Forgot Bilge Plugs!!!

[bobbob911]

So, finally tracked down a 2004 Islandia with 250 Optimax in surprisingly great condition, did a thorough water test on Wednesday and it was perfect, no issues.

Today I put it in the water for the first time myself and noticed that the boat was very slow, couldn't even get up on plane. Also, the RPM/Speed gauges were not working. It was only about 20 minutes later I realized I forgot to put in my bilge plugs!!!!

I quickly jumped overboard (into 58F water) and got them in. The bilge was full as high as as the fresh water pump on the port side. The bilge pump had kicked in and was working, but rather than wait for it to drain I quickly went back to the dock and was done for the day.

My questions are:

1) Would the weight of a full bilge by itself cause such a drastic speed reduction? Or could the water level caused some damage to the motor? The motor certainly sounded completely fine, and I had no problems starting it multiple times.

2) Can a full bilge somehow interfere with the gauge operation? Or is it more likely I have fried some electronics? I had a look at the 3A gauges fuse and it looks totally fine.

3) Is it safe to put this back on the water for a retest now that the bilge is dry? Or should I have it thoroughly looked at by a mechanic first?

Thanks!

 

[Coastiejoe]

Water is SUPER heavy. It for sure was the issue as far as lack of getting on plane.

 

[bobbob911]

Water is SUPER heavy. It for sure was the issue as far as lack of getting on plane.

Agreed, and that was certainly my first thought. But then I was considering that the capacity of the boat is 12 people ( 1800 pounds). Could there have been that much water in there? Not sure.

I was going through the jet drive owners manual last night. It describes "performance problems at WOT" are usually impeller related. I'll double check to make sure I didn't suck anything up but it seems very unlikely considering the depth of water we were in and how clean the marina water is.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Put 12 ppl in it and it won't get on plane either,,,

At 8.8 pounds to a gallon or water it doesn't take much to get some heavy weight all on the stern. If it was at the bow, it would help lay it down. At the stern it has to be all power to get the boat on top of the water. You are climbing uphill at that point.

 

[bobbob911]

Put it back on the water tonight and no problem getting up on plane and up to full speed!

However, gauges still not working so I'll have the mechanics look at it.

The gauges showed a full tank when I bought it yesterday so I'm sure I've got plenty for a while but does anyone have a tip for how to look at the fuel level in the tank under the hood? It's a little difficult to see.