: Hi everyone. I am a product manager at Rule Industries. We are currently
: looking at new products for the kayak market. We are looking at portable
: hand pumps, permanently mounted hand pumps, battery operated portable
: pumps, and compasses. Now's your chance to talk to the manufacturer BEFORE
: we design a product. Please give me your thoughts -we are listening!!

Hi Steve, your request is great publicity, and so easy to accomplish!

Here in Australia, Rule electric pumps are very popular as kayak bilge pumps. We commonly use 360 and 500 GPH pumps, though I have seen 1100 GPH in sea kayaks, especially doubles. We usually use 12 volt 2 or 3 ampere-hour gel cells, though I have seen a setup with a waterproof case for ten alkaline AA cells (which gave seven full pump-out cycles).

The Rule bracket is good, it is easy to find or make suitable skin fittings, hoses and one-way valves. The main problems with pumps are not in fitting them, but with battery maintainence and wiring and switches. The waterproof switches available from ships chandlers are moulded in one piece with the wires, but use a rubber boot which perishes, typically in less than six months of use. The positive battery electrode erodes quickly if it is exposed to salt water (and its hard not to expose it, when it's only an inch or two above the water line).

It is not practical to use one of your float switches, since they leave an inch or two of water sloshing around in the cockpit, even though the pump drains down to a little over half an inch. We also don't want the pump runnign when the kayak is up-side-down.

I made up a magnetic reed switch so that I didn't need to have a hole through the deck, but found the system more sensitive to corrosion, even though it was fully potted in epoxy.

I have seen a marvellous (but expensive) waterproof rocker switch (under a kitchen cupboard D-handle) with a custom-made waterproof battery housing, complete with waterproof charger socket. This would have a ready market amongst local paddlers, if only the builder of the system could remember where he bought the parts!

Is the Aquameter Sailor II one of your products? I think it is. It is ideal as a kayak compass. The only possible improvements would be to have a place to put a light for night navigation (I use a little red LED and dry cell in a sealed package taped on deck) and a bar of the right shape to protect the dome if the kayak gets bumped, or trashed in the surf, or other violent abuse.

Thanks for asking.
Andrew