Bilge, Aerator, And A Flooding Problem

[(='_'=)]

hey. we have a new (to us) bass boat we are fixing... the boat is really old, around 1975 or so, but it floats... first we fixed the motor, and have been going out fishing a couple times.... this is our first bass boat, and in fact, the first bass boat i have ever been into.... im a mechanic, so fixing the motor was not a problem.... however, we have a lot of issues we need to correct....

first of all, we would like to know, where is the aerator pump for the livewells?? we picked this boat from a small town where people fix things with whatever they can... so, we dont even know where to start.... on the boat, theres a button that says Bilge... i understand this is the pump used to take the water out of the boat.... however, we noticed that this bilge pump would fill the livewells... today we began removing loose cables and things to see how it was connected, and we found something that i belive is not correct... on the lower part of the boat, besides the plug, there is another hole.... well, they connected the bilge pump so it would suck water from the lake through this hole, and into the livewells.... i talked to a friend, and he told me this hole should be connected directly to the livewells. should a pump be installed there??? because we followed his advice, and conected that hole to the livewells, and the bilge pump, we left it there to remove the water from that space, and conected the hose to one side of the boat.... is that correct??

also, why is the boat getting so much water in?? is it only because of the waves that reach the boat when we are going at full speed and then stop?? there is this small box where the plug and the other hole are, that normally fills with water.... but sometimes water will go higher than that, reaching the battery and the fuel tank... once i even had my feet wet while driving.... we hope that now we have the bilge pump in the box, we will stop having that problem.... but that brings another issue... should we be monitoring the box, and turn on the bilge pumo when it fills?? because im sure we will forget sooner or later.... the boat is not broken... i know because once we had the water up to the fuel tank, and we didnt remove the plug for 2 days... it didnt leak at all....

and, regarding the same box, i have another question.... the sides of the box have this small holes, like 3/4", and i have nothiced that both sides fill with water as well.... i thought those were flotation panels or something like that, but, they have the hole, and they fill with a lot of water....

i know these are a lot of questions, but i would appreciate any help... english is my second language, so im sure im not using the correct terms.... please bear with me...

thanx!!

[BassAssassin85]

im not a whiz on boats considering ive been through my own project boat this year as well. first off the bilge pump should only take water from the inside of the boat to the outside with a hole located somewhere at the top of boat most likely in back. the hole besides the drain plug is most likely for your aerator pump for your livewells or where your livewells should drain out of, in your case it seems like its the aerator pump. i use to take water in too on my boat. i had a gap that had to be filled under the bump rail on the side of the boat some time during take off or throttling down i would take water in there but i just siliconed that and has fixed my problem. well hopefully some of this may have helped im sure someone can elaborate better than i can take care and good luck.

[yournamehere]

What you describe in not normal..You have some sort of leak. I would think that a few pictures of your setup would help.. water at your feet..!!! you are sinking ok.. This "box" you speak of? post a pic of that for sure..

[(='_'=)]

i did a search, and now i believe the "box" is called the bilge of the boat, hence the name bilge pump.... today i went fishing, and we didnt have any water inside... i would turn on the bilge pump, and after 4 or 5 seconds, the box (bilge) was empty. we didnt have any water coming in either... but, now we have no way to fill the livewells... we catch and release, so that wasnt a problem, but in a tournament, we will need the livewells....

i will post a couple of pics and see what you think... thanx!!

[FD.]

Ok, first off the "box" is indeed called the bilge. In the "bilge" area, all of your pumps will be located.

First, you have a bilge pump. For example this attwood. http://www.wholesalemarine.com/p/ATT-4505-7/Attwood+Sahara+Automatic+12+Volt+Bilge+Pump+500GPH.html This removes all of the excess water from the hull of the boat.

It has a sort of screen built into the bottom and a discharge "pipe" that you attach a hose to that empties out of the boat above the water line.

