Re: [Paddlewise] Current Info on Electric or Foot Pumps?

Date sent:      	Mon, 10 May 1999 22:19:25 -0500
To:             	paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
From:           	Patrick Maun <pmaun_at_bitstream.net>
Subject:        	Re: [Paddlewise] Current Info on Electric or Foot Pumps?

>  Any tips on installing the pump for  the 
> inexperienced. Also, anyone have an idea whether the pumps 
> effectiveness would be compromised if it is mounted at a slight 
> angle? 

Nick's comments on installation were great.  It really depends on 
your boat, Patrick.  (Note: Nick's "torch" is a transplanted Britism --
- even if the OZs won't admit it --- for what's called a flashlight in the 
US.  It was an interesting idea for a North American colonial to 
think about holding some flaming pitch knot inside the boat to find 
the drill point!)  

I consider myself terminally inexperienced, and on my Pintail --- no 
rudder --- I filled the cockpit area aft of the forward bulkhead with a 
six inch thick minicell plug to create a footrest --- don't like 
mechanical footrests --- and cut away a void in the starboard side 
of the plug for the Henderson foot pump.  It's just wedged into a 
cutout in the foam block on a slight angle for foot comfort, and the 
plumbing sets into recesses in the foam.  So far, so good --- four 
years, no problem.

On the North Bay --- again, no rudder ---, the forward bulkhead was 
built oversize (and of nine mm plywood for added strength) and was 
located at a point a few inches forward of my ideal foot position; it 
is set in on an eight degree angle, again for some foot comfort.  
The Henderson foot pump is directly attached to the bulkhead, and 
a tapered (thinner at the top) three inch foam plug was made to 
surround the pump and create another very comfortable footrest.

So it's pretty boat-dependent, but, as Nick points out, it's kinda 
hard to really kluge it up too badly.

The Henderson pump comes with a set of brackets to mount it to 
what's called a "Failsafe" foot rest --- a bar that goes across the 
cockpit and attaches (I assume) to the track for the sliding 
(Yakima-style) footrests.  There area probably an infinite number of 
mounting solutions, and your angled solution sounds typical, 
Patrick.

Good luck with the install.  Let us know how it comes out.

Jack Martin

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