Problem with boat. Any thoughts? (Punta Gorda: live, safety, trailer)

[vacoder]

Yesterday I took my boat out and on the way out of the canal I started hearing a low pitched barely discernable sound. When I got out in the harbor I shut down everything including the battery but the sound remained. I thought maybe I had a high amount of bilge water so I tried the manual bildge override but I didn't hear or see any water coming out. When I brought the boat back in and put on the lift I opened the bilge access panel and observed a small puddle of water but very little. Nor more than an 1/8 inch deep. By this time the sound had stopped. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the sound was coming from but it seemed to be between the consile seat and the transom. Basically where the gas tank is. Any ideas what this could be?

Also, I'm quite new to boating. I've had the boat for 6 months now and want to have it tuned up and looked at in general. I would need either a mobile mechanic or a marina near Punta Gorda that I could get to by water as I do not have a towing trailer. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

[pcozad1]

What kind of a motor? Could be a bilge pump, livewell pump, fuel pump.
I was fishing in Minnesota once and when were putting the boat away I heard a noise that sounded like a pump. After a little searching i found it was a bunch of mosquitos in the live well.

[vacoder]

Originally Posted by pcozad1

What kind of a motor? Could be a bilge pump, livewell pump, fuel pump.
I was fishing in Minnesota once and when were putting the boat away I heard a noise that sounded like a pump. After a little searching i found it was a bunch of mosquitos in the live well.

The noise sounds elctrical in nature. A little like a smoke detector but much lower and not a pulsating sound. Just a continuous whine or squeal that once it a while would flucuate in volume. The boat is a Sea Hunt Triton 220 and has a Yahama 150 four stroke engine. It does have a live well that I was using but I was not filling it at that moment. Like I said I even had the battery switch set to the off mode so my quess is it is something that would be hard-wired to the battery. Unforunately, the manual that came with the boat is not very thorugh so it was not much help. I also do have a stereo with four speakers but I can't imagine that had anything to do with it unless I was getting some kind of feedback from something else.

[pcozad1]

Originally Posted by vacoder

The noise sounds elctrical in nature. A little like a smoke detector but much lower and not a pulsating sound. Just a continuous whine or squeal that once it a while would flucuate in volume. The boat is a Sea Hunt Triton 220 and has a Yahama 150 four stroke engine. It does have a live well that I was using but I was not filling it at that moment. Like I said I even had the battery switch set to the off mode so my quess is it is something that would be hard-wired to the battery. Unforunately, the manual that came with the boat is not very thorugh so it was not much help. I also do have a stereo with four speakers but I can't imagine that had anything to do with it unless I was getting some kind of feedback from something else.

The only thing that should run by itself is the bilge

[Harbor Hopper]

If the battery switch was off, then it really can't be anything electrical, unless, like you said, it is something wired directly to the battery. I wouldn't worry too much about it. A small bit of water in the bilge is to be expected, and the boat was running fine, correct? Temps good, oil pressure good? Go fishing!
Regarding the mechanics, these have been discussed several times on this forum. Do a search and you will find what you are looking for.

[vacoder]

Originally Posted by Harbor Hopper

If the battery switch was off, then it really can't be anything electrical, unless, like you said, it is something wired directly to the battery. I wouldn't worry too much about it. A small bit of water in the bilge is to be expected, and the boat was running fine, correct? Temps good, oil pressure good? Go fishing!
Regarding the mechanics, these have been discussed several times on this forum. Do a search and you will find what you are looking for.

Thanks Hopper for the reply. The boat ran great as always. No indicators on the dash lit up or anything like that. It just freaks me out a little plus it just loud enough to be annoying when not motoring. My main concern is safety.

[HarborRat]

Bilge pumps are usually the only thing hard wired to the battery. They should still work with the battery switch off.

I hope and assume you know what your bilge pump sounds like, as you should be testing it once in a while. I think if it was the pump you would have noticed the stream of water coming out.

If it wasn't your pump....from your description of the sound I'd guess either air escaping from a closed compartment (fuel tank vent?) like a tea kettle, or if you had a fishing rod standing in the wind....my rods with braid like to play tunes with a little wind.

[daFrogMan]

Could something be stuck under the bilge pump float switch if so equipped? I'd try to find out if there is a float switch located somewhere. BTW, bilge pumps should always be wired direct to the battery, fused of course. This way the boat wont sink if the water level gets too high and the batt switch is off. Let us know what you find.

[vacoder]

Originally Posted by daFrogMan

Could something be stuck under the bilge pump float switch if so equipped? I'd try to find out if there is a float switch located somewhere. BTW, bilge pumps should always be wired direct to the battery, fused of course. This way the boat wont sink if the water level gets too high and the batt switch is off. Let us know what you find.

That's a thought. Pehaps, the alarm is going of falsely. I'll check that out. Thanks.

[Harbor Hopper]

Originally Posted by HarborRat

or if you had a fishing rod standing in the wind....my rods with braid like to play tunes with a little wind.

I didn't think about this. Very true (and can be very annoying)!