Installation Stories

Our January 2024 feature introduces Flying Lady, a 1937 Trumpy with a white hull, wooden cabin and signature scrollwork. The equipment pictured below deck is an Arid Series 2 Nano, installed to collect residual water from connected bilge locations.

The Series 2 Nano below the classic exterior

Our original Flying Lady installation post brings together exterior, engine-room and equipment photographs. The installed unit’s faceplate reads Series 2 Nano.

The Nano’s role is below deck, where residual water can remain after ordinary pumping. An Arid installation collects that water through connected pickups. It adds an automatic task to the yacht’s routine, while access to the unit, its tubing and the pickup locations remains important for ongoing attention.

Bilge care within a classic yacht’s routine

For Flying Lady, attention to the bilge belongs alongside care of the visible woodwork and machinery. The exterior finish may be the first thing a visitor notices, but the less accessible spaces also belong on the maintenance list. The Series 2 Nano addresses one recurring job in those spaces: collecting residual water where its pickups are connected.

Residual-water removal can reduce one source of moisture exposure. It does not establish that timber is sound, prevent all corrosion or replace inspection, cleaning, ventilation and repairs. Keep the vessel’s specified bilge pumps operational, and use instructions that match the installed unit. Our standing-water and moisture guide explains the system’s place within that wider care.

Choosing and maintaining an installation

On another classic yacht, start with the wet locations and the access available to them. Photograph the compartments, note the proposed unit location and discuss the tubing route with the installer. Those details help shape the configuration for the boat, including the pickup locations that will need to remain accessible.

For an installed system, record the model label and photograph the unit and tubing connections before planning service. Keep those details with the boat’s maintenance records, particularly when responsibility passes between an owner, captain and marine technician. Clear equipment records make the next inspection easier to prepare.

The current Series 2 product page introduces today’s range. For equipment already aboard, Owners’ Central provides manuals and maintenance resources; check the model label before selecting instructions. Flying Lady’s installed unit is the Series 2 Nano, and its particular configuration should guide its care.

Our January 2024 feature introduced Flawless, a 65-foot Sea Ray L650 Fly with four staterooms. The original installation photographs show a central Arid Series 2 cabinet and a pickup among the boat’s other equipment below deck.

The photographs below follow that arrangement from the cabinet to a pickup beside the larger hoses and bilge-pump equipment.

The Series 2 cabinet aboard Flawless

The white cabinet is mounted beside an existing panel, with hoses and cable runs nearby. This is the central unit; the water-collection points are elsewhere, connected by small intake tubing.

Keeping the unit separate from the low points is part of the system’s layout. Pickups can reach water where it gathers, while the cabinet has its own mounting location. The positions and number of pickups need to suit the individual boat.

A close look at a pickup

In the compartment photograph below, look for the small white pickup near the bottom of the image. Its thin tube is distinct from the much larger hoses around it. The conventional bilge-pump equipment remains in the same space.

Those components have different jobs. Arid removes residual water at its connected pickup locations; the boat still needs its conventional bilge pumps. The photograph gives an owner a useful way to look at an installation: identify the pickup, trace its accessible tubing and understand how it relates to the surrounding equipment.

That inspection should also consider routine care. A pickup needs to stay accessible for checks, and changes in the amount of water returning deserve attention. Removing residual water does not clean old deposits, repair a leaking connection or replace maintenance of the other systems in the compartment.

Planning for your own boat

Start with the actual wet areas and available access aboard your boat. Review the current Series 2 options and the installation and owner manuals with those spaces in mind.

For the operating process, read how Arid collects residual bilge water. To see a different motor-yacht installation, visit Cortina’s installation story.

The boat and equipment images come from our original Flawless feature.

Our January 2024 Ocean Alexander 112 feature identifies an Arid Series 9×7 installation with a practical task: bringing residual bilge fluid to a central collection point.

Care beneath the polished exterior

At the dock, the yacht’s profile stretches from the high bow to the open aft decks. The 112 mark sits just behind the long window line. Below those exterior spaces is another working arrangement: hoses, pipework, cabinets and the equipment that needs attention between trips.

Arid belongs in that less visible part of the yacht. Its pickups collect residual fluid at connected locations, and vacuum draws the fluid through tubing into a central chamber. The installation brings those connections together around one unit, giving residual-water removal a defined place within the machinery space.

The arrangement starts with the boat’s wet locations. Pickup positions and tubing routes connect those areas to the central unit; their layout is as much a part of the installation as the enclosure itself.

The Series 9×7 in its working surroundings

A dark inspection window and round gauge punctuate the white enclosure. Large marine hoses run beside it, cabinets occupy the spaces above and to the side, and pipework passes below. This is the practical setting for the Arid installation, with equipment arranged closely within the available space.

That surrounding space matters throughout the life of an installation. Access to the unit, tubing and pickups allows inspection and service to remain part of the boat’s routine.

One part of looking after the yacht

Residual-water removal can reduce one source of moisture exposure. It complements the vessel’s specified bilge pumps and regular cleaning, ventilation and leak repairs. Contaminated fluid still requires appropriate handling; central collection does not make it suitable for overboard discharge. Our standing-water and moisture guide explains the wider care routine.

Explore the current Series 9 HD 120VAC offering when considering a new installation. For the system already aboard, Owners’ Central provides manuals and care resources to match to the installed model and configuration.

For another large-yacht installation, see Reef Chief’s story.

Star Sapphire’s dark blue hull and white superstructure are easy to pick out in a harbor. Her name appears high on the yacht’s side, above the long band of windows. Arid’s company feature identifies her as a 117-foot custom yacht.

From the exterior to the installed equipment

Inside, the Arid equipment shares space with tubing, cabling and finished surfaces. These close details show the practical setting behind the yacht’s exterior: panels to read, connections to recognize and routes to document.

Against the pale bulkhead, the gauge faces outward from a black front panel. Tubing runs from connections along the right-hand side, with nearby lines visible below. The open view of the surrounding floor helps place the cabinet within that setting.

Timber paneling frames the other equipment scene. The gauge sits near the top of the black panel, above the turquoise wordmark, while tubing runs toward the upper right and a corrugated hose crosses overhead.

A useful record to keep aboard

For an owner, a clear record of the panel and nearby connections can make a service conversation easier. Include enough of the surroundings to show how the lines are routed. Check reach and clearance in person using the installed system’s instructions.

Our How Arid Works guide explains the basic residual-water collection process. The original Star Sapphire feature, published November 19, 2023, brings the yacht and these installation details together.

Spirit of Zopilote is a Northern Marine long-range cruising yacht, recognizable by her deep green hull, white wheelhouse and high mast. Below deck, an Arid Series 2 collects residual bilge water around the boat’s existing machinery and plumbing.

A passagemaker built for time aboard

Northern Marine’s account of its early yachts identifies Spirit of Zopilote as a 62-foot long-range cruiser completed in 1997 for Bruce Kessler. Her purposeful profile reflects the builder’s roots in commercial vessels and expedition yachts. A boat intended for extended cruising needs attention in the spaces that guests rarely see: machinery compartments, plumbing runs and the low areas beneath them.

Spirit of Zopilote, a Northern Marine long-range cruiser equipped with an Arid Series 2.

One cabinet among the existing equipment

The installation photograph shows a slim Arid cabinet mounted on a pale bulkhead. Small tubing loops above it, while larger hoses, wiring and valves occupy the surrounding space. The front panel faces into the compartment, with its connections visible in the same view.

That wider view is useful when planning service or discussing an installation. A close-up can identify the cabinet; a photograph that includes the surrounding plumbing helps explain where it sits. Reach, working room and the complete tubing route still need to be checked aboard the boat.

The installed Arid cabinet and surrounding equipment aboard Spirit of Zopilote.

A closer look at the water below

The same company post includes a pair of photographs labeled “Before” and “After.” Water covers much of the visible area around a large elbow fitting in the first view. More of the compartment floor is exposed in the second, where staining and deposits remain visible.

The useful distinction is between removing water and cleaning or repairing the surfaces beneath it. A lower water level makes those surfaces easier to see; it does not establish their condition or resolve the reason water entered.

The original comparison from Arid’s Spirit of Zopilote feature.

Why leaving water below deck matters

A shallow puddle can stay behind after a conventional bilge pump stops. In a closed compartment, repeated wetting keeps nearby surfaces damp and makes inspection less pleasant. Water around fittings can also hide new seepage and make it harder to distinguish an old stain from an active leak.

The before-and-after photographs show the practical benefit of reaching that last water: more of the compartment becomes visible and accessible for cleaning and inspection. They do not diagnose rot or identify the condition of hidden structure. For wooden vessels, the related concern is sustained wetting of timber where oxygen is present; read wooden-yacht specialist Jim Moores’ experience with bilge moisture.

Arid removes residual water through its connected pickups. Finding the source of recurring water, maintaining drainage and ventilation, and keeping conventional bilge pumps operational remain part of caring for the boat.

Start with your own wet areas

For another trawler, begin with photographs of the places where water remains, along with the paths available for tubing and service access. This installation offers a real example to discuss, rather than a pickup plan to copy from the boat’s length alone.

See how Arid collects residual bilge water, or discuss your boat’s layout with Arid. The original company post, published November 19, 2023, brings these photographs together; it does not give an installation date.