whichwaysup Posted November 28, 2016 Report Share Posted November 28, 2016 Hey all - Got the new boat out this week and she's fantastic. I did find a couple issues: 1) Live well appears to be larger than expected - as in - pretty much the entire bilge of the boat! After the first trip, which was lengthy, I returned and found the bilge free of water - great, no leaks! Trip #2, I used the livewell to keep some trout alive . . . and in a few hours, I discovered that the bottom of the boat was full of water. SOoooooo - Somehow the live well is causing the boat to fill up with water. It could be the pump sending it directly into the bilge, or it could be draining from the livewell into the boat. Before I begin diagnosing, which will likely require me to be in the water, are there any obvious things to check? 2) Bilge pump is working intermittently - yeah, so when you have the issue I described above, a working bilge pump is kind of important . . . only, mine seems to be only sorta working. And "sorta" doesn't drain a bilge full of water very efficiently! At first I thought the pump was clogged, but I found that the pump is actually only turning on sometimes when I hit the switch. When it is on, it goes between very strong and pretty weak. Since the access to the bilge is only about 12" in diameter, any thoughts on potential causes or efficient diagnosis would be helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted November 28, 2016 Report Share Posted November 28, 2016 What kind of bait well pump is it? If it is the older rule pump they are notorious for cracking and leaking, normally right where the hose connects( white plastic housing). How tall is your stand pipe? I've seen some live wells over flow between the deck and top of the well, but that's with a very tall stand pipe and a lack of sealant between the cap and well. Check your float switch and bilge pump with a meter and good 12v source. I feel your pain on that pie hole! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEM Posted November 28, 2016 Report Share Posted November 28, 2016 The first thing that comes to mind on the live well issue is whether water could be leaking out where the live well "lip" is sealed to the bottom of the deck. I have heard of that happening. However, I can't believe enough water would be leaking there to fill the bottom of the boat. I would check to ensure that the pump hasn't come out of the housing, and that all the hoses are clamped good and not leaking at the pump and at the fitting going into the live well. Like you said, you are going to have to have the boat in the water to properly investigate. Hopefully, you can get to all the areas to figure it out. Don't feel bad though, a friend bought a brand new Pathfinder 2400 earlier this year, and it's leaking water into the bilge from somewhere. I told him to take it back to the dealer, and let it be their problem to find and fix. On the bilge pump, it sounds like a new pump is in order. On a used boat, it never hurts to just go ahead and pop in a new one.....pretty cheap insurance. The only other source of problems there would be the wiring. Good luck in sorting everything out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawg Posted November 28, 2016 Report Share Posted November 28, 2016 On my Maverick skiff, the live well overflow drain line passes through the bilge into a thru-hull fitting on the bottom of the boat. If that drain hose were to rupture high above the thru-hull , it would fill my bilge with the water coming from the bait well overflow. If it ruptured near the thru hull, water would flow into the bilge from beneath the boat. I'd check these possibilities first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 You can check for leaks or lack of a good seal at the top of the live-well, where it connects to the deck with a garden hose. Might save you a trip to the ramp. With regard to the bilge pump, sounds like you might have something stuck in the impeller or a wiring problem. If you can reach the bilge pump, disconnect the top portion and check for anything wrapped around the impeller. However, a new bilge pump and associated wiring is pretty cheap insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 My MA was leaking water around some of the fittings.And there were a bunch. Original owner had three wells plumbed with re circ and 2 of those with raw water fill pumps. I could shut off sea cocks and not nearly as much water. Most were cracked around the fitting as described above. I have twin thru hugs through as mine is pre seat chest design. Your bilge sounds like maybe a bad ground. Just a shot but sometimes it seems that will cause it to do as you describe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin-addict Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 12 hours ago, SCFD rtrd. said: You can check for leaks or lack of a good seal at the top of the live-well, where it connects to the deck with a garden hose. Might save you a trip to the ramp. With regard to the bilge pump, sounds like you might have something stuck in the impeller or a wiring problem. If you can reach the bilge pump, disconnect the top portion and check for anything wrapped around the impeller. However, a new bilge pump and associated wiring is pretty cheap insurance. agree, impeller and or wiring my guess also. good luck, fin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 