Water Leak

dkent53

I have a 2007 fun deck 232 that seems to be taking on water from somewhere. Every time I take boat out I have to switch on bilge pump and it runs for several minutes. Don’t think boat came with Auto  float switch or it has never worked since it was brand new. Throughout the day every time I start to run I will switch on pump and it will pump for another couple of minutes. Thinking maybe I might have a hose lose somewhere that is letting water in from outside such as drain hose, live well intake hose, etc. not sure where to start to find out where it’s coming in, any suggestions would be appreciated if you have had similar problems. 

Thanks Don

cjjjdeck

I had a leaking deck drain hose the moment I launched my brand new boat, the bilge pump started up almost instantly.  Luckily it was located where I could see it when I opened my I/O's engine cover, just tightened the hose clamp and was good to go.
So I think your assessment is spot on.  One way is to plug each drain fitting on the outside of the boat and see if the water stops.  If it does, its just a matter of removing plugs until the culprit reveals itself.  
You absolutely should have an automatic bilge,  You need to diagnose that system as well.  The bilge pump and switch get power direct from the battery.  Obviously the pump works (lucky for you), either the switch is not getting power or it is defective.  The switch can be either a float or electronic type.  Brown wire is used for bilge pump circuits.
Here's a simple bilge pump circuit diagram, the bilge switch and pump are wired directly to the battery.  Since the system is wired directly when the helm mounted bilge pump switch is "off" the automatic switch activates the pump when required, when you turn "on" the bilge pump switch, you bypass the automatic switch and turn the pump on:

This is the bilge pump/switch that is in my boat.  The switch is an electronic one:


Here's what a typical "float" type switch looks like:

Here's the ABYC Wire Color Chart to help you identify wiring:

dkent53

thanks for your comment i will check out the float switch and fuse to see if it is blown, always thought there should have been a float in there., Ok back to leak, that is exactly what i was going to do is plug all holes on exterior of boat and see if problem goes away, next question is if i can isolate it to one hose or hole that water is coming in how do i get to inside of boat to tighten or check hose? Does the outlet screw into boat? can it be removed by pulling it off from outside of boat and then re-attach or tighten hose?

cjjjdeck

The bad news is that most of the drain hoses are installed while the boat is still split apart.  The fittings have the hose flange on the interior secured with a hose clamp.  The fitting is secured to the hull using a nut.  The fitting cannot be screwed out of the outer hull side  to the best of my knowledge.  Here's what it may look like:

I got lucky that the fitting I had trouble with was reachable.  Hurricanes with outboards will have a much tougher time reaching them, if at all.  One method you can potentially use without having to split the hull and deck is to cut a hole in the deck over or close to the drain location, address the problem, then install a deck plate in the hole to cover it up (usually deck plates would be around 5 inches in diameter.

dkent53

ok thanks ill let you know what i found out, you have been very helpful

Glacierdan

 Check to see if you have a check valve on your village pump.

Glacierdan

Bilage pump 

mia389

Thanks guys! This post will help me as well. My bilge pump only comes on when I hit the switch and will not pump the water out unless I start moving the hose all around. This is something Im going to fix this spring. I plan on replacing the pump and will also look at the float.

cjjjdeck

And that is exactly why we have a forum!  Glad this helps you too!