Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

[Home Cookin']

Re: Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

after all the detail, I'm betting on pulled up too high on the bank and too much weight in the stern. next time just let it float like it was designed to do.

4 batteries
full live well
two people sleeping on the stern
fuel tanks back there, too?

 

[scott8058]

Re: Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

I have absolutely no input on how to fix your problem but have to say sorry because that is one killer boat! Love the rod holders and and led's.......btw how many poles is each person allowed where you live lol.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

... I have a 17 gallon bait tank below deck with an aerator that was running...

I would look at this closely.
By aerator, do you mean an air pump? A pump circulating water? Or a pump continuously pumping in fresh water?

In any case some of these fittings are below the waterline by design. Are any leaking?

 

[swire]

Re: Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

after all the detail, I'm betting on pulled up too high on the bank and too much weight in the stern. next time just let it float like it was designed to do.

4 batteries
full live well
two people sleeping on the stern
fuel tanks back there, too?

Yes, the fuel tank is back there too. I've done this many times before but only had 3 batteries then. I like to throw out a couple lines and turn on the clickers on the reels while I sleep. If I don't have the boat snugged up to the bank it will drift around and either snag the lines on the bottom or tangle the lines.

With the splashwell 8" above the water line this should not be an issue. However, since the boat was sitting 3 inches lower and the drain hole for the splashwell is about 2" below the top of the transom that put an opening for the water to get in at only 3 inches above the water line. Then add beaching high, the extra weight of the people, and some slight wave action and it starts to seem very plausible that the combination of all that flooded the boat.

 

[swire]

Re: Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

I would look at this closely.
By aerator, do you mean an air pump? A pump circulating water? Or a pump continuously pumping in fresh water?

In any case some of these fittings are below the waterline by design. Are any leaking?

I have a fill pump that will fill and circulate fresh water. I also have an aerator that will circulate water while pulling in fresh air and mixing the two in the pump. The end of the day drain for the tank is located next to bilge plug. I keep a stopper in it until I pull the boat out. The stopper was still there and not a source of any leak. The overflow for the bait tank is a different story. That is a thru-hull fitting right at the water line. It leaked with I put my boat in at the beginning of the year, so I changed hoses and made sure the hose clamp was very snug. When I tested my boat for leaks after the recovery the fitting remained dry. No visible leaks have been found at this time. I will do more testing but I do not expect to find any below the water line leaks.

 

[swire]

Re: Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

I have absolutely no input on how to fix your problem but have to say sorry because that is one killer boat! Love the rod holders and and led's.......btw how many poles is each person allowed where you live lol.

Thanks. I have the boat fully customized for striper fishing. There are additional rod holders up front for down rods. In Kentucky there is no limit on the number of fishing poles we can use. Jug fishing and trot lines are limited to 50 jugs per boat or 50 hooks per trot line. I do not use all the rod holders. Some are spares, some I leave empty, some hold spare fishing poles. I will typically run 3 planer boards on each side, two balloon lines way back behind the boat, and 2 or 3 down lines. If I have time I'll put 2 additional down lines on the front of the boat. As long as you keep moving forward everything works perfect. If you stop for more than a few seconds things will start getting tangled.

The green LEDs around the outside of the do attract bait fish. Pretty much the second I turn them on I can see small fish swimming around the boat. This has not translated into me catching any bigger fish at night though. I wasn't sure if it would work or not but figured I would try it.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

The bilge pump outlet is on the back of the boat and sits higher than the splashwell. If water is getting into the bilge outlet then the splashwell is already an inch under water and the boat would be flooded.

I just got home and measured. There is a water line across the transom 8" below the splashwell. This is the normal water line. There is a secondary water line 5 1/2 inches below the splashwell. That matches how it was sitting in the 8pm picture, about 3 inches low. Unless there is a leak that I haven't found yet, that is all due to the weight of the water splashing in while running and water getting in through the splashwell when stopping.

Wow then this is a strange situation indeed. You're probably guessing pretty close then about the splash well leaking. Could you have a torn splashwell boot where the control cables come through? One suggestion for the next time. Throw an anchor out and moor the boat with the bow facing out. That wil keep the waves off the bow rather then the stern if the winds come up.

 

[swire]

Re: Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

BTW this was the bank that I beached the boat on. Where you see the boat is where I beached it. I didn't get too crazy with it but I'm sure it was a factor.

 

[04fxdwgi]

Re: Anyone have any problems with Johnson Pumps bilge pumps? Sunk my boat.

My setup is: 2 seperate high capacity Rule bilge pumps, each with it's own float switch, it's own dash manual switch, it's own overboard discharge (one port and one stbd) and powered from different batteries. 2nd pump set 1 inch above the first. Plus have a solid state high water alarm for bilge. I feel comfortable w/ this setup.