Before you go out this season ! -

[Ready2Reel]

Just a quick FYI - Before you go out this season , make sure both your BILGE PUMP and AUTO FLOAT SWITCH work !

In my preseason checklist I found my BILGE PUMP had finally called it quits !
While easily replacing the cartridge pump, I did a quick test of the float switch too,
it worked , but while manually turning the float up and down, my arm was moving the wiring back to the harness,
the motor flickered at one point while I had the float up ... hmmmmm , checked the wiring, and the switch wire to harness connection was a bit corroded, a quick few snips, some connectors crimped on , and some liquid tape to seal and I was back in business !

Just wouldn't want anyone to find out their bilge was out-of-order when they really needed it ... or while it was tied up to the dock in a heavy rain storm ... etc.

Don't expect your gear to work everytime... Make sure your gear will work everytime !

Tight Lines !

[G-Daddy]

Checking out bilge pumps was especially important to me as the good folks at BOE Marine cut a hole in the bottom to install a thruhull xducer. I had confidence they would do the job right, but just felt better with checking the pumps out anyway.

[TomGlenBurnie]

great post. thank you. Soldering the connections solves the corrosion problems. I'm just sayin.

[philk999]

I have a monthly check list and checking the bilge pumps and associated switches, along with nav lights, horn, VHF radio and any thing else I can think of that is safety related is on that list. Things break and corrode because of teh salt water enviroment all the time, so it is good to make a list of those items and check monthly to be safe.

[CAGE RATTLER]

I almost found out the hardway last year that my float switch wasnt working and almost sunk in back River a mile from the dock.
I have a sea cock to the raw water wash down which I hardly ever use and left the hose disconnected from the pump after doing some pre-season work.
I can never remember which way the seacock handle is positioned when in the open position and thought it was closed.

We were just drifting with the motor on when the engine started acting funny. I opened the hatch and had water halfway up the engine.
Quickly hit the manual switch for the bilge pump and luckily it was working. I had checked the bilge pump with the switch but not at the float.

This year a back up bilge pump with built in float switch is going in and a high water alarm!!

That was to close for comfort!! If the motor wouldnt have been running and alerted me she probably would have sunk.

[Sportfisherman25]

I have to agree with readytoreel I was doing my spring checks and also found my float switch to be bad but pump worked fine but was so easy to find and fix at the house. tight lines gary

[swartj]

As some have said you need to check this during the season as well. For those of us on a trailer it is easy. Put the plug in and turn on the hose. This method ensures that the switch will work as intended without you touching it.