Step one, upsize bilge hatch! Setp two, get in there and fix stuff! Step three, go fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted November 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 Thanks all! Based on your advice, I decided to start looking for the simplest explanation and EUREKA, I found (at least part of) the problem. I grabbed a mirror and a flashlight and checked along the seam of the top of the live well. I made it 99% of the way around and the seal looked great. . . . Literally, just as I was pulling the mirror out and about to write off that possibility, I caught a glimpse of something in the very last corner . . . back in went the mirror and sure enough, there is a crack in the top corner of the livewell. I didn't think it was big enough to allow much water to drain, but it was certainly a couple of inches lower than the outflow pipe so I put a hose on it. Within SECONDS, I had a steady stream of water coming out of the bilge. Still need to work on the bilge pump and figure that one out, but at least this one looks like an easy fix. Any recommendation on what to fix it with to keep it from being a problem in the future? Marine tex? 4200? Other? Hurricane - when you a chance, would love to see what you did with that bilge hatch - I think it is definitely in my future to do as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsnook35 Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 I would use marine tex. You can sand it smooth and paint it after you finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted November 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 Nag suggested Marine Tex as well - is it easy to work with and durable? Update on the Bilge pump - I'm getting lucky here - simple issue - I traced the wires from the bilge back to the switch checking all of the connections. The pump itself looks fairly new, so I was hoping to find a bad connection - sure enough . . . it's at the switch. A little wiggling behind the panel and it turned on again. A little more wiggling and it got stronger. All of this revealed the cause - the switch panel is screwed onto the top of the console. There isn't any sealant between the top of the console and the bottom of the panel, which sends all the water running down the console directly onto the back of the switches. Easy fix. Any particular solution you all would recommend to remove the corrosion around these electrical connections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsnook35 Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 It's real easy to work with. Just mix the entire quantities that come in the package. If you try to portion it out and get it wrong. It really ***. It won't harden and becomes a real thick paste. Ask me how I know. It is easier to just mix the whole quantity together and make sure the mix is correct. You will be able to sand it the next day most likely. It does off gas a good amount so make sure you are well ventilated. Also leave the hatch open to make sure it can dry well. If you have any other questions let me know. Pm me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted November 30, 2016 Report Share Posted November 30, 2016 6 hours ago, whichwaysup said: Nag suggested Marine Tex as well - is it easy to work with and durable? Update on the Bilge pump - I'm getting lucky here - simple issue - I traced the wires from the bilge back to the switch checking all of the connections. The pump itself looks fairly new, so I was hoping to find a bad connection - sure enough . . . it's at the switch. A little wiggling behind the panel and it turned on again. A little more wiggling and it got stronger. All of this revealed the cause - the switch panel is screwed onto the top of the console. There isn't any sealant between the top of the console and the bottom of the panel, which sends all the water running down the console directly onto the back of the switches. Easy fix. Any particular solution you all would recommend to remove the corrosion around these electrical connections? They make a gizmo to clean electrical connections. It looks like a tick plastic pencil. You twist the top and it has some type of fibers that come out of the tip. The fibers look like hair, but are some type of synthetic stuff that will remove corrosion and make the connections look new. I'll google around and try to find one. When you use the Marine-Tex, make sure you clean the area with acetone, then sand the area, then apply Marine-Tex. Check out the link below. You can probably find them in an auto parts or home improvement stores. https://www.eraser.com/fybrglass-brushes-and-erasers/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted November 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2016 very cool - have never seen that before, but that would be perfect for the application. I'll look for one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane Posted November 30, 2016 Report Share Posted November 30, 2016 Is that the Portside well? I've never used that well on my boat, I just use it as storage. When I got my boat, I also found my switch panel to leak water. Not too long ago I replaced the switch panel with a new one from Flounder Pounder, the original was faded so bad I couldn't read the labels anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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