Well. my boats in the water, had a good weekend, but have a question.

1. I washed the boat down for a few hours Friday, its a self draining cockpit and has 2 bilges. I was using the hose and washing it out.
While stepping in to the boat a few times, the bilge pump went off and pumped out water. I figured it was due to my cleaning. The next day, I stepped in, same thing. Bilge pump pumps out water. I dont think we got a lot of rain that night.
I checked the plug in the stern and it looks fine. So, my question is why is there water in the bilge? Can it just be left over water , the guy I bought it from had the boat outside since April. Any ideas?

Well. my boats in the water, had a good weekend, but have a question.

1. I washed the boat down for a few hours Friday, its a self draining cockpit and has 2 bilges. I was using the hose and washing it out.
While stepping in to the boat a few times, the bilge pump went off and pumped out water. I figured it was due to my cleaning. The next day, I stepped in, same thing. Bilge pump pumps out water. I dont think we got a lot of rain that night.
I checked the plug in the stern and it looks fine. So, my question is why is there water in the bilge? Can it just be left over water , the guy I bought it from had the boat outside since April. Any ideas?
Openup the rear deckplate so you can see whats going on in the bilge. Sometimes water is just settling in the hull somewhere and when you put weight on the stern, the water flows back and causes the pump to go on. But better to take a look to be sure.

look in the bildge and check all your thru-hull fittings that are below the water-line to see if there is any excessive seepage....

this question sounds eeerily familiar to one i asked last year. after every trip i would drain a ton of water for no reason.

as said above, check through hull fittings.
I could not find the leak anywhere! i ended up getting rid of the boat before i solved the problem.

i think someone suggested that i put it on my trailer and start filling the bilge up with water to see if you get any reverse leakage.... never got that far but i would probably only try that on a bunk style trailer.

Taste test, salt or fresh water?

Taste test, salt or fresh water?


Yes sounds crazy but I do that, dip my finger in there and taste it, its always fresh...Like dave said there is always water in there hidden someplace and when you shift the boat it settles in the back...but taste it and see if its fresh or salt..

Check deck hatches to see if they are failing and need to be replaced, or just need a new bead of Boat Life

I think pulling the boat and filling it up my be the best idea. Be careful that you don't over fill it and run the water up into the hull area. I woulc check all the thruhulls as well. Also how low is the boat sitting at the stern are the scuppers under water? Is she stern heavy? You need to solve this. If your batteries get drained you may sink her.

just be careful if you have a roller trailer and you decided to take that route...
the marina i bought the lemon boat at told me two of the three drain plug holes were live well drains!!!! meanwhile im on my third or fourth trip and wondering why im only getting 6-8 kts at WOT!!! still po'd about that one but the point of that is, with all the water that was in the bottom of the boat the extra weight caused "roller grooves" where she sat on the trailer....

even if it was only 250 extra gallons thats an extra 2100lbs sloshing around on a 18ft boat.

all that said, you will probably be fine... just wanted to throw that caution out there.

dukes right, you NEED to solve this if your boat will be in a slip 24/7.... that friggin guy murphy will sink his teeth in and your bat's will fail at some point, your new boat excitement will turn into a nightmare real quick.

All above advice is correct. Fisrt, determine the water, sea or fresh. If it's sea water, you got to find the cause right away. Leaks only get worse. Good luck.

And, to be completely negative, make sure you are insured! The cost of a cleanup and salvage would really hurt!

she is insured and in almost 99% new condition and still under warranty.
I agree with all the caution, but believe its not due to any major problem, but something I do need to explain.. I did wash it heavily for close to four hours and used the hose the whole time. It could be that water is in there. I will taste the water and see and lift up the deckplate.
I have been trying to figure out how the seacock works with the live well and was wondering if the seacock is open, can that cause water in the bilge? The boat is out of the water now to get its hull painted, I'll see how it goes this weekend and what I can find out.
THANKS for all the advice/guidance, I'll let you know what I can find out!

while in the water the seacock is always open , it should not leak or let water in, if it does thats a problem, you can close it but your livewell wont work, mine is always open and I have no problems.

