How much water drains out of your Hurricane when you come in?

[ARACHNIDS]

It seems that I always have a lot of water draining from my boat when we come in, probably a couple of minutes worth. I always drain it at an angle before I put the plug in and launch, so I don't know what a normal draining time should be. My buddy says that it seems to be too much water. There are no hull cracks. The only place water could come in is over the bow or maybe one of the deck drains is leaking water into the boat.

When I turn the bilge on when we are on the water, nothing comes out. When I take the boat out of the water (at an angle) with the plug in and the bilge on, the bilge starts working, so I know the bilge works.

Another question, I have a Mayfair cartridge pump with a level switch. Do I need to keep the bilge switch on (on the dashboard) the whole time we are on the water in order for it to work? Or, are to wired to come on regardless if the level is high.

Any thoughts?

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: How much water drains out of your Hurricane when you come in?

My Hurricane had very little water in the bilge any time I took it out. But I also installed stopcocks on the cooler drains. If you are using the coolers, the ice melt goes into the bilge. Other possibilities, are hose on fresh H2O system may be loose? Through hull seal has failed? All cup-holders and deck drains lead directly to the bilge...

There are multiple possibilities why you don't see water in the bilge on the water. One is how the boat is loaded... Try getting a few people to stand near the stern to shift the load, then see if the water is back there...

The Mayfair has the auto float switch, you do not need to use manual override unless float switch has failed. Sounds like you tested the pump and it works. Does the auto float switch work when the boats at an angle, and the helm switch is off? I always install a second back-up bilge pump, with manual switch only... I don't trust the float style 100%

 

[billyjoe46]

Re: How much water drains out of your Hurricane when you come in?

My 2005 Hurricane FunDeck 196 is generally dry when I return from cruising and my bilge pump is rarely needed... even if I take in some water over the bow, it tends to go out the deck drain... I do not have active livewells, but maybe you do... You might try opening the deck hatch covers while you are floating or cruising to see if you can see the source of any water coming in... is your drain plug a screw plug or one of those expanding rubber types?? if the latter, maybe it fits too loosely... good luck!