bilge pump failure

[Bertramp]

Well ....
The heavy rains in South Florida (approx 14") last week got me.
Not sure exactly what caused it and my wife was north, so it wasn't caught as soon as I would have liked for it to have been.
I got wet ..... she was down in the bow, a neighbor out for a spin called me.
Cabin had water half way between cabin sole and V-berth platform .... water went all the way back to the transom.
I'm thinking that as bow got low, all rain that fell went forward, never seeing a scupper and drained into the cabin.
Next door neighbor said that from his dock the stern looked the same as always.
So... a claim is in, I don't think engines really got it (I will know later today)..... all power is dead.
Gotta get repair estimates and have it towed to a marina where they can haul it.
I was scheduled for next Friday to load onto trailer for it to come north.......
Will probably have it loaded anyway and have the repair done on LI ........ ugghhh
Strike was OK... both batteries in Bertram were under 3 months old !!

[ford351c594]

my god that sucks. good luck!

[Navatech]

Sorry to hear that!... And yeah, it is weird that she sank by the bow...

[Tony Meola]

Steve

Sorry to hear that. If the engines did not go under that will be good news. Check that oil before you fire it up, make sure there is no water in the pan and don't forget the transmission.

Takes a lot of water to do what happened to you. Surprised the scuppers did not go under. Strange way for her to take on water, all forward.

[Charlie J]

steve
that sucks, sorry
do you know what failed on the pump
the switch and what make were you using

[John F.]

Wow. Good luck with your claim and getting her going.

[ranjr13]

Wow, best of luck getting things cleaned up. Thanks for someone keeping an eye on it and letting you know before it got any worse.

Let's make it a wake up call, that if it could happen to Steve, it could happen to any of us. When's the last time we all checked/cleaned the strainers on our pumps, checked the auto switches, checked the hose condition/connections etc.? I'll be checking mine again just to be sure.

[Bertramp]

Lowest point on our boats is fairly forward. My Bahia is a light boat, gas engines, no tower, glasstech and coosa deck.
I'm thinking that as water ran to lowest point, it ultimately got so that scuppers were not draining, everything just ran forward, so inches of rain in square footage of cockpit is like snow and snow drifts, it built up fast.
Estimate coming in today from my normal mechanics .... I am thinking it to be wiring and cleanup.
Yeah....I ran engines and pumped the below the float switch water the end of the prior week.

[Tommy]

Sorry to hear, Steve; but glad your "howdy-boating" neighbor was observant and had your cell number. You are correct that the bilge low-point on these boats is forward of the engines about 4-5 feet (basically at the companionway to the V-berth in the flybridge models); not sure where that would fall on the Bahia Mar model.

[Carl]

Steve-
So sorry to hear the news. Hoping a good clean up, some fresh wiring and your back in business.

My original deck when light on fuel used to have water flowing forward...so when I replaced my old wood panel deck with fiberglass Glasstech deck I raised the front about an inch. Hardly noticeable to the eye but seems to keeps water headed in the right direction when light on fuel. Lots of square footage in the cockpit gathering water on our boats...