This week has been not the best for sailing at Lake Tahoe, with lots of monsoonal thunderstorms in the area and random, gusty winds and big chop in the late afternoons. So, I went up to the boat on Sunday morning to tear into a project that had been on my mind for a while: Replacing the automatic bilge pump. Now, the existing “bilge pump” when I bought the boat was actually just a Shurflo® Blaster™ wash-down pump that you’d roll out from under the sink, stick the hose in the bilge, and pump until it was dry, then store it back under the sink. Not the best solution, for a number of reasons. So, I tore into the bilge and tried to figure out where the “real” bilge pump used to be, which is not a pleasant experience, especially for a germaphobe like me. After an hour of poking around and trying to figure out where to install the new pump in the Catalina 270’s very narrow bilge (answer: evidently, you put it under the fiberglass “bridge” (see photo), apart from the fact that you can’t use a standard drill there to mount the base…and then there’s the issue of where to put the float switch. Aargh! (Frustration, not pirate-speak.)
Moving on, I found the end of the “old” bilge pump hose hidden under the sole to port. It took 45 minutes of tugging and cajoling the hose to come all the way out, as it was sort of decrepit and nasty, and besides, it was too small to fit the new Attwood® Tsunami™ 1200 gph pump I wanted to put in the bilge. I was hoping to find some convenient “weep” holes to put the wiring through to the main panel, but those remained elusive. So, as the afternoon chop was starting to build and I was getting a little dizzy from the rolling of the boat, I opted to tidy up below and then wash down the decks. Amazing how much dust and pollen collects on a boat on a buoy 200 yards from shore at Lake Tahoe. Afterwards, I stepped off the sugar-scoop transom and plunged into Tahoe with my swim goggles on, hoping to spot the missing fork from our dinner part last week. The lake was so churned up, visibility was only about six feet, so I abandoned that idea and dried off in the wind and sun while I waited for the water taxi to come get me. Another trip or two to The Home Depot, and I’ll have that new bilge pump in, I’m sure of it.
Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB
Sailing Lake Tahoe on a good old boat 
David, did you get this resolved? When I changed out my gusher in the cockpit, the hose all came apart in my hands. If your hose is as degraded as most of the hose in these things, you might consider the winter project of replacing it.
Just a thought.
Cheers
Gary
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Yes, I got the rebuild kit (it took me a while to source the correct one because there aren’t a lot of markings on the unit) and replaced it. Works like a charm! Thanks, Gary!
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The manual pump topside in the cockpit pumps the fore bildge out under the teak floor. The auto billge Shurflo under the port stateroom access, pumps the aft bilge under the salon fiberglass access panel. I had a problem with my Shurflo, it was a clogged line from the bilge to the filter/straniner under the galley sink.
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Wow! Good to know. I will look for that port side auto bilge, although I suspect the last owner might have removed it. When I bought the boat, it had a jury-rigged Shurflo that you had to put one hose into the sump and the other out the hatch and into the cockpit of the boat…so not a reliable system as it was. Where do you sail?
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