Boat will be in the water for 4 days - need advice

[dscable]

Hey guys. Headed out for a family vacation over the July 4th holiday. We will be on a houseboat, and have the 2013 AR190 in the water with us for 4 days.

Usually when I load the boat up and take it home after a day on the lake, I turn off the battery switch and plug in the float charger.

My question is - What should I do when it's tied up to the houseboat for four days? Thinking I should leave the battery switch on, and the bilge pump on, but want to know if that will drain the battery? Last thing I want is to wake up and find the boat has taken on water and the pump wasn't on. Thoughts or advice?

BTW - Have a brand new Group 27 dual purpose (single battery setup). I'll have a backup battery (1000CA Interstate) on-board as well.

 

[anmut]

I'll be mooring mine over the 4th as well. My plan is to keep the batteries on, plug my battery tenders in, and run an extension cord. Assuming your houseboat has a generator and 110v, I don't see why you couldn't do the same.

 

[d_coyne1984]

Hey guys. Headed out for a family vacation over the July 4th holiday. We will be on a houseboat, and have the 2013 AR190 in the water with us for 4 days.

Usually when I load the boat up and take it home after a day on the lake, I turn off the battery switch and plug in the float charger.

My question is - What should I do when it's tied up to the houseboat for four days? Thinking I should leave the battery switch on, and the bilge pump on, but want to know if that will drain the battery? Last thing I want is to wake up and find the boat has taken on water and the pump wasn't on. Thoughts or advice?

BTW - Have a brand new Group 27 dual purpose (single battery setup). I'll have a backup battery (1000CA Interstate) on-board as well.

I would make certain that your bilge pump is the automatic type with a float switch. If not I would replace it with an automatic type and absolutely leave the battery on with the power to the bilge pump on. Other than that just make sure you aren't taking on any water after boating around for a few hours and you should be good to go.

 

[2kwik4u]

I left my 2017 AR190 in the water for a week. Battery on, bilge switch on. 100% factory components, including battery. It survived a couple of rainstorms, both with and without the cover on.

If you're using it every day, then it will recharge what little bit of power is drawn to keep the bilge on and checking for water.

If you're concerned about battery life, take some time and check for any other parasitic drains on the battery. Stereo's, Amps, Soundbars, lights, etc. Just do a good check before you go to bed, or leave the boat for the day. You'll be fine.

 

[Julian]

The standard back pressure bilge takes over 2 weeks to drain a battery when just turning on to "water sense", so no issue there - UNLESS you have a major leak. So when I have my boat floating without shore power, I (probably sounds nuts) sit next to it at the end of the day for 10 minutes to listen and watch the bilge. If the bilge is pumping water every time it comes on, then you have a decent size leak (meaning you are getting 1/2 - 1 inch of water in 2 minutes!!!). What should happen is the bilge comes on and it pumps nothing, and does this a few times in a row (you have to sit quietly to listen for it).

Ideally I like to have shore power....but since you will be running the boat all day...you will be charging the batteries.

 

[dscable]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I appreciate this forum of owners very much!!!

 

[sunbyrned]

@2kwik4u makes a good subtle point about a cover. May be worth having just in case.

 

[2kwik4u]

@2kwik4u makes a good subtle point about a cover. May be worth having just in case.

Just because I like showing off vacation pictures.

Boat sat like this for 6 days. Battery on, and bilge switch on the entire time. Had 2 (non-consecutive) days where it wasn't used. No problems restarting the next day.


This cover was somewhat of a pain in the balls to put on while the boat was in the water. However it survived this storm that was a few hours long of this level of rain without so much as getting the carpet wet. Worth the effort IMO.

 

[BrandonG]

Definitely be sure to install the plugs or your boat could be in the water for longer than 4 days.

Lol that's all I got

 

[Magyar86]

Put a fresh coat of wax in the hull. Mine was in water for 5 days and already had enough stuck to bottom that it slowed me down. Now I was in salt water in Kemah tx so I’m sure fresh won’t be as bad but wouldn’t hurt to put a fresh coat on there.

 

[mrtrav]

I have a 2019 AR195 and leave mine moored for weeks at a time. Our dealer told me to turn the battery off since the bilge was already hard wired to the battery. They said the bilge turns on every 5 minutes, which is why you need to disconnect the battery for winter storage. So far no issues even with summer rainstorms, although we also cover it when we’re not staying at the lake.