Hydrostream bilge plumbing, fuel tank in the way. What to do?

My fuel tank is 25 gallons and it just and I mean just squeezes in under the splashwell and touches the transom where the floor meets it. Initially my thinking was to put some 3/4” stringers on top of the floor for the tank to sit on and route the bilge hose under that way. There’s no way that’s going to work it will push my tank back almost a foot out into the floor so that’s not gonna cut it. I thought about trying to drill through the stringer and up through the floor maybe but I don’t think I can get the hole in the floor over far enough to clear. This must be a common issue so I’m hoping some of you have insight on how best to plumb the bilge pump hose

Can u pull the tank forward an inch and remount it or is that a dumb question? I dont like to drill holes near the transom...raising it i could see working

I don’t mind losing an inch of floor fore/aft it’s under the tank where the bilge hole is that is impossible to access with my tank. The tank sits flat right over the bilge hole so I can’t plumb a line under the tank because I can’t raise it. It’s literally got 1/8” clearance to the splashwell. I’m considering just skipping the bilge and carrying a manual pump. I have a good one and I ran a boat for 30 years without a pump. Mind you this was on a lake we had property at so I was familiar with all the water and it was a calm lake. Nowadays I go all over the place so I would like to be prepared for a swamping just in case. I never stuffed or swamped my Valero or my last Vking though. MY vandal stuffs easy but it has a bilge pump. I might be up the creek on this one though. I should have put more thought into this during layup

More money but they do make custom tanks maybe make it with a cutout

If you want to be prepared for a swamping incident the pump doesn't necessarily need to be at the lowest point. With keeping practicality in mind I suppose there is a spot next to or just forward of the tank that would be helpful in quickly discharging the bulk of the water.

I could fab a tank but I’m not spending that kind of time and I’m not waiting to have one made I’ll deal with the bilge later maybe fab a new tank over the winter. I want to get this thing in the water.

you could use a selfpriming diaphram pump with brass or stainless scupper attached, get all the water out! a little heavier than traditional bilge but placed in the right location for balancing hull, easier to service and wouldn't be detrimental to speed and handling!

Diaphragm pump.

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Originally Posted by donmac

you could use a selfpriming diaphram pump with brass or stainless scupper attached, get all the water out! a little heavier than traditional bilge but placed in the right location for balancing hull, easier to service and wouldn't be detrimental to speed and handling!

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Diaphragm pump

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winner winner chicken dinner thanks gents

perko sells a brass scupper block but it's kinda pricey and different than most I've seen in the past, most were wedge shaped with hose on the end and very low profile! the perko has the fitting coming out the top and small legs which reduces the water it can pickup!
you could fab one up from a plumbing union with holes drilled in it and the end capped!

I can fab up something no problem there. I’m still plowing ahead with what little time I have rigging this thing and I’ll likely get to this over next winter. My thinking is to make a fitting I can mount to the floor right in front of the tank that has a plumbed sump and scupper intake that I’ll route to the furthest aft point in the bilge. This way I can remove the pump lines and easily get the tank in/out as well as hang the bilge intake off the floor leaving the core fully sealed.

are you running a back seat in front of the tank? if you are I would suggest just installing the bilge in front of the fuel tank then. Drill a 3-4 inch hole and just 5200 the bilge to the core. I am guessing you could even mount the bilge in the very back where the bilge hole is, there are ones that are short and have a side output so that it will not be too tall, and then you can just drill a 1 inch hole or the smallest you think you can to run the hose through the floor in front of the tank and then around to the hull where the exit will be.

Thats what I would do i think.
RJ

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Originally Posted by rjdubiel

are you running a back seat in front of the tank? if you are I would suggest just installing the bilge in front of the fuel tank then. Drill a 3-4 inch hole and just 5200 the bilge to the core. I am guessing you could even mount the bilge in the very back where the bilge hole is, there are ones that are short and have a side output so that it will not be too tall, and then you can just drill a 1 inch hole or the smallest you think you can to run the hose through the floor in front of the tank and then around to the hull where the exit will be.

Thats what I would do i think.
RJ

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Yes rear seat and yes thats basically the plan. I guess I could just mount the bilge pump and run it out the hole in front of the tank vs adding a diaphram pump. I already made a nice little bracket to hang the bilge pump off the underside of the floor so thats no big deal. I did buy a low rise pump so this will jive no issues and most likely what I'll do simply due to parts in had. Rigging is going slow. So much slower than I want. Anyways it is what it is

From personal experience, I wouldn’t depend on a diaphragm pump as the primary - certainly not in an emergency situation
They don’t have a very high capacity, and are prone to clogging
I would install the biggest centrifugal pump that fits to clear the majority of bilge water
Maybe utilize the diaphragm pump to clear whatever’s left over
Just my $.02

I have a Johnson lowboy 750gph bilge pump