Grady 282 Bilge Going On Every 5 mins

[christo15]

Hi all,

We bought our newest Grady, a 2003 282 sailfish early this year and it's perfect!! We do have something that I'm a bit concerned about. No matter where we are, the bilge (on the starboard side mid-ship) goes on almost every five minutes. Should I be concerned? Please let me know. Our previous Grady never did this!

 

[Fishshoreman]

Yes you should be concerned. Is it going on because the float switch is being tripped (i.e. water activated)? You need to check all thru-hull fittings. Did you hit anything while out? If the boat is in a slip I would pull it until you find the cause of the water intrusion. The battery will only take so much cycling.

 

[ElyseM]

definitely check, but first check the pump. the new electronic pump sensors cycle the pump regularly. it only stays on if if senses water. is it expelling water? if so, there is a leak somewhere. good luck, ron

 

[christo15]

Thanks a lot for the replies. This has been happening for just about a month and we haven't hit a thing! It seemed to begin right after we took off the filter for our fresh water tank but I'm no sure. Would that do anything? I mean it is 30 gallons, And we refill it every couple weeks.

 

[christo15]

Sorry about the spelling, typing on an iPhone can be a pain.

 

[Fish Tank]

If it is going on every 5 min and pumping water every time, get the boat out of the water and figure out where it is leaking before it sinks.

 

[grady33]

Check the thru hull fittings on the side. i had one losen up enough that it was allowing some water in. Not a lot but enough to cause the forward bilge to kick on now and then. Noticed when I was overnight fishing in the canyon last year. It was a pain in the _ _ _ but i was able to get a wrench on it and remove it, clean and reseal it. No more water getting in. Need to inspect all thru hulls yearly or more! Some on my sailfish are realllllllllly hard to reach.

 

[christo15]

The boat has been like this for a month or more though and nothing shows signs of sinking whatsoever? It's a real puzzle. Also, I'll make sure to do that! Thanks!

 

[Desperado]

Mine had a leak around the through hull transducer. I had to pull and reseal it. Worth a look!

 

[Fish Tank]

Fix it now or get it out of the water. What is going to happen when the bilge pump decides to quit? It's not uncommon.

 

[JiminGA]

Had the same problem a year or so ago- could NOT find the source of the leak. Finally noticed that the drain plug had a pinhole leak that was between the plug itself and the plug housing. My best guess was that it was in a slip for a few days with some nasty stray electrical current happening. It just ate away the plug. The fix was of course to replace the entire drain plug assembly. Problem solved. Good luck finding your leak and do NOT go boating until you find and fix it!

 

[Grog]

If you're pumping water and not rocking the switch, there is a definite problem. It's your foreward bilge so I'd check somewhere up front first like the raw water intake hose for the head, head discharge hose, or fishbox drain thru-hulls and hoses. Also be sure ALL thruhulls are shut unless currently being used.

 

[Strikezone]

Had the same problem a year or so ago- could NOT find the source of the leak. Finally noticed that the drain plug had a pinhole leak that was between the plug itself and the plug housing. My best guess was that it was in a slip for a few days with some nasty stray electrical current happening. It just ate away the plug. The fix was of course to replace the entire drain plug assembly. Problem solved. Good luck finding your leak and do NOT go boating until you find and fix it!

Garboard plug was my first guess as potential problem also.

If it was me my top priority would be to pull the boat out now and find the leak versus pulling it from the bottom of your slip later.

 

[cgmiller]

Have you re-read what you are typing...you replaced the filter for the fresh water tank, which is 30 gallons and they are re-filling the tank every couple of weeks...sounds to me like the water is leaking out of the tank into the bilge and your bilge pump is pumping it out....you did not say how much the pump is pumping and if it is coming on every 5 minutes every day....a neighbor of mine had a 28 Proline and I was noticing his bilge pump coming on, which it never did....he pulled the boat and found a crack in the hull......

 

[Strikezone]

It should pump out the 30 gallons really fast. If its only pumping right after filling the fresh water tank and then not running until the tank is refilled then maybe that's the problem but I'm guessing that isn't the case or he probably wouldn't be asking for opinions on what to do.

I've seen garboard plugs cross threaded that let in an unbelievable amount of water ( enough to kick off the bilge pump every five minutes or so). In any case I would pull the boat and find the leak no matter how long it takes.

 

[christo15]

Hi all,

So correction on this issue! When I was at the boat the other day, I didn't take the boat out but it didn't drain once the whole hour and a half I was there! Now I went and investigated in the bilge and noticed VERY small bubbles coming from the hull fitting for the transducer. Is that at all a possibility? And maybe its aggrivated when we take the boat out? Let me know what you guys think! Thanks again!

 

[mronzo]

Sounds like a good place to start!