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An eye in the sky

4. To sleep through the night at home not worrying about the bilge
fill due to a rain leak, leaky stern gland or anything else!

Solution: I fitted another automatic bilge pump (£60) from Force 4. This is
fitted as low in the bilge as possible (it’s quite narrow down there isn’t it!)
and is wired to the same supply that comes through the time switch and
powers the tracker. So it senses and/or pumps water for just an hour per
day with no risk of draining the boat batteries. I plumbed in a Y attachment
to the shower sump outlet hose (which exits well above the waterline) for
the outlet from the pump. And actually, I can see the exit from the star-
board side of the boat from the camera, so if I tune in via the camera exact-
ly when the pump powers up, I can see whether it finds anything to pump.
An hour would get rid of quite a lot of water, but if I was to see any at all, I
would know there was a problem that needed attending to.
As a consequence of these additions I sleep more soundly in the knowledge
that I can hopefully spot things going awry before they get too serious. The
boat batteries are topped up by a wind generator and a solar panel so I am
not worried that the devices fitted will have any impact on their charge
state.

If anyone requires any links or other info, then do let me know. I’m hoping
very much to be down there before long, but at least in the meantime, in
my lockdown, I can pay the boat visits from my eye up the mast!

Stephen Clarke
Sea Fox (S115)

Did you know?

The Vendée is one of the top French departments in terms of the amount
of protected coastline. Only 20% of its coastline has been built on.

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