Jump to content

what I learned today (well, yesterday actually).

MattInOz

By MattInOz
in Boating

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Popular Post
MattInOz Enthusiast

MattInOz

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted

So... yesterday I put the boat in at Port of Brisbane (my first time launching solo) and decided to see what I could find between the port and the gateway bridge. I learned a lot...

1: There are no fish in the Brisbane River. I don't care what anyone else says to the contrary, it's just a big scam to sell fishing rods. Not a nibble did I get.

2: Bung plugs can vibrate out, and when they do they disappear into the river, and let the river into your boat at a scary speed. A REALLY scary speed.

3: I can reach the bung plugs by leaning over the transom without getting out of the boat.

4: My bilge pump doesn't work.

So I'd been putting around the river for about two hours putting lines in here and there and had worked my way up to the bridge. I decided to run the sonar around the southern pylon as there already was a boat anchored at the northern one and was doing so when the engine decided to quit on me. It didn't immediately restart so I threw the anchor out so I could figure out what was going on when I noticed the two fenders stowed below the splashwell were floating in water an inch or two above the floor. Immediate panic mode struck and I went aft to check if I'd forgotten to put the bungs in. The starboard one was there and screwed in (so I hadn't forgotten them) but the port one was completely missing. Thankfully I had a spare on board so I quickly located that and solved the immediate problem, but of course the boat was still half full of water and sitting low and the pump wasn't pumping. I checked the "automatic" switch was on... yes it was, but no LED so I assumed a blown fuse. I turned the "manual" switch on (I set the pump up with 2 circuits so I had manual overrides and two fuses). Turning that on turned on the LED for the automatic mode (meaning the auto fuse was blown and the float switch was working) but still no pump. So at that point all I could do is get the motor running again and very carefully navigate my way back to the ramp and get the boat put of the water, which I did while panicing whenever I hit chop as the transom was quite low and it kept threatening to swamp the boat. The really weird bit though... when I got it onto the trailer and pulled the plugs I expected a gout of water but I got nothing... it was completely empty. The only thing I can think of is maybe the pump started working while I was motoring back (I hadn't turned it off) and it pumped the boat out without my noticing. I suspect the pump has a loose or faulty negative connection... it's wired to a negative busbar in the dual battery panel, but I think now I'll move that to a direct connection on a negative battery terminal and remove a potential point of failure (though really if that fails the entire boat's dead anyway). Either that or the pump itself is faulty and needs replacing, which would be a good excuse to upgrade to a bigger, new pump. I might do both just for peace of mind - I have no idea how old the pump is, might be 20 years or more - as well as buying a couple more spare bungs.

So all up... a very educational day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MattInOz Enthusiast

MattInOz

Posted
  • Author
Posted

As an update... I pulled the wiring apart but everything was solid, and the pump appeared to be working. Filled the boat up with water, the float switch did it's thing, and the pump did nothing. Turned on the manual system and it still did nothing. Had to turn it off and on a few times and suddenly it started working. Going out to buy a new pump tomorrow.

I can get a 750GPH "Seaflo" one to replace my 500GPH "Bowline" one from Anaconda for the same price as my old 500 from BCF, and it takes the same size drain hose. Seems like a no brainer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ellicat Grand Master

ellicat

Posted
Posted

Gee, that sounds like a very tough day at the office. Glad you got it sorted.

What bait were you using ?

Around the base of the pilon that is the furthest upstream and closest to the south side, there is a bit of a hole. I haven't fished there for eons, but it used to hold pan size legal snapper. Outgoing tide, from memory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MattInOz Enthusiast

MattInOz

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Yeah great idea... so it's always right there. Funny, a spare bung was one of the parts I never thought I'd need in an emergency and rather it turned out to be the first one I needed. I won't be leaving land without a few on board from  now on.

That patch of reef sounds worthwhile, will have a look for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
rayke1938 Experienced

rayke1938

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted

I am a belt and braces person. When my boat is at rest the lowest point in the bilge is in the bow so I have 2 bilge pumps on separate circuits one in the bow and one in the stern. With no bung installed when you are under way the venturi effect will suck the water out from the bilge.

 Cheers Ray

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MattInOz Enthusiast

MattInOz

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 12/10/2023 at 6:13 AM, rayke1938 said:

I am a belt and braces person. When my boat is at rest the lowest point in the bilge is in the bow so I have 2 bilge pumps on separate circuits one in the bow and one in the stern. With no bung installed when you are under way the venturi effect will suck the water out from the bilge.

 Cheers Ray

I did briefly consider pulling a bung once I got moving again but couldn't quite bring myself to do it. Thankfully the pump eventually kicked in. I've got a new one sitting on the dining table ready to go in today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
Old Scaley Mentor

Old Scaley

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted

Glad you didn’t end up creating a new reef in the river. Bilge pumps can only do so much. Ray has the right idea with 2 in his tub. I got caught in a cloudburst once that was so heavy that the bilge couldn’t keep up and I was bailing like crazy to keep up. Visibility was zero. Lucky it didn’t last long. 
BTW, keep looking for fish in the river. There are plenty there, just not always hungry. Mate and I pulled 7 decent snapper on Friday and could have caught the bag limit if the northerly didn’t get up earlier than forecast. Got a nice feed of crabs as well. You will work it out soon. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
ellicat Grand Master

ellicat

Posted
Posted
On 11/10/2023 at 4:01 PM, ellicat said:

Gee, that sounds like a very tough day at the office. Glad you got it sorted.

What bait were you using ?

Around the base of the pilon that is the furthest upstream and closest to the south side, there is a bit of a hole. I haven't fished there for eons, but it used to hold pan size legal snapper. Outgoing tide, from memory.

Surfing the Youtubes today and came across this one -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bXZ77AttOQ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...