triple whammy

[creekman]

last summer after bottom painting the boat was launched and before leaving the marina we found the bilge full of water. The automatic pumps had not come on to remove what we thought was rain water. Checking the three pumps found that they could be activated manually at the dashboard but they would not auto on by themselves. A corroaded fuse was found to be the culprit. When we got home( about 10 miles) investgation revealed a leaky salt water pump. This was difficult to replace. Finally after it was replaced, we found the starter would not work. The starter had to be replaced. Mack Boring said it could not be rebuilt. Changeing the starter in a 28 TE FD is near impossible. I solved the problem by removing the hatch, then the frame in the sleeping area. Then I had to take a saw and remove a section of wall down to the chime just over some power cables. This gave great access and the starter was replaced quickly by the marine tech. The section was the screwed back to the hatch frame and the hatch replaced. Only two short saw lines can be seen. All this was not a great way to start the summer and was expensive.

[jleonard]

An an FYI I have helped a few fellow boaters who have had salt water "issues" in their bilges.
Anything touched by the salt water should be considered suspect. It corrodes everything that it touches.
A soap and water scrub down immedialtely after the event is the best prevention, followed by some sort of corrosion prevention such as WD-40 but there are better compounds out there I just can't recall them now.
I don't mean to seem doom and gloom but I have crawled around in plenty of bilges and it ain't pretty. The last friend this happened to lost his starter, alternator, and finally his tranny but it was slow pain taking out a major item each season right before his vacation.
BE PROACTIVE.

[creekman]

I agree. The leak from the raw water pump may have started the cascade. The fuse for the auto bilge pumps is down by the battery charger. The loss of the bilge pump would not be noticed unless you check the bilge often or check the tab on each bilge pump(3). Also look in the engine compartment after you start the engine. See if there is a hose or pump leaking. Getting a Yanmar starter can be difficult if one is on a trip.