Bilge Issues

[aerenson]

I recently bought a new 226 and this was my second wonderful weekend using the boat. We dropped it in in mid April. Since then, it was covered and on a lift. As instructed by the dealer, I left the battery switch in the bilge only position. When I got back to the boat this weekend, the battery was dead. I was told by the dealer that I should not have left it in that position if I was going to be away from the boat for a month, and I should have pulled the plug instead. Is this true? If yes, I am annoyed since I have never had that issue on any previous boat, but how long is a safe time to leave this boat in the bilge only position?

Also, there is some water constantly in the storage area where the belly ballast would otherwise go (I do not have belly ballast) - is that normal? Where is the water coming from?

Thanks for the help.

[Kozmo]

RE: Bilge Issues

I initially had the same problem after just 2 weeks. I charged my battery fully overnight and was fine 2 weeks later. I think the issue is that the bilge pumps in a CC is on a timer rather than a water sensor like my former boat. This causes constant drain on the battery. I am not sure how long a fully charged battery will last in this mode.

[aerenson]

Thanks. Is it difficult to change the bilge pump to a water sensor type? That is what I had on my last boat too, and it never gave me a problem. What is the advantage of this type?

[wakecrashin]

did you swtich to the other battery and start the boat?

leave 1 battery for bilge

leave one battery for starting

[SquamInboards]

the timed bilge pump is just simpler, fewer moving parts than a float-switch activated pump. But yeah it sucks that it runs a little bit all the time. You can hook up a float switch to activate that pump without changing the pump at all, that would be an easy solution... that's my 2 cents.

wakecrashin is right though if you have 2 batteries, you should always leave it switched to one (not both) to leave it for a while...

[aerenson]

But if the battery dies so the bilge no longer works and it keeps raining, then my boat effectively sinks while still on the lift. That seems like a high risk maneuver.

Can I hook a trickle charger to the battery while it is still turned on?

[wakecrashin]

I left my boat with just a cover on it all winter(oct-april) and when I came out in the spring the boat started. WOuldnt really worry about the bilge killing the battery

[jmo]

I have also left my boat with the toggle switch in the bilge only position for weeks on end with no issue, of course the bilge pump isn't doing any real work given its in the garage when I'm not using it, but I agree with wakecrashin that it should be able to handle it - unless you have a slow leak somewhere and its constantly running.

On a side note, I guess if I knew I was going to be away for a month, I would be tempted to pull the boat (if thats an option) and store it on the trailer so you don't have build up on the hull, are less likely to develop blisters in the gelcoat, and don't have to worry about storms kicking up and knocking the boat around...

hth's

jmo

[SquamInboards]

You could hook up a trickle charger, or even better get a small solar charger and fasten that to the lift somehow, that way you're not even using electricity from the house or whatever and the battery is kept up... but you shouldn't have to do either one of those things. Of course, pulling the plug and shutting everything off is ideal, but pulling the plug on the lift is hard I realize. The float switch would solve the cycling issue (if there's no water in the bilge, the thing will never turn on) and you should be able to leave the boat that way for weeks with no issues. especially if the cover is decent and hardly any water can get through it anyway. Re-treating your cover might be a good thing to do... (there are threads on here about that)

[AuMDLST]

The amount of water that is constant in the bilge area could be reasonable depending on the amount, direct drive/v-drive boats leak to some extent all the time.