It's that time!

[John Jones]

Tarpon should be rolling on the beaches any time now.  I spent a good part of the last two days going over the Catch 22 making sure everything is still working.  She hasn't been wet since New Years.  

I drug all three batteries from under the console, popped the caps and checked the electrolyte level.  None were more than 1/4" low which made me feel good.  There are lots of rumors floating around about onboard chargers left plugged in boiling the batteries dry.  I can say that the BassPro XPS 5/5/5 will not do that.  It has been plugged in 24/7 for over a year unless the boat was in the water.  I checked the specific gravity and all were right where they should be except my "house battery".  All of it's cells were even but did not quite reach the green mark.  It reads 12.4V with a slight load on it (55 watt light).  I guess I'll be replacing it sometime this season but I'm not worried about it as my "auxillary" (read spare) battery was new last summer.  My cranking battery has a loose positive post  :(   I'll replace it before I go out of sight of land but again I'm not worried about it because with one flip of the switch I can crank off of the auxillary battery.  Made a quick run to the supermarket for some distilled water then topped off all three.

Checked the bilge pumps by lifting the floats.  NOTHING!  
Checked the trim tabs.  NOTHING!   :evil:
Checked the livewell pump.  NOTHING!  :twisted:
Now I am really pizzed.  I am anal about electrical and almost never have a problem with the electrical because I take such pains with my connections.  Other stuff that was working comes from the same fuse box and no fuses were blown.  Hmmm, must be a ground.  When I rewired the boat there was an existing unused black #4 stranded copper cable running from the bilge area to the console.  I used that as a common ground for everything in the back.  The mistake I made was not putting a new connector on the bilge end of the cable.  It looked fine and had heat shrink on it so I used it as is.  When I pulled on it yesterday, the cable pulled out of the connector.  Totally rotted off.  My fault for not replacing it 2 years ago.  Amazingly, when I stripped back the wire, it was not black and flaky like copper gets when it's exposed to salt.  Crimped on a new connector, dunked it in liquid tape on top of heat shrink, greased everything up and tightend it up.    Everything is working fine now.  Better to find it now than be looking for it offshore or at the dock some morning before daylight.

Changed out the Racor filter element.  Poured it out on a paper towel.  There was a tiny bit of trash but not too bad for a years worth of fuel through it.

Stepson and I took her out in the bay for a little spin and everything seemed to work just fine.  I still need to check the lube in the lower unit, then I'll be ready to FISH!

[John Jones]

I just remembered that I forgot to test the high water alarm.  Added that to my to-do list.

[JimCt]

My experience has been that for some reason the ground side of circuits seem to go bad much more often than the feed side.  Any reason for that?

[John Jones]

I don't know of any textbook reason.

This one probably got sloshed with bilge water while it was out of use.  I just plain screwed up by not replacing the connector because it looked okay.  The heat shrink tubing hid the corrosion.

[RickK]

I just remembered that I forgot to test the high water alarm.  Added that to my to-do list.

What's that for?

[captflatback]

I got all happy when he said its about time for the poons to stat rolling around. I got 2 the other day and am heading to the beaches this week. I hope to see John out there.

Capt. Jim Lemke
www.lighttackleadventures.com

[John Jones]

I have to go to Ohio for work but as soon as I get back I'll be cruising the beach.  Hope to see you out there.

[John Jones]

I just remembered that I forgot to test the high water alarm.  Added that to my to-do list.

What's that for?

bilge water.
I don't care what Aquasports thoughts were on whether or not a bilge pump is needed.  With a live well plumbed for raw water you can fill your boat up before you know it.  Hulls can develop a crack and take on water.  For the cost of a float switch and a horn I have more peace of mind.

[Ben87]

My experience has been that for some reason the ground side of circuits seem to go bad much more often than the feed side.  Any reason for that?

I asked a buddy the other day which terminal off the battery I should disconnect to leave for the week, he said negative because the electricity out of the battery starts there and goes back via positive, might that have anything to do with it?

[RickK]

I just remembered that I forgot to test the high water alarm.  Added that to my to-do list.

What's that for?

bilge water.
I don't care what Aquasports thoughts were on whether or not a bilge pump is needed.  With a live well plumbed for raw water you can fill your boat up before you know it.  Hulls can develop a crack and take on water.  For the cost of a float switch and a horn I have more peace of mind.

Good idea - is it mounted higher than your bilge pumps or is it just an alarm to alert you that the bilge pump(s)'s running?

[John Jones]

Alarm.
I have had too many pumps fail.

[JimCt]

I disconnect both battery terminals for some reason I have no explanation for.