Bilge pump location

Hello,
What is the best location to locate both electric and manual bilge pumps/float switches.
I was wondering what the lowest point is and whether to drill small holes in the small bulkheads in the bilges to allow water to flow to the lowest point for pumping.
Many thanks,
Tom Byrne
Galwaycub@gmail.com

There is a removable section of sole board in my bilge keeler, which is in the section immediately forward of the engine compartment, under which the electric bilge pump is fitted. This is not the lowest point, which is two sections further forward when ashore and resting on her keels.

My manual bilge pump draws from the forwardmost part of the engine compartment, so avoiding oily water being pumped by an automatic pump.

There should already be limber holes in the small bulkheads. If you drill some, remember to waterproof the holes, so the wooden core doesn't get saturated

Hi Jerry,
Thank you very much for your reply, which explains a lot.
The previous owner of Tillew had just used an improvised Cabin sole, made from tongued and grooved floorboards.
No electric bilge pump was fitted and the gasket on the manual one was perforated. The bilges were full of water and the majority of the water is towards the front as it is resting on the keel.
I'll fit bilge pumps where you suggest but I might need to run something from the forward portion to drain it as the water runs forward.
It's gathering quite a bit of rain water (West Coast of Ireland) .I think is coming in from around the hatch but there might be another common area of ingress.
All help and advice appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom

The electric bilge pump on my bilge keeler is opposite the saloon sink, which is a little bit aft of the lowest point of the bilge when the boat is afloat. The small bilge bulkheads already had lower gaps to allow water to flow to the lowest point of the bilge.

The exception to this is the engine compartment. The bulkhead separating the engine bilge and saloon bilge is intact, so that the engine bilge is separate from the cabin bilge. This is helpful as the water in the engine bilge tends to be contaminated by oil etc. For the engine bilge I have a separate permanent manual pump which exits near the transom.

GEoff
Cariona

As for the source of rainwater leaks (we have plenty in Somerset too!) I have a suspicion regarding the mast step, which I shall be unbolting for inspection and resealing soon. I shall also be reseating the vent above the head.

On London Apprentice we have a manual pump drawing from the forward end of the saloon - the lowest point in the bilge - and an electric pump close to the engine compartment. I put it there so that the first junction in its limited-length electrical cable could be led up inside the engine compartment and well above any bilge water - especially important if we were suffering serious ingress. If rainwater leakage can be seen in the engine compartment, or running forward from it, I suggest checking the seal around the hatch (if any) in the cockpit sole.

To get a completely dry bilge, here is a neat DIY solution that I am thinking of installing:
https://lifeempirically.com/2018/03/12/build-your-own-diy-arid-bilge-or-dry-bilge-system/