Time to test!!

Pre-bending the hatch.

Using a heat gun to soften the material.

Cold water to "set it up"

Voila. Nice curvature.

Prior to making the curves, these hatches would simply slip into the coamings and a twist of the handle would slightly clamp them down - but no real pressure on either side. In the image below you can see that by now clamping the handle, there will be increased pressure on the sides!

Even with the extra sealing pressure from the curvature, I was still getting some leaking. I knew that I needed to make the rubber gaskets a little higher for added hatch to coaming contact!!  I decided to go with bicycle inner tube. In the picture below you can see that I laid a layer of inner tube under the existing gasket and pressed it into place. The two fit perfectly with a nice tight seal. No need for any adhesives or sealers.

Inner tube undeneath.

A little bit of trimming of the excess tubing. Tube and gasket pressed into place.

The addition of the inner tube raised the gasket just slightly but certainly enough to increase the pressure between the hatch and sealing edge on the coaming. Pressing the hatch into place now takes a little bit of effort and the locking of the handle gives that extra little sealing power!!!

I did some testing by throwing buckets of water over the hatches and, unlike before, there is no water, whatsoever, entering the boat. Off to the pool tomorrow night (Tuesday) for the real test.

Fingers crossed!!!

Tors Cove to Lamanche

Six paddlers.

Eighteen kilometers

One great time.

21 pictures.

'nuff said!!