2018 Sea Ray 400FLY/Sundancer Hydraulic Swim Platform Sagging

[TMorgan 400 Fly]

Returned from a three week's absence to find my swim platform sagging on the port side. Couldn't activate the lift (red flashing light on the lower led on the control panel). Examined the pump and found the hydraulic fluid reservoir empty. Not entirely sure about the mechanisms, but it appears there's a manual primer pump on the side of the assembly.

 

[PlayDate]

Well the first question is what happened to the hydraulic fluid? It either is in the bilge or in the water outside the boat. Something could have damaged one of the hydraulic lines such as floating debris or a line/fitting failure. Fill up the reservoir and somebody needs to watch what goes on when you activate the platform.

 

[TMorgan 400 Fly]

There is a small slick in the water after I refilled the reservoir. So definitely a leak or loose line. Now the challenge is getting the pump to re-activate. The OpacMare Tender Lift system must have a fail-safe which is preventing it from kicking on. The controller has a flashing red light - resetting the house batteries and system, after manually priming the pump 15-20 times, turned the flashing light off. But it immediately fails. The port side of the lift is definitely soggy, whereas the starboard side is tight.

Do I need to prime the system more? Will lines need bleeding?

 

[Bill Curtis]

Did you find / fix the leak? That would be my 1st priority. The system may lock out every time till leak is fixed.

 

[PlayDate]

There is a small slick in the water after I refilled the reservoir. So definitely a leak or loose line. Now the challenge is getting the pump to re-activate. The OpacMare Tender Lift system must have a fail-safe which is preventing it from kicking on. The controller has a flashing red light - resetting the house batteries and system, after manually priming the pump 15-20 times, turned the flashing light off. But it immediately fails. The port side of the lift is definitely soggy, whereas the starboard side is tight.

Do I need to prime the system more? Will lines need bleeding?

I can’t find any technical documentation on the system that you have.

From what you describe….the leak is on the outside of the boat. That means a hydraulic line, coupling or hydraulic cylinder has been compromised.

In regards to the “prime lever” you mention…..that is more likely an emergency manual pump in case the electric pump fails.

Most hydraulic lifts have check valves to control the pressure to each side and are self bleeding. That means the air is purged from the cylinder/lines as the lift cycles up and down.

So the next step is to pull the boat or put a diver in the water to find the leak. What you don’t want to do is activate the pump. If you lower the platform with a leak…..it will not raise making things far worse.

 

[TMorgan 400 Fly]

PlayDate - Great Advice. It was a hydraulic fitting leaking. Replaced all lines and fittings. Would be hard to do that down here now post Hurricane Ian. So I'm glad I took care of that per your recommend.