QC
Supreme Mariner
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2005
- Messages
- 22,783
Well I guess this is kind of a warning . . . Also a reminder to simply pay attention!!
We were at a beach on Lake Mead with pretty steep banks. I have a friend who has a '06 236 SSi Chaparral. We have noted previously that the boat takes on some water when beached bow high. I assumed originally that it was coming in through the hull deck joint at the step. With a molded in step the joint drops to just above the waterline.
We were sitting on the beach and noticed his bilge pump cycling and pumping a lot of water out. There were about three other boat owners suggesting to my less-than-mechanically-inclined friend that he needed to check it out . . .
He said, "oh I know what that is, it comes in through the step mounted ice chest and drains right into the bilge." And he sort of waived us off. A couple of us whispered to each other, "that is not OK, that thing is really pumping." But we had spent a while trying to convince him that it was not OK like that, and the bilge pump was keeping up with it. So we got distracted, sandwiches etc.
So maybe an hour later his boat had slid off the beach some and the line was slack at his bow stake, beach anchor thing, so he decided to reset it. I just noticed that he had backed off the beach and was putting her back on. When he throttled some to stick her, the bow rose way past where it was before and the angle of the entire boat was way higher, and she was also listing to starboard. Luckily, two of us watched this whole thing and it just didn't look right at all. I look over and the entire swimstep is under water now, and I can't see any water coming out of the bilge pump outlet. By this time the other guy watching was sounding the alarm and I started to freak because I thought the pump was dead, so I went for my hand pump. By the time I got back to his boat it was clear that the pump was working and what I had seen was a different drain, buuuuuut the actual bilge pump outlet was now completely underwater. He had now opened up the engine hatch and the entire bilge was full of water as high as the top of the belts but below the top of the dipstick guide. Holy crap. So he goes to start it and I stop him as I was worried about the water etc. Then a couple of us grabbed the bow and pushed her off and got the step above the waterline. Sat there for about an hour for the pump to take care of it.
What happened apparently was basically a vicious cycle. There were some people on the step and the water apparently was coming in faster now than the pump could keep up. The water got so high that the opening seen in the pic for the engine hatch (two hinges) was now underwater and the water just started pouring in. I honestly think another few minutes and we would've lost her.
I crawled all over her, and checked fluids over and over. The power steering pump reservoir seems to be the only victim so far. There was a little condensation on the engine dipstick, but no discoloration of the oil after running her. I will have to stay after him to get the power steering flushed as he will leave it, he just does not understand that although it still works it is not right!!! Funny guy, and I honestly feel I did the entire boating community a disservice by introducing him to boating, but that is simply water over the transom now . . .
Oh, BTW, yes, that little thing in the ice chest well is a plug. And yes, we said, "hey you need a plug", and he never mentioned through this whole deal that it already has one. He just doesn't use it . . . OMG!!!!!
We were at a beach on Lake Mead with pretty steep banks. I have a friend who has a '06 236 SSi Chaparral. We have noted previously that the boat takes on some water when beached bow high. I assumed originally that it was coming in through the hull deck joint at the step. With a molded in step the joint drops to just above the waterline.
We were sitting on the beach and noticed his bilge pump cycling and pumping a lot of water out. There were about three other boat owners suggesting to my less-than-mechanically-inclined friend that he needed to check it out . . .
He said, "oh I know what that is, it comes in through the step mounted ice chest and drains right into the bilge." And he sort of waived us off. A couple of us whispered to each other, "that is not OK, that thing is really pumping." But we had spent a while trying to convince him that it was not OK like that, and the bilge pump was keeping up with it. So we got distracted, sandwiches etc.So maybe an hour later his boat had slid off the beach some and the line was slack at his bow stake, beach anchor thing, so he decided to reset it. I just noticed that he had backed off the beach and was putting her back on. When he throttled some to stick her, the bow rose way past where it was before and the angle of the entire boat was way higher, and she was also listing to starboard.
Luckily, two of us watched this whole thing and it just didn't look right at all. I look over and the entire swimstep is under water now, and I can't see any water coming out of the bilge pump outlet. By this time the other guy watching was sounding the alarm and I started to freak because I thought the pump was dead, so I went for my hand pump. By the time I got back to his boat it was clear that the pump was working and what I had seen was a different drain, buuuuuut the actual bilge pump outlet was now completely underwater. He had now opened up the engine hatch and the entire bilge was full of water as high as the top of the belts but below the top of the dipstick guide. Holy crap. So he goes to start it and I stop him as I was worried about the water etc. Then a couple of us grabbed the bow and pushed her off and got the step above the waterline. Sat there for about an hour for the pump to take care of it.What happened apparently was basically a vicious cycle. There were some people on the step and the water apparently was coming in faster now than the pump could keep up. The water got so high that the opening seen in the pic for the engine hatch (two hinges) was now underwater and the water just started pouring in. I honestly think another few minutes and we would've lost her.
I crawled all over her, and checked fluids over and over. The power steering pump reservoir seems to be the only victim so far. There was a little condensation on the engine dipstick, but no discoloration of the oil after running her. I will have to stay after him to get the power steering flushed as he will leave it, he just does not understand that although it still works it is not right!!! Funny guy, and I honestly feel I did the entire boating community a disservice by introducing him to boating, but that is simply water over the transom now . . .
Oh, BTW, yes, that little thing in the ice chest well is a plug. And yes, we said, "hey you need a plug", and he never mentioned through this whole deal that it already has one. He just doesn't use it . . . OMG!!!!!
