Question on Zodiac Yacht Line 340

[Jaybeaux]

I just picked up a 2007 Zodiac Yacht Line 340. It has a 25 hp Yamaha, 4 stroke, carbureted engine. It is on a trailer. It had been in storage in a winterized state for the past 3 years. A new battery and a carburetor clean up, it purss like a kitten. The engine had 56 hours on it at transfer. I've put 5 hours on it the past 2 weekends. It really cleaned up nicely.

All systems have been checked out and everything works, except the "courtesy light" down by the helmsman's right leg.

I have made one observation.....while using the dinghy, I randomly activated the bilge pump, and about 2-3 seconds of water were discharged. I decided to watch it closely. About every 15 minutes or so, it will spit out a bit of water if I activate the switch. While sitting in the slip, the float will activate occaisionally to empty the bilge. Yes, there is water intrusion from somewhere which I will look for this off season.

I brought the dinghy home yesterday and have begun the deep cleaning process. I've removed everything out from under the helm seat and even removed the panel in the floor which provides access to the bilge pump. This is where my question comes from. That "well" the bilge pump sits in was empty, but when I removed the plug from the transom, water drained out. Upon further inspection, in the port-aft corner of that bilge pump "well", there is a small hole. It is perfectly placed in the corner and appears to be factory.

So does this mean that any water that enters the bilge has to accumulate to rise up through that hole to then get into the bilge pump?

To either confirm or disprove my theory, I'm going to install the drain plug and then put water in the forward floor section. I know that it drains to the bilge. And then watch the bilge pump well to see if the water level rises. Any other thoughts?

As to the source of the water, I do not think that the fiberglass hull has a crack. A more detailed inspection is forthcoming. The only underwater fitting that I'm aware of is the drain plug itself.

Lastly, would anyone have a digital copy of the Owners/Users manuals, both Volume #1 and #2? I have Volume #1 in hardcopy but no Volume #2.

Thanks,

Jaybeaux

 

[Skybolt]

@Jaybeaux Most of those have a double floor as you may know and there needs to be some way of getting the water out of the sub floor area. If in the bilge pump area there is a hole and that is the only one, you may want to consider making it larger and putting a plug in there. I would use a transom plug just in the FG hole, one you twist to tighten. That may help with keeping water out but still allow what is there to be removed.

 

[Jaybeaux]

@Skybolt ....So a buddy and I messed with this today after we unloaded a couple of yards of dirt and were already muddy and wet!

So, what I have learned is that the bilge DOES in fact "back fill" the well in which the bilge pump sits. I don't get it, but it does. So, after putting copious amounts of water into the bilge and watching the pump well fill up and then discharge water, I shut off the hose. The bilge pump cycled a few more times then quit. I then manually activated the bilge pump by turning the little knob on the pump itself. (Lifted the float). The pump would discharge water, and the well would refill, but not very high. After several iterations, the well no longer had water coming in through the two small holes.

I then went and removed the plug and a bunch of water drained out. Interesting design. We even started wondering if Zodiacs are meant to have a bit of water in the bilge to act as ballast! Ha!

From the pictures below, you can see the two holes in the bilge pump well. In the second picture, you can see that the well has no other "sources" of water. The third picture is to show that the well is on the same floor level as my feet when seated at the helm. In other words, the real bilge is below that well.

Jaybeaux