Pool noodle flotation

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by FishStretcher

Well I checked mine again today. The pool noodles are still fine after 4 years. No UV degradation in the bilge, I guess. And in the northeast, freezing is a bigger issue.
I hear that polyethylene foam is the best, but it is hard to come by and/ or expensive.

The plastic mesh you use to keep rodents out of gardens keeps the last 2 feet of bilge free of noodles. Right over the top of the 2 bilge pumps. It isn't perfect, but it is a lot better than nothing. I suppose fiberglass insect screen propped over the mesh might be better than that. But it works pretty well so far.

There are other bilge pump styles that cost more but are much more resistant to trash in the bilge than a little rotary one. I rebuilt the one in the 25 last year. I forgot the brand. But they pump trash uphill pretty well.

I'll take pool noodles and pop bottles in the bilge before empty space any day.

I didn't know there were options! I'd like to know what bilge pump you have. Since the tragedy of those two boys from Jupiter I have been thinking more about the need for everything to be ship-shape' that's why I chimed in. The sea is a merciless place to learn that something that seemed like a good idea at the time was in fact a bad idea; that's why I say go with what has worked in the past. I guess that my perception of noodles in Florida is not applicable in other areas - I've never kept one for more that 2 years before it started getting brittle.