Worst luck ever? Boat nearly sunk

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bassmasterrap

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So i have been having trouble with the outboard. Doesnt want to run higher than 3k rpms. Decided to do some fishing today with 3 other people. Wemt about 6 miles out for porgy. Fished for about 4 hours with some heavy waves. Didnt even realize the whole time the bilge pumps were not working. Noticed more water as usualy on the floor and opened the middle compartment and water came rushing in about 4 inches of water on the deck. Boat was FULL of water batteries under water. Some how made it back to the dock going 4 miles an hour and everyone bailing out water as fast as they could. Could all of this water have come in through transome little by little with all the waves? Plug was in, no crack or holes are visible on the boat. I have no clue how the bilge pumps stopped working
 
Maintaining a seaworthy vessel and practicing good seamanship has nothing to do with luck. In your case, its better to be lucky than good I guess. Taking passengers out to sea with a motor known beforehand to be on the fritz brings your judgment into serious question. You have a lot more than boat problems if you didn't notice earlier that you were taking on as much water as you claim. You're a boat captain for goodness sake.
 
yea im an idiot and just anchored near a beach in shallow water. We were swimming and fishing and never realized it. I will def learn from this mistake
 
with that said, you need to check every thru hull and every hose attached to them. the deck plates in the transom well should be checked to ensure they are making a tight seal. if you have an engine control line conduit attached to the boat, make sure that is watertight also. there is something VERY wrong to allow that much water into the bilge.
 
I agree with ALL the comments above, even the harsh ones. You just don't head out with an engine that is not running properly.

To elaborate a little more on the through hulls comments.

You have an old boat. The plastic through hulls are almost certainly brittle and may be cracked/broken. Same for the hoses connected to them.

You really have a LOT of work to do BEFORE you put that boat in the water again.

Brian
 
Think I will install one of those in my boat as well. I am thinking mounting it at the same level as the bilge pumps is a good idea too. That way I will know if my bilge pumps are kicking off and on and if they seem to be kicking on more than they should. Thanks for the recommendation!
 
no problem said:
While you are fixing your other problems you should install one of these. Mounted a few inches higher than your bilge pump, it will alert you to water in your bilge before it's up to your batteries. Good luck!

http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/2438-high ... alarm.html
Click to expand...

What I did on my 228G was 5200 a rule float switch right to the top of my pump. I got an outboard beeper for free from my outboard mechanic. If the water gets over the pump an alarm will let me know the pump isnt keeping up WAY before it's an emergency.
 
That is a great IDEA! Thanks for letting me/us know about that. I'm going to do the same on my boat.
 
Wow, I agree get that motor working properly. I use to keep my boat outside and when it rained a lot she would get enough water in the bilge through the anchor locker to trip the float switch. I would check the thru hulls like the other great posters suggested, but if you keep her outside, maybe your float switches are bad and this was rain water collected in her?
 
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