New here....and did I kill my bilge today?

guyfromohio

Hello!  New to the forum, but have been reading quite a bit lately.  Good stuff.

I have a 2016 Hurricane SS 202 with the I/O mercruiser.  I just finished clocking my first ten hours today.  It has been about a month since I've been boating and I forgot some important things while I was away.  After launching, I turned all of my usual buttons on....blower, stereo, depth finder, bilge....  I totally forgot that the bilge was automatic with the float.  About an hour, maybe two hours in, we decided to swim.  I was hearing this whining sound and would see the bilge expell water every few minutes, but it stayed on.  I decided to turn it off just because it sounded "odd".  As we continued our fun for the day, I would turn the bilge on every so often, but I didn't see any water come out.  I figured there must not be any water in there.

When I pulled the boat out, I unscrewed the plug and water just came pouring out of the back.  Did I kill my pump by allowing it to run for two hours nonstop?  I'm an hour away from my dry-docked boat, so all I can do is obsess right now.  With all of the water that poured out, I would think that a float switch would have activated?  Am I worried about nothing, or did I kill it?  Thoughts?  Thank you!

omar174

Probably ok. I've left mine on so long that it drained the battery. 

guyfromohio

Thanks for the response.  I was kind of hoping I would hear that. 

guyfromohio

Woukd leaving it on somehow break the float switch?  I'm having trouble understanding how it was running, albeit too long, until I turned off the switch, but when I pulled the boat out and unscrewed the plug, more water poured out than ever has before.

omar174

I doubt that would kill your float switch. 

Don't know about other pumps/switches, but my float switch has to be nearly vertical to kick on the pump. 

Why don't you open up an access hatch and lift up your switch to see if the pump turns on? 

Better yet, use a garden hose and dump some water in the bilge. Turn on the pump via dash switch and then via float switch to see if it pumps out the water. 

PescaBene

Should be okay. I've done the same thing.  Also, for those questioning the float switch. The rocker switch overrides the float and turns on the pump. The float should always have power and will kick in if your boat takes on water while moored. 

guyfromohio

Thanks guys.  I've carved out some time tomorrow to drive over and fill the bilge area.  The only water I have available is out of my fresh water shower tank.  Hope it's enough.

skibum

I think I would be more concerned with why a brand new boat was taking on water.

guyfromohio

Pretty much any time we stop after moving along at a good clip, a bit of water comes over the swim deck and into the battery compartment.  

guyfromohio

Tested the bilge today.  It's fine.  I didn't realize the boat required 2 inches of water to activate the auto bilge.  That's a lot of water, so it's no wonder it wasn't running.  As a note, the float is internal and can't be flipped up manually.  You all were very helpful, if for no other reason than alleviating my anxiety while I couldn't get back to the boat.