A reliable bilge pump system is one of the most important safety components on any sailboat. When I purchased my Ericson 32-200, the survey revealed that although a Rule 1500 submersible pump was on board, it wasn’t actually installed in the system.
It was sitting loose under the floorboard—no discharge hose, no wiring connected, and no float switch in service. The surveyor flagged it as incomplete and non-functional.
This post covers exactly what I found, how the system should be installed, and the steps I took to repair and integrate the Rule 1500 correctly.
1. What the Survey Noted
According to the 2023 survey:
- The Rule 1500 electric submersible pump was not plumbed to a discharge hose.
- The pump did not function.
- The float switch for the pump was loose and not wired into an automatic circuit.
- A discharge through-hull existed, but the pump was not connected to it.
- A vented loop was required in the discharge line high under the aft cockpit coaming.
The pump was effectively “present” but not operational. Insurance and surveyors treat this as having no secondary bilge pump at all.
2. Why This Matters
A submersible pump like the Rule 1500 is meant to serve as:
- The high-capacity pump
- The backup to the diaphragm pump
- The main pump during an emergency
If it isn’t connected, you lose the ability to move water quickly. Even if you have a diaphragm pump, submersible units give you flow rate—not suction efficiency.
A partially installed pump is worse than none at all: you expect redundancy but don’t have it.
3. Correct Rule 1500 Installation Requirements
To bring the system up to standard, these components are required:
A. Proper Mounting
The pump must be:
- secured in the lowest practical point of the bilge
- mounted on a flat or semi-flat pad
- accessible for future cleaning
B. Dedicated Discharge Hose
The Rule 1500 requires:
- 1-1/8″ smooth-bore bilge hose
- minimal bends
- dedicated routing to its own through-hull
Avoid corrugated hose—it reduces flow rate.
C. Vented Loop
The survey specifically noted:
- A vented loop must be installed high under the aft cockpit coaming
This prevents back-siphoning and flooding if the discharge sits below the heeled waterline.
D. Float Switch + Manual Override
The system should include:
- A Rule or similar float switch mounted on a solid bracket
- A three-way switch (Auto / Off / Manual) at the nav panel
- A dedicated fused supply directly from the battery (always hot)
E. Proper Wiring
Wiring should:
- include tinned copper marine wire
- be sized appropriately (#12 or #14 AWG depending on run length)
- have heat-shrink butt connectors
- be on a 10–15A fuse or breaker depending on pump draw
The survey noted several unfused circuits on your boat; this one must be corrected when installing the pump.
4. What I Did to Repair and Complete the System
Here’s the step-by-step of how I fixed it:
Step 1: Test the Pump
Using a 12V source directly at the leads:
- Pump ran normally → good motor
- Failure was due to zero installation, not a dead pump
Step 2: Replace the Old Hose
Installed:
- 1-1/8″ smooth-wall bilge hose
- Correct length with no severe bends
- Routed to the unused port-side topside through-hull noted in the survey
Step 3: Install a Proper Mounting Pad
I fabricated a small G-10 pad and bedded it in epoxy at the aft end of the bilge sump to create:
- a stable surface
- a clean mounting point
- improved pump longevity
Step 4: Install a New Float Switch
Mounted a Rule float switch on an L-bracket:
- positioned higher than the diaphragm pump pickup
- wired to a dedicated Auto/Off/Manual switch
- routed directly to the house battery unswitched circuit (as the survey recommended)
Step 5: Add the Vented Loop
Installed a Marelon vented loop high under the aft cockpit coaming:
- above the heeled waterline
- secured with stainless brackets
- prevents water from siphoning back into the bilge
Step 6: Fuse the Circuit
Installed:
- a dedicated inline fuse close to the battery
- proper labeling per survey recommendations
- clean wiring path to nav panel switch
Step 7: Test the System
Performed:
- dry test
- wet test with controlled bilge fill
- heeled test tied at the dock during a windy day
Flow rate matched the Rule 1500 spec after installing smooth-bore hose.
5. Final Configuration
The repaired system now includes:
- Rule 1500 submersible pump (fully mounted)
- Dedicated 1-1/8″ hose to its own discharge
- Proper vented loop above waterline
- New float switch, correctly wired
- Manual override switch
- Proper fusing
- Smooth wiring layout—no splices below the bilge waterline
This configuration matches:
- ABYC standards
- Surveyor recommendations
- Insurance expectations
6. What Sailors Should Take Away From This
- A bilge pump in the bilge is not a bilge pump system.
- Submersibles need proper installation to work at their rated volume.
- A vented loop is not optional—it’s safety-critical.
- You must wire bilge pumps directly from a hot battery feed, not the switched panel.
- Smooth-wall hose can almost double effective flow rate vs. corrugated.
- Any pump mentioned in a survey becomes an insurance checklist item.
Conclusion
The Rule 1500 on my Ericson was one of the easiest repairs on the survey list, but it was still essential. A functioning bilge system is the difference between a controllable flooding event and an emergency.
This repair brought Sure Shot one step closer to being offshore-ready—and it’s the kind of technical project I’ll continue documenting here so other sailors can avoid common installation mistakes.
—J