Almost had a heart attack.
 

I really HATE to say it, but my beautiful seacraft sunk. Well, not to jump the gun, she is currently floating in my back yard, and runs great, looks great, and rides great,.!

But, the story is, I did not realize my float switch was not working, and I was at school all day, on a rainy day.

Came home she was looking fine, but I did not bother to run the pump, as I thought it was working. .....my dad had mentioned he thought she was sitting a little low a few days before......

But I come out 10 minutes later to go to my shed....and all I see is the bow flair of the port side.

I FREAK, PANIC, SCREAM, HOLLAR,.....I could not believe it, it was the most horrible thing I have ever seen. :(

The Mercury was half-way under, and the gunnels on the starboard side were under, in the stern.

Luckily, our neighbor across the street has a huge Penn-yan, and he winched up the back until the scuppers were above the water, and then we kicked the bilge on....now she floats.

Next day....Installed float switch, re-did bilge wiring, etc.

Engine fired right up!!!!!!!!1 :cool:


I have learned a lesson I will never forget.......always be aware of your bilges! The boat did nothing wrong...I did.



But, Im puzzled on how it went down so fast.


I believe it was this:

-Boat took on water to the point the scuppers by the engine compartment were below the water line.

- Water came in boat and filled up in deck live-well(not sealed).

- Water level became substantial in weight, and boat took on access water over gunnels.

My theory......I hope I will never have to relive such a nightmare.

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

Yow! Sorry to hear that! Hope none of the engine electronics were submerged.

I have two bilge pumps, two float switches, and two batteries in my Seacraft. Each pump is wired directly to a separate battery through a separate float switch. So there are two complete systems that are independent of the battery switch. Cheap insurance.

Dave

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

askipper3-Good to here the motor is kick'in That live well is a great place to add the extra water weight to sink'em. My old 18 had it sealed on the deck and plugged inside (water could still come up over the lip of the well from below the deck where it's not connected).

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

i have a story for u about the livewells. well as u know that it picks up water while running and then drains into the bilge. well i didnt know that my valve was open. and that the livewell was not plugged. after running about 30 minutes we stop and both of the plugs in my floor drains pop out and water coming pouring in faster than ever. we opened the rear hatches and the entire bilge is full of water up to the floor! well turns out float switch was not able to move because the bilge pump hose was on top of it. always watch the livewell!!!

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

My livewell does not drain into the bilge. It picks water up and puts into the well....it fills up and comes over the top of the well...goes out the scuppers. But the lower the waterline( people, weight, etc)....the more water comes in on deck. You can be standing in a foot of water.!

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

Some engine electronics were submerged. But only for a short while., everything was immediatly rinsed with fresh water and corrosion block/wd 40.

Hopefully that did the trick!

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

Someone else had the same problem within the last year and it caused me to install a high water alarm. You would have heard it going off long before it went under.

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

How much does a high water alarm cost? Sounds like a good idea!

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

You should be able to improvise an inexpensive high water alarm by mounting a float switch in the bilge, a couple inches above the float switch for the bilge pump, and wiring it to the alarm buzzer for your Mercury engine. The buzzer should be mounted inside the console.
Dave

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

You can also wire the float switch to a small 12v. electronic siren or bell, like a old fashioned phone bell, all available from Radio Shack. If your boat is behind the house, you may want to mount it under the T-top, or externally, so that you can hear it in the house.

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

Hello there,

These are all very good idea. When i was new to powerboat, David Pascoe website provided a wealth of information to get a boat seaworthy.

- seal the opening to the bilge (hatches, holes, cable entry)
- double bilge pumps, electrical and battery ( as mention above)
- for those with rear drain (install scupper)
- seal the big livewell in the back especially if not in use. This would provide plenty of flotation.
- bilge alarm
-etc

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

We are going to fill the livesell with high density foam- and seal it off completely. Should add some nice floatation.

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

I have the same set up as Blue Heron. Float switches tend to go bad every couple years or so. You should check them regularly. I even keep a large hand pump in the boat just in case.

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

The livewell isn't a liability if it's set up right. I have a livewell pump controlled by a float switch mounted inside the well in a domestically fabricated (homemade) aluminum housing that prevents livies or sloshing water from interfering with the float switch. The livewell drain is plumbed to a through-hull fitting in the transom and the pump discharges overboard through a fitting on the starboard side above the waterline like a bilge pump.

The sequence of operation goes like this: Water enters the livewell through the drain. When the livewell gets full to within about two inches of the top, the float switch activates and pumps it down an inch or so. Then the cycle repeats. Works like a charm, even when the boat's rocking in heavy seas. As long as the lid's not open, the water stays in the well and below deck level.

I've installed some other plumbing that allows it to recirculate when the boat is on plane. I can go into more detail if anyone's interested. Maybe a post in Repairs/Modifications.

Dave

P.S. I use the livewell as a trash receptacle when I'm not fishing. Keeps the deck clear of the usual trash bucket. I just hate to see you get rid of all that usefull storage space when the livewell's not really the culprit in the sinking.

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

Wouldn't the pump ALWAYS be running? Because when the waterline goes down...more water comes in. (people in back)........... :D

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

Nope. It pumps down faster than the water flows in.

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

askipper3,
Do not fill that livewell with foam. I had the same idea back in 89' when we 1st reworked our seacraft and it helped to rot out my transom.Over the years small amounts of water worked its way into the well and slowly the foam absorbs this moisture,over time you get a nice "crockpot" effect in summer heat and the wood slowly absorbs the moisture through the fiberglass well.
when we finally cut the old foam out it weighed a couple hundred pounds with all of the moisture.
Donnie

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

What if you were to drill a hole in the bottom of the well...the water would go out if it gets in...it will be sealed though.

Also is the boat begins to sink water will come UP the hole...and lift the foam....rising the boat up. Right>

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

What if you were to drill a hole in the bottom of the well...the water would go out if it gets in...it will be sealed though.

Also is the boat begins to sink water will come UP the hole...and lift th foam....rising the boat up. Right>

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

I like the Rule computerized bilge pumps better than a float switch operated pump. Just my .02 LoveMySeacraft

Re: Almost had a heart attack.
 

Filling baitwell with foam is just a band-aid that eliminates a handy feature and may create other problems! Plus if you already have so much water in the bilge that water is coming in the scuppers, I doubt that a few pounds of foam would make enough of a difference to stop it from sinking. Better to address root cause of problem (bilge pump/switch reliability!) with dual independent pumps and maybe a high water alarm. That's cheap insurance for any boat left in the water all the time. BTW, Rule makes a float switch that's inside a box to keep it from getting jammed in off position by bilge debris, which eliminates another potential failure mode. You could also consider rigging a counter or an hour meter to the bilge pump, because a good pump can mask a leak, at least until it runs the battery down! If it's coming on a lot, you need to know that. Another cheap visual high water alarm is a bootstripe! If you learn where it is relative to waterline with a dry bilge, a quick glance will tell you if boat is sitting lower in water than normal! Sounds like your dad had already picked up on that.