Know Your Boat

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rawidman

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I went on an overnight "test run" prior to a week long trip in a couple weeks. The boat hadn't left the dock since Fall and the oil needed to be warmed so it could be changed.

On the return, a couple thousand yards from the marina, and after calling for assistance, I heard a warning beeping (I was on the flybridge). I looked at the warning lights and none were on. I looked at the gauges and they were normal. I looked at the depth sounder and had plenty of water depth. The alarm stopped then started again in a few seconds.

I decided to go on in and dock the boat. When I came down from the flybridge, I saw water streaming out the bilge pump thru hull. I asked the dockhand to stand by in case we needed to head for the horseshoe and haulout.

I went into the saloon and lifted the floor hatch and observed about six inches of water in the center bilge (no pump under the engine). Water in the center compartment floods into the aft compartment and was being pumped out.

I could see water streaming down the AC strainer but then I could see that it was coming through a limber hole from the compartment where the water heater and some of the plunmbing is located. I grabbed a handfull and tasted it. Fresh water. OK, now an "emergency" is downgraded to a "problem".

I turned off the water pressure switch (pump) and thanked the dockhand.

I got a flashlight and saw that a water line had blown out of a connector. An easy fix except for getting rid of fifty gallons or so of water that is where it shouldn't be.

Lesson for me: Recognize the difference between the high water alarm and the other alarms. Consider adding a light to the alarm circuit.

Lesson for everyone: Know your boat. Know it well. Know where everything is and what it does. Know how to turn it off if necessary. And remain calm. ;)
 
Good story and good deductive reasoning to solve the problem.

I will say though that my high water alarm is so damn loud there is no mistaking which alarm is going off when you hear it.
 
quote:
went into the saloon
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Perhaps if this hadn't of occurred you could have discerned the alarm correctly? Just saying.... :)

and for the humor impaired, just kidding!
 
Yeah, it would be nice if every alarm on the boat didn't sound the same. I have a chef that uses a timer in the galley that sounds just like most of the alarms on the boat. It goes off and my heart rate hits the ceiling till she yells "It's OK, I'm just baking bread!".

A friend of mine is working on a system that will "speak" the different alarms to you. So no more guessing what the beep, beep is trying to tell you.
 
yeah, but freshly baked bread is worth the scare! (i have a loaf in the oven so that's what i'm smelling right now!!

seriously, this is why many of us here suggest spending time on board a "new" boat to learn the systems, alarmn,pump and seacock location, swtiches, etc...

also, running a bundle of wire to the helm to put some warning light doesn't take very long, is pretty cheap and a big help in knowing what's going on.. ex... which bilge pump or high water alarm is running.
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

yeah, but freshly baked bread is worth the scare! (i have a loaf in the oven so that's what i'm smelling right now!!

seriously, this is why many of us here suggest spending time on board a "new" boat to learn the systems, alarmn,pump and seacock location, swtiches, etc...

also, running a bundle of wire to the helm to put some warning light doesn't take very long, is pretty cheap and a big help in knowing what's going on.. ex... which bilge pump or high water alarm is running.

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There's already an alarm buzzer. I can probably just connect a light across the terminals.
 
How would you test a high water alarm without flooding your bilge?
 
The Alarm is nice, hell its neccessary, but having a light that indicates which Bilge Pump is pu,pimg can save your boat. I know it saved mine last summer.
 
That same problem happened to me once, scared the hell out of me.

Current boat has a distinct and loud bell just the high water alarms and also idiot lights right above the gauges for each bilge pump.

Buzzers, bells, beeps, you have to know what each one if for. The hard part is getting them to go off manually when you want so you can learn them. my high water alarms are easy, engine alarms are on a CAT buzzer that you hear when you give power to the motors.
 
I was looking for a heading sensor in my old boat. In the process I came across atleast 6 of those buzzer alarms all taped together in a nice bundle under the dash... It made me laugh... One would think they would sound different.. NOPE all sound the same

Rob
 
quote:
Originally posted by GBCruising

How would you test a high water alarm without flooding your bilge?

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The alarms are usually triggered by a bilge pump float, just raise the float, alarm should go off.
 
just like bilge pumps... float switches should be checked monthly by lifting the floats with someone at the helm (and other panels) checking the lights...
 
Factory installed in my 1983 Trojan International

RWS
DSC02713.jpg
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

just like bilge pumps... float switches should be checked monthly by lifting the floats with someone at the helm (and other panels) checking the lights...
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Not a lot of people do this, but I like to check with water. This not only checks the switch and alarm, it checks the pump and discharge hose.

I had a pump jammed with debris on one boat and on my current boat, the impeller cracked and fell off the pump motor. It ran but didn't pump anything.
 
I believe this was mentioned but I think it is worth repeating. If you are thinking of adding a light I would add a light to show any time a bilge pump goes on, rather then with the high water alarm. This can give you a heads up to a problem before the problem becomes a major problem and may buy you time to make corrections. I wont take the credit the last owner of my boat install four lights at my helm, I will never own a boat without this feature again now that I have seen it.
 
Just to piggy back on my own post, I don't have a city water connection, I just fill the tanks as necessary, but for my friends and anyone else with a city water connection that remains connected at the dock, this could easily sink your boat.

I carry 70 or so gallons of water and it doesn't matter too much if it's in the tanks or in the bilge, but a city water connection could fill the boat, overwhelm the pump and sink the boat.

Best practice - turn it off and disconnect it at the boat end if you're going to be away from the boat for more than a few hours.
 
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