Removing a bilge pump on a Down East 45

[Jolly Roger]

This is really a question for owners of a Down East 45, or somebody who has had one.
The bilge pump on my boat has quit, and the idiots who designed it placed it under a permanent part of the inner structure. I’ve outlined where it is on the picture. I can’t figure out how to get it out, without cutting this false floor out which is getting perilously close to the hull side.
It won’t come out from underneath either.
Has anybody ever removed a bilge pump on these boats?

[Don C L]

Well I haven't owned the 45 but I did sail a 38 quite a bit. That may not be much help, not sure! I'll take a stab though/

So if you cut the hose, can you reach under the shaft there and pull the pump forward under the transmission? I am guessing the answer is no, but I am curious how big the opening is under that 'floor' forward of it. Can you reach down in there with the camera to get a shot of the pump itself? I find it hard to believe they'd glass a floor over that space after the pump was in. If it were me I'd definitely consider removing that anyway. What function does it serve? I can't see any structural advantage to it. That hull is very thick back there.

edit: Oh wait, is there no access to the pump itself at all? Is there an opening under the frame under the shaft to see the pump?
OK sorry, I see you answered that. Yeah, I say remove it.

[Jolly Roger]

Don CL,
thanks for your reply, you're nearer to the final solution than others. I will post the solution in a few weeks, when I finally rectify the problem.

[Jolly Roger]

You got it pretty much spot-on DonCL
I bought a borescope and had great fun poking it into places I’ve never seen – on the boat that is. It’s an amazing tool for a boat. Mine was only $39.
I managed to cut the old bilge pipe where it went through the false floor, then I poked the scope through. I could just make out the pump lying on its side, so it wasn’t fastened down at all. After cutting the wires I managed to hook them using an extended boat hook pushed under the engine and gearbox and drag it along the bilge to where I could get hold of it. I think I might have made a good coal miner or caver.
It has never worked while I’ve had the boat 12 years, and the previous owner said it didn’t work for him either in19 years. It was caked in solid black muck, but after I cleaned it, it started straight up, after at least 31 years – amazing!
I could see there was something else down there as well, but I couldn’t hook it with the boat hook. I finally decided to cut an access panel in the middle of the false floor. I did this by drilling four corner holes and joining them up with a saws-all. It was very hard work in the limited space.
I could then see a second bilge pump, also not connected to any pipe. I pulled this out and it too started up after being cleaned.
Then I fed a new 1” inch pipe down with a grating on the end and connected it through a filter to a big diaphragm pump. If (or rather when) the pump or pipe clogs I can at get to it now.
I also fished out a couple of wrenches I had dropped ages ago along with a screwdriver and ten screws, washers and bits of metal.
I would dearly like to get my hands round the necks of the builders of this boat, but I expect most of them will be dead by now. I hope they can hear me.
Glassing a floor over a bilge pump is the highest level of incompetence and also dangerous. It indicates to me that the builders, and probably the designer as well, didn’t have the slightest clue about what it takes to maintain a boat’s systems. Bilge pumps need to be easily accessible because they clog up with – guess what Mr, builders – bilge muck!! and they need to be cleaned from time to time.
Thanks for all your suggestions chaps. I’ll be fine after all my bruises heal up.
JR