Wha Ho, Pilgrims:
Questoon fer youz WW canooers… Have any of ye used de battery powered bilge pumps in yer WW canooes? Last Sunday ah’ wuz practicin’ rollin’ my new Mohawk Probe (didn’t quite git de hang of it yet, but did roll back up wit de aid of a kayaker’s bow - gittin’ too old fer dis polecat doodoo, but wat de hey) an’ of course got alot o’ water in de unbagged space. Had de wobbles till ah’ pumped out mucho water. Electric pump worth it?
Fat Elmo
hello Elmo
I have a d-cell powered Rule. (I think it’s a Rule). Rated 200 gph. Would not be sufficient if you’re rolling. Works okay when shipping water so you can keep dodging rocks. There are some hi-priced li-ion pumps out there that would possibly suit your purpose.
Bob Foote
used one in his trip down the Colorado. Check out Rapid Runner Bilge Systems. I use their system in my sea kayak and like it a lot.
Maybe
If you are running continuous stuff with nowhere to stop or if you like to play in holes a lot a 12 volt pump with a 1000+ gph rating can be nice.
OTOH it can be quicker to just eddy out and dump the boat.
The paddlers I really admire have learned to find the “dry” line.
Me? I learned paddle my Outrage pretty well when she’s swamped. Saved my bacon a few times. Still looking for those “dry” lines!
There is a lot of good discusion on OC1 and pumps over at cboats.net
Thanky kindly…
Fat Elmo
ancient mariner
says “best pump is bucket in the hands of a scared man.”
Check out
Canoe Colorado . It is Eric Nyres shop. He has done a fair bit of work on White water outfitting, and has always been a gentleman, and a great source of information.
just another vote for RRBS
Rapid Runner is an excellent product with fantastic customer support. I’ve got their system in my 2 favorite yaks, and probably will install it into the Q-boat when it gets here…though a big fan of electric systems i believe in plan b and still keep a manual bilge pump in the kayak
www.rapidrunnerbilge.com
here’s the link www.rapidrunnerbilge.com
I paddled one of Bob Foote’s canoes that has a West Marine bilge pump in it. He has had very good luck even in silty water such as the Colorado. My local canoe shop is installing the bilge pump in all the Esquif ww canoes now. It’s a $150 extra, but everybody wants one. I’m getting ready to install one in my Bell Prodigy X.
These bilge pumps are really handy on long rapids where there isn’t much time to eddy out. I can hold my boat steady with water in the bilge, for a while, but snapping an eddy turn mid-rapid to empty out has been difficult at best. They also come in very handy when surfing and playing in holes. Taking on water when side surfing is just part of the fun and you either flip or get knocked off the wave too soon if your bilge fills up