Pump Boats??

[dalidali]

I am racking my noggin trying to figure out just what is a pump boat?

 

It seems like any generic outrigger style boat with a prop driven inboard engine might be one?

 

Not quite sure what makes one a "pump" boat?...I don't see any pumps other than the operator pumping his arms while pulling the rope start engine.

 

I am savvy to a "jet" style propulsion drive, being in essence a "pump" drive, but those shaft driven props on the common outrigger boat has me losing sleep at night.

[Curley]

I am racking my noggin trying to figure out just what is a pump boat?

 

It seems like any generic outrigger style boat with a prop driven inboard engine might be one?

 

Not quite sure what makes one a "pump" boat?...I don't see any pumps other than the operator pumping his arms while pulling the rope start engine.

 

I am savvy to a "jet" style propulsion drive, being in essence a "pump" drive, but those shaft driven props on the common outrigger boat has me losing sleep at night.

 

I was once told that it was because the engines were primarily used to pump water and then used in the boats as and when needed.

[Dave Hounddriver]

And here's me thinking it looks like a pump type trolley on an old train.  The outriggers look like the handles they use. 

[dalidali]

 

I am racking my noggin trying to figure out just what is a pump boat?

 

It seems like any generic outrigger style boat with a prop driven inboard engine might be one?

 

Not quite sure what makes one a "pump" boat?...I don't see any pumps other than the operator pumping his arms while pulling the rope start engine.

 

I am savvy to a "jet" style propulsion drive, being in essence a "pump" drive, but those shaft driven props on the common outrigger boat has me losing sleep at night.

 

I was once told that it was because the engines were primarily used to pump water and then used in the boats as and when needed.

 

Wow.....I saw 2 of those engines at a Honda moto dealer just yesterday.

They have a straight shaft with a Woodruff key cut into it.

I suppose they could power any type of equipment if adapable to that shaft....including a water "pump"

 

Compact they were.....could fit easily down in the bilge of a "pump" boat.

I could not see a horse power rating or the price.... :1 (103):

[Dave Hounddriver]

I was once told that

It may be true, but I have never heard that, so I started interacting with my good friend Mr Google.  Here is a site that seems to know a lot about pump boats.  They do not suggest an origin to the name but they do show that there are many different types of pump boats and forms of pump boat propulsion.  

[manofthecoldland]

Just came across this older posting.

My understanding of the term "Pump boat" is that long ago, the engines were seawater cooled manually. A crewman had to man a pump to feed seawater through the water jacket to keep the engine from overheating when underway.  Thats what was once told to me.  

[Dave Hounddriver]

On 8/27/2013 at 8:42 PM, dalidali said:

I am racking my noggin trying to figure out just what is a pump boat?

Since Manofthecold land revived this topic I got curious again.  There is an excellent article about boats written by a long time expat Perry Gamsby.  I won't link to it as he runs a competing Philippine forum but I will quote what he has to say and you can google it for a link 

Quote

. . . A banca is a native outrigger boat, usually powered by a small, air-cooled gasoline engine up to 16hp. Larger boats with more beam are locally referred to as “Pumpboats” and can be as long as 100 feet . . When you get into the pump boat class, say 30 feet and more, the engines are often old diesel truck engines, still fitted with their automotive gearboxes with maybe just third and reverse left inside. Starting is by rope, the cry of “Uno! Dos!” followed by hopefully the roar of the engine is a feature of every trip. . .