Kayak Bilge Pump in action
 

Before I sell my kayak I thought it would be a good idea to wash it out. While I was doing that I figured I could do a leak check and test out the bilge pump. I shot some video to document the process. I had the kayak supported and leveled in it's foam transport rack. This evens out the weight distribution on the hull when its full of water. I used the garden hose to fill the hull up to the top of the scuppers. After about an hour I inspected for leakage. None found. Next step was to fire up the bilge pump to verify operation. The bilge pump emptied the kayak nearly as fast as the hose had filled it. The pump lost suction with about a gallon or two of water remaining. That's pretty good. It emptied a full kayak in under ten minutes. I would still carry a hand pump for the little stuff; like pumping out after a particularly wet surf launch. For a catastrophic leak the bilge pump is a nice bit of insurance.

Here is the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPy1t2VdNkE

Yes; I know the titles and opening music suck. I used a cheesy video editor to do this in a hurry.

That was a looooooooong wizz.....can't believe I watched all 3minutes and 7 seconds of the videos:D

Kewl video Doug. I think that is the first time I have seen a yak bilge in action. Think i would have had a heart attack trying to pump all that out with a hand pump. Note to self: Pass by Doug on his right.

i dont have either pump on my kayak. That bilge pump setup looks nice. is it connected to a 12v or 6v?

We tried this when actually rescuing Erinoo few miles out with a GWS, and we didnt gain any headroom.. As fast as we would pull water, it would take on additional...fyi....