Forward Bilge not draining

[SteveM]

Hi:

This is a bit of a rookie question but I couldn't find it answered anywhere else on the forum. I have a 2008 R25. Over the winter rain water collected in my forward bilge. While the bilge pumps cleared the aft bilge below the engine compartment easily, they don't seem to pump out the forward bilge (accessible from the hatch under the v-berth). I've checked the float switch on the rear pump and it works, and the pumps turn on from the DC panel (I can hear them cycling), but only the aft pump expels water. Looking at the R25 manual, I see that the two bilge pumps are amidship and aft. From that layout, I had assumed there would be a passage connecting the fore, amidship and aft bilges, but perhaps not. Is there a pipe or something that connects them? is there somewhere I ought to be looking for a blockage? I have a standard 25' snake for home plumbing with a 1/2" coil on the end. Is there some pipe I can attack with that?

I've tried to jam my head down the forward bilge so I can look aft and try to see what I'm dealing with, but that bit of acrobatics is beyond my capabilities.

I bought the R25 from someone who clearly had it out of the water under a tree for a while. There were little bits and pieces of tree detritus blocking various drains on deck. My guess is that some are down in the bilge somewhere blocking a critical juncture. I think I just need to know where to look.

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

 

[Larry H]

I have used a digital camera and the camera on my cell phone to take photos of areas that I could not see into.

 

[Red Raven]

If the 25 is like the 27 the bilge should be continuous front to back. To clean the bilge I regularly dump a bucket of hot soapy (Dawn) water into the bilge at the vberth end and watch it run out the drain at the stern (or get pumped out by the bilge pump if we are on the water). It comes right through. The secondary bilge pump you refer to is a backup and sits quite a bit higher that the primary. It only runs if the primary fails or if it can't keep up.

I think you likely have debris blocking the passage under one of the tanks. A plumbing snake should help. I like Larry's idea for using a remote camera for inspection. I need to get one of those!

 

[BradOwens]

Is the boat in the water, or on a trailer. If on a trailer, make sure it is not parked where the bow sits lower than the stern. It doesn't need to be much lower to prevent water from flowing through the bilge.