Fresh water for shower and pump out, bilge

[Craigz]

Hey everyone

Just a couple quick questions this time.

Is there anything I should be doing for maintenance of the fresh water such as dump and refill, chemicals, etc?

Also is it possible/practical to add the pump out toilet aftermarket? Is it just a different toilet or does it actually have a pump out port on the side of the boat?

Also after my recent issue with taking on water I want to install a backup bilge pump with a much high capacity. Is there a size of bilge pump that would run on the boat without electrical overload and be able to keep up in case of a carbon seal failure or another major issue?
I basically want a pump and an emergency light/siren on the dash that's above the factory one and will warn me to head to shore asap and keep the water low enough that the engines don't cut out.

 

[waternutt]

For the fresh water tank, my owner's manual mentioned putting a couple of ounces of bleach in then fill with fresh water. Drain. Fill with just fresh water. Drain. Fill and use. Other than that, I try not to let water sit in there for too long. If I know it will sit for a bit, I will drain the tank before putting it away.

 

[Julian]

I basically want a pump and an emergency light/siren on the dash that's above the factory one and will warn me to head to shore asap and keep the water low enough that the engines don't cut out.

On my last boat I installed a bilge alarm (linked in my signature). This alarm is a float switch type, and can be linked to a second pump to control it if you would like. I'll likely install an alarm in my new boat too....as it is a great way to be alerted ASAP that you are taking on water faster than your bilge pump can handle (I positioned it slightly higher than the stock pump).

Many people install a 1000 GPH 2nd bilge pump for redundancy. You battery will be able to run this, but keep in mind that it won't last long without shore power or engine charging.

 

[Craigz]

Thanks for the reply. I was looking at a 3700 as an emergency bilge pump to keep the water low enough the engines can keep running and get me to shore in an emergency. That sounds like it might be overkill but I've been slightly paranoid by the carbon seal failure and other boats that have taken on water. I'm often very far from shore and sometimes on weekdays when there's not many people around.