I have water inside my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

[tommyk021]

what can i do if i have water inside my 18ft boat.its got a double hull but the bilge pump wont get it out!what can i do??i cant see the water but can just hear it when i move the boat on the trailer!does this mean i have a leek?

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

If it is enough water to hear it sloshing around when moving the trailer i would sure investigate it further,
The pump will not get it all.Usually an inch or so will be left that the pump won't get out.
Park it with the bow raised up and the plug out.It should all drain.

 

[tommyk021]

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

i have had the boat angled in all imaginable positions to get the water to the pump but still no good!is there anybody i could go to to get this fixed.i put the boat in the water for MY first time a few days ago and the water has been inside since!
do you think it has come from the outside of the boat or could it be water that was splashed in?its a lot of water by the sounds of it!


thanks 4 d advice

 

[madgadget]

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

Do you have any floatation wells at the side? Perhaps water is in there ?

 

[BeaufortTJustice]

Re: I have water inside my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

You've probably already would've thought of this, but, any way to get to it with a shop-vac?

 

[Philster]

Re: I have water inside my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

Boat year? Model? Type? Other features? Ski lockers? Live wells? A head? Fuel tank types and number?

Do you hear fuel sloshing!? Do you hear water for a live well? Hear the water for washdown tank? I know it's only 18' of boat, but I have to ask.

Just need more information.

Some boats are manufactured by pure dummies. Sometimes they compartmentalize the hull, so if water gets in, it can't get out (and it usually comes from above, via the deck, but there are hundreds of ways for water to find a way in, like windows, deck hatches, cracks, etc). And YES, boat builders SHOULD know better, but they convince themselves that 'water tight' compartments are real, when they aren't. Sometimes they depend on new, untested materials that aren't supposed to absorbed water or fail, but PRESTO! ... they do, and then there isn't a way to deal with the water trapped in a compartment.

A boat builder, surveyor or other expert (sometimes they work for insurance companies) can help if you are completely and utterly stumped. You might need to make a hatch and then bore a hole for the water to reach the bilge pump. If you get desperate, a surveyor might be able to help and get you over to someone who can make the repairs.

 

[texomatom]

Re: I have water inside my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

Could the sound be fuel sloshing in the tank?

 

[BTMCB]

Re: I have water inside my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

^^^^^what he said..........

As far as your question....could it have splashed in..........only you know the answer to that....you were on the boat....did you see / feel spray coming in? Was the water rough? Did you have swimmers getting in and out? Good luck.

 

[allinmygarage]

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

i have had the boat angled in all imaginable positions to get the water to the pump but still no good!

Also if you are raising the bow to all imaginable positions I would not leave it to the pump to get the water out. I would just pull the plug. I am assuming it has a plug.

A pump will normally leave water behind.

Also I am guessing like others here you are hearing the gas splashing around.

 

[QC]

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

Re: I have water insise my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

Park it with the bow raised up and the plug out.It should all drain.

You need to do this to determine if the water that you hear (if it is water) is actually in the bilge. Possibly your pump is mounted too high or for some other reason can't get it out. Or maybe, as others have suggested, that the water is not in the bilge. Draining, as opposed to pumping, would help confirm all of this. Then you need to determine the source . . . I haven't checked your profile, but what kind of power are we talking about? OB? I/O? Nuclear?

Edit: Sorry for the redundancy. Forgot to push the submit button and didn't see that ^^^^ post

 

[tommyk021]

Re: I have water inside my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

i have outboard engines so i took out the fuel tanks.its defo not fuel but thanks for the idea. i dont think the boat has a plug but there are 3 wells inside the cabin that ive never opened.theyre screwed shut.i will try opening these and see whats there!thanks for all the ideas

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: I have water inside my boat,but the bilge pump wont get it.

We need more info. Cabin? Give us the make and model.
Almost every boat has a hull drain plug.
Water in an inner hull (such as a Whaler's) is a problem b/c it doesn't ahve a drain plug; you have to drill holes. However you seldom if ever get a sloshing sound just wet foam.
Here's the bigger problem: the boat is "dry" you use it and now the inner hull or bilge is flooded. You would know if it came in over the sides. This is a serious problem you need to identify.
Dry the bottom of the hull and look for drips while it's on the trailer.