excessive water in bilge?

[Alex Tate]

How much water should come out of the drain after pulling it out of the water? my 97 speedster sure seems to be holding a lot of water. I was hoping that someone may be able to fill me in on how to confirm that my auto bilge and or my manual bilge pump is working properly. Thanx for the help in advanced!

 

[Dr Honda]

It has a big bilge. An inch of water in the bottom of your boat will be 4 or 5 gallons.

On my boat, I would drain an easy 4 gallons after a day out. BUT... if you looked in the engine compartment, there was only a "Splash" and it wasn't enough to get into the bilge pump.

 

[Alex Tate]

thanx

It has a big bilge. An inch of water in the bottom of your boat will be 4 or 5 gallons.

On my boat, I would drain an easy 4 gallons after a day out. BUT... if you looked in the engine compartment, there was only a "Splash" and it wasn't enough to get into the bilge pump.

that sounds like the same amount coming out of my boat. thanx for putting my mind at ease. is there a way i can check if the bilge pump is working? when i flip the switch next to the bilge fan switch i can hear a hum, but i don't know if the hum is the sound of the pump working.

 

[Dr Honda]

Put a garden hose back there, and put enough water in the bilge to test it. You can open the drain plugs, and tip the nose up to get the rest out after you check it.

 

[enut]

I have a 1997 Challenger. I noticed that I have water in the bilge also after running a while on the water. While still on the water, the water level is just under the drive-shaft. Is this normal? The engine runs fine. There were a couple of times the boat slowed a bit but the engine speed was constant, could that have been the water currents?

 

[100guard]

I've been wondering this myself about my new boat.

Good to hear it's normal.

 

[RFoster130]

I've been wondering this myself about my new boat.

Good to hear it's normal.

On my 98 i found out the hard way that the auto feature of the pump is tied into the battery switch. when the switch is off, so is the pump. I found the boat sitting really low in the water one morning after sitting all night. It was an easy fix, find the correct wire on the battery switch and just move it to the other post so it is always hot. Yours is probably the same. Might wanna test with the garden hose method.