I had a similar problem last year - a slow leak where my batteries would drain after about a week from pumping. I found the problem by filling up the bilge while on the trailer. I only had to put a few gallons in and I noticed that water was seeping from behind my fish finder transducer. Upon removing it I found an extra hole that had been drilled and not filled properly.

Slow leak froim a thru hull fitting. with water pooling away from the stern.
Take off the deck plate and watch it.

I also think a in person inspection would be benefit. I could be there is 2 hours!!!

this is what's happening- your float switch is too high, so when your pump is working and the float switch goes down to shut off the pump there is still water in the bilge. When you step onto the boat, the boat rolls and with bilgewater sloshes around, thus lifting the switch and the pump turns on...

look and see how your float switch is mounted and see if you cant move it to a lower spot in your bilge.

that will be 50 bucks please. :hihi:

while in the water the seacock is always open , it should not leak or let water in, if it does thats a problem, you can close it but your livewell wont work, mine is always open and I have no problems.

Same with me. Always open and never had any reverse seepage.

ever find the cause of the excess water? Just curious...

no, just tasted the water Saturday and its salt....cant seem to get a feel for how quickly the water is getting in.
I am having the marina pull it out and take a look.

Just give them a blank check and let them fix it.

That does suck, sorry for the problem.

Just give them a blank check and let them fix it.

unfortunaltey I dont have too many options. The reason I put it in a slip this year was b/c I have no truck to trailer it. So I need them to haul it out again. I'll be down there tomorrow and maybe I can have them haul it and then I can do some work to see what the issue is. I'm hoping its a simple fix.....

That's too bad. I hope it's not serious and if a fix is needed it's an easy one.

i was serious about your float switch being too high. if it only turns on when your step into your boat, the bilge water is sloshing around. take a peek in your bilge and see if there is water in there when the pump is not on-

I am a surfcaster but i have more time on boats than half the people on this forum..I was driving million dollar yachts before i had my drivers liscense.

unfortunaltey I dont have too many options. The reason I put it in a slip this year was b/c I have no truck to trailer it. So I need them to haul it out again. I'll be down there tomorrow and maybe I can have them haul it and then I can do some work to see what the issue is. I'm hoping its a simple fix.....

well you know that blue dakota with the S-B and striped bass sticker on it, that you used to pass on 495?

i was serious about your float switch being too high. if it only turns on when your step into your boat, the bilge water is sloshing around. take a peek in your bilge and see if there is water in there when the pump is not on-

I am a surfcaster but i have more time on boats than half the people on this forum..I was driving million dollar yachts before i had my drivers liscense.


I agree....could be mucked up or malfunctioning too...if it is too high you definately don't want to be dragging all that extra water around with you because of a faulty or an incorrectly placed float switch with the way gas prices are.

But that is a quick and easy assessment prior to spending money to haul the boat.

You can also activate and flip the stich by hand to clear most of the bildge water out and then calcualte how much time it take before it refills if it does at all...

i was serious about your float switch being too high. if it only turns on when your step into your boat, the bilge water is sloshing around. take a peek in your bilge and see if there is water in there when the pump is not on-

I am a surfcaster but i have more time on boats than half the people on this forum..I was driving million dollar yachts before i had my drivers liscense.

but Neb, its not pumping out a few drops, its pumping out about 15-20 seconds of water. if it was just the float switch, it would be a one or two time deal, and there would be no water, its pumped a bunch of times, when I was there

I agree. if it is that much water, then you have a situation on your hands.

Welcome to boat ownership :hihi:

if it makes you feel any beter, in the past week i have completely rebuilt my mako's trailer from the round up...replaced my throttle cable and shifter cable, and am about to replace by steering wheel and shifter.... all by myself. Not much time left for fishing :(