www.iFourWinns.com

1. Water not draining in ski locker, it seems to be clogged between the ski locker and engine hatch. I was washing the inside of my boat with a water hose and then my ski locker kept filling up and the water was barely coming out of the plug. I looked up the plug and was able to see the engine so it wasn't clogged there. I got an auger snake and was only able to go in about four inches and hit something solid. Is the drain straight to the engine hatch or does it curve before getting there?

2. Can someone explain the bilge pump and when to use it?

3. And the blower? I know I should this one and the above one, but the instruction manual doesn't necessarily dumb it down for me.

4. Does anyone have issues opening/closing the engine hatch in their 240?

5. I'd like to run an aux cable from the port side to the starboard side, when would be the best place to run it?

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2006 Four Winns H240 5.7GXi

This is a common problem with Horizons. The water is supposed to drain in a straight shot, but in some cases the fuel tank shifts into a position to block the flow. In other cases debris from the building process gets caught in there and forms a dam. An auger, fish tape, etc., can be helpful in the latter case, but if it's the fuel tank it might need to be addressed by your mechanic.



Your bilge pump is intended to pump most of the water out of the boat that might get in by whatever means. It has it's own "automatic" float switch so as long as everything is working as intended, it'll take care of itself assuming your battery(ies) are charged and connected properly. Unfortