Water in the bilge

Joer2

Cadet
Joined
Aug 28, 2005
Messages
22
I left my boat at a boatyard for some work and went recently to pick it up. The work they did required that they pop the hatch and work on the inside of the transom under the deck (mounting the bracket for a replacement motor). <br /><br />Well, they forgot to put the hatch back on, and we had tons or rain. The space holding the internal gas tank got flooded, and for some reason, the bilge pump didn't kick on. <br />The plug was still in the boat so there was a lot of water in there. The boat is an 18’ cc with an internal 30 gal gas tank. Make a long story short, the bilge pump kicked on once we moved the boat (I am going to replace the switch and possibly the pump after some testing) and all the water drained. I took the boat out that day, and no additional water got inside the hull. Here is the question: any damage that I need to be concerned with? The mechanic said that since it was fresh water in the hold, nothing to worry about. What do you guys think??<br /><br />Joe
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Water in the bilge

find out what you weight should be. find a public scale and weigh the boat. this will tell you if you have a problem. the mechanic is trying to CYA due to negelience or his part. document you findings. don't procrastinate.
 

rottenray6402

Ensign
Joined
Jul 27, 2004
Messages
923
Re: Water in the bilge

Just a side note on the automatic bilge pump, they often don't come on with the boat on the trailer. It seems that the switches are kind of prone to sticking but with the boat sitting in the water the wave action will tend to over come that. This has been my personal experience but I will deferr to any of the many marine techs that are on the forum that disagree.
 

Joer2

Cadet
Joined
Aug 28, 2005
Messages
22
Re: Water in the bilge

Thanks guys. I will weigh it - good suggestion. Also, the bilge not working while the boat is on trailer sounds logical - bilge went on when we shifted the boat.
 

bamadave

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
391
Re: Water in the bilge

Replace the switch with an electronic switch. It works when water touches the 2 electrodes, it activates he pump. I have seen the samething. I have seen wires fall down over the float switch without anyone noticing and when we floated the boat (yes, it completely sank) a battery lead have held the float down.
 
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