Second, you have a fill pump. For example this one http://www.wholesalemarine.com/p/ATT-4640-7/Attwood+Tsunami+Aerator+Pump+++4640-7.html This one takes water from the lake and puts it in your live well.

It connects your thru hull (the hole in the box next to the plug) and a fill pipe near the top of your live well.

Third, you have a recirculation pump. This pump looks exactly like you fill pump except it attaches to the bottom of your livewell and a spray nozzle at the top of the live well. The circulation and spraying back into the top of the live well adds oxygen to the water.

Fourth, you should also have an overflow hose near the top of your live well that empties overboard. This prevents you from sinking your boat when you forget to turn the fill pump off.

Since this is an old boat I would get a new fuse panel and add lighted toggle switches for each pump. This way you can get rid of all the old wiring which is normally the cause of a pump problem.

I have six pumps in my boat. Dual bilge, dual fill and dual recirc. I had numerous wiring problems until I did the above with the switches. I have only had 1 pump failure.

[slonezp]

In addition to what Fishindaddy said

You may not have a circulating pump, only a fill pump. The fill pump should be connected to a "hole" below the waterline that has a screen over the intake. There should be a second hole next to that which would be where the overflow tube is connected. The bilge should be at or near the lowest point in the boat which is where the keel and transom meet. The hose for the bilge should be connected to a "hole" above the waterline. If and when you get this fixed you will want to have the bilge wired manually(operate with a toggle switch)AND automaticly(operates thru a float switch).

[(='_'=)]

thanx for the great info!! i get it now... so, right now i only have a manual bilge pump, but i will get another one to fill the livewells, and an automatic switch to conect to my current pump....

another question... there are this 2 compartments to the sides of the bilge.... i think they could be flotation chambers or something... but they have a hole, so when the bilge gets water, the water goes to the inside of the compartments... is that correct?? what are those for??? heres a rough diagram... when i wired the bilge pump, i filled the bilge with water at my house, and then turned on the bilge pump ... i noticed that when it was empty, water was coming out of those holes.... but someone told me those compartments are flotation chambers, so, i dont know...

[FD.]

IF they are flotation chambers, which I suspect they are, you should drain them completely, then fill the holes with a marine sealant like 3M 5200. I always have a tube around somewhere. To old boat owners it's more important than duct tape.

As far as the automatic bilge pump it is not necessary unless your going to leave your boat in the water unattended. Like over night. I have mine on a manual switch. Every time it sit at the helm to move, I hit the bilge and turn it off when I get up on plane.

[boystcroix]

It sounds to me that the holes are drains into the bilge so that everything drains to the bilge area. I wouldn't seal them off until you're sure.

[(='_'=)]

but boystcroix, shouldnt they be sealed so no water gets inside them?? from what i have seen, they only get water from those same holes, so i think if i close them, the compartments wont get any water... but how can i make sure??

[slonezp]

but boystcroix, shouldnt they be sealed so no water gets inside them?? from what i have seen, they only get water from those same holes, so i think if i close them, the compartments wont get any water... but how can i make sure??

Is the manufacturer still in business? See if you can get a cut sheet of the hull to see how the engineers originally designed it.

[Fishing Rhino]

Plugging the holes might not work. Maybe there is a reason those holes were drilled, such as those compartments leaking at the top. If they filled with water, that weight would upset the handling of the boat, its balance, and the way it sits in the water.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the/a previous owner got rid of that weight by just drilling holes in them, looking for a quick easy fix, while disregarding the safety issue that results. If, and it's a big if, the compartments have no watertight integrity, you might look into the expanding foam that is put into boats' flotation chambers. Be sure the foam will not absorb water before doing this.

Best to check with someone who has expertise in this. Try googling boat flotation compartments and boat flotation foam. You should find plenty of "how to" articles.

[boystcroix]

I was thinking that the chambers were filled with foam and the holes just drained water to the bilge if water got into the hull. I didn't know that there were sealed flotation chambers. By the way what is the hull made of?

[yournamehere]

post a picture...already...