How to mount a bilge pump.

lucescoflathead · Jan 3, 2011

I bought an Atwood bilge pump and the instructions that came with it said to fiberglass a piece of plywood to the bottom of the boat then mount the pump to it with Number 8 screws. I was going to secure a piece of plywood to the bottom of my aluminum boat with construction adhesive then screw the pump down. Is this necessary, or can I just use two sided water proof carpet tape and tape the pump to the boat floor? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Todd

russ010 · Jan 3, 2011

Mine is sitting on the floor of the boat with Heavy Duty double sided tape... I don't know why they want you to put a piece of plywood down - that's atleast 1/4" of water that will not be sucked up!

nathanielrthomas · Jan 3, 2011

russ010 said:
Mine is sitting on the floor of the boat with Heavy Duty double sided tape... I don't know why they want you to put a piece of plywood down - that's atleast 1/4" of water that will not be sucked up!

x2 except i used marine silicone instead of tape to hold it down. You wanna get it as close to the floor as possible for maximum efficiency.

lucescoflathead · Jan 3, 2011

I'll mount it to the floor with tape. Thanks for the help. Todd

po1 · Jan 3, 2011

The only reason I can see that they would want it off the deck is to keep sediment from clogging up the pump (most likely a warranty issue). Mine's a portable atwood so I just zip tie it in the back.

BaitCaster · Jan 4, 2011

I glued mine to the floor of my boat with marine adhesive.

lucescoflathead · Jan 4, 2011

Thanks for all the replies Todd

chavist93 · Jan 8, 2011

I used epoxy to mount mine directly to the floor. I tried to pull it off to see how strong the hold was and couldnt budge it.

Captain Ahab · Jan 9, 2011

I use an "L" shaped piece of aluminum that a screwed the pump to and then fastened to a support member off the transom - I wanted to access the intake just in case some fishing line or other crap gets in there