Hand pump for pumping rain water out of boats

[Rook66]

Do any of you guys remember the old hand pumps that were used to pump rain water out of boats at boat docks? My grandpa owned Three Rivers Boat Dock & Restaurant in Knoxville, TN back in the 50s and 60s and I used to help out around the dock when I was a kid and we used that type of pump to pump the boats with. We had one of those pumps and the owners of Concord Boat Dock on Fort Loudon Lake on the west side of Knoxville also had one they used that I remember. I don't know if they were homemade or they were actually manufactured by a company. I've tried to find some pictures of one but with no luck.

The pump we used was made from about a 3" or 4" diameter thin walled galvanized pipe that was about 4 feet long with a spout of the same diameter that was welded on near the top of the pipe. I think the pipe was made by rolling a piece of sheet metal and welding or riveting and soldiering the seam. There was a wooden shaft about the same diameter of a broom handle with a tee at the top to be used as the handle and a leather round piece at the bottom of the shaft that would lift the water as you pulled the handle up that spilled the water into the spout. There was a flapper type check valve made from leather at the bottom of the pipe.

Maybe some of you older guys remember? Any how I was telling the story to one of my grandkids about working for my grandpa at the dock when I was a youngster and he was wondering what the pump looked like.

 

[southkogs]

I think we still have one up North. That was a pretty typical job for me on Saturday mornings after we got up to the cottage ... down to the dock and bail out the row boat.

 

[alldodge]

Have seen many made from brass but guess one could be made from galvanized but it would rust and then stop working very well. There is some pics of the old Perko style on the net

 

[Big Gee]

I have a few hundred hours on one that looked a lot like this:

 

[jebby]

Ive had the pump in the link for many years. always did a great job on my old tinny with no power. has done double duty closing the pool/hot tub for years too. sold the tinny, kept the pump

 

[Rook66]

I have a few hundred hours on one that looked a lot like this:

Thanks guys for taking the time to answer.

Yep this one is very much like the one I spent many hours pumping rain water from my grandpa's rental boats and there were a few of the customers that had leaky boats that had to be watched after.

Three Rivers Boat Dock & Resturant during some boat races in the 50s and 60s. Keeping the soft drink boxes filled was my job during the races. That was pretty hard work for a kid.

The pretty little redhead waitress at the far left in the photo was the first girl to give me a kiss. My face turned redder than her hair. I fell in love.

When I wasn't working around the dock I spent my spare time fishing.

 

[southkogs]

Rook, those are cool shots! So, was the three rivers marina right in Knoxville? I'm missing where that one was.

I've been on Fort Louden lake, and Norris and then on the river downtown.

 

[sphelps]

Those pics are awesome ! Thanks for sharing them !

 

[DeepCMark58A]

Awesome photos thanks for sharing.

 

[Rook66]

Rook, those are cool shots! So, was the three rivers marina right in Knoxville? I'm missing where that one was.

I've been on Fort Louden lake, and Norris and then on the river downtown.

Three Rivers Boat Dock was at the conjunction of the French Broad, Holston, and Tennessee Rivers. The French Broad and the Holston formed the Tennessee River. It's about 2 or 3 miles upstream of Knoxville.

The dock is no longer there these days. My dad sold the property to a mining company back in the late 70s and they were going to load barges there but it fell through and the property was sold to a private owner in the early 2000s. Nothing there but the old launching ramp now and the big house that my grandpa bought back in 1910 where I grew up.

 

[southkogs]

Okay! Got it. I haven't been over there. We have a satellite office right downtown (not far from the Crowne Plaza), and I get over there every few months ... when there isn't a global pandemic

 

[aspeck]

Cool pics! I used a PVC version of that pump in the 70’sand early 80’s working at a marina in central PA.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Rook66 great photos

southkogs net time you head to Norris lake, let me know.....a good bud and former co-worker of mine lives there.

 

[KJM]

Cool pictures! The first kiss is always one to remember, awkward, terrifying, but memorable!

 

[oldrem]

Looks like some great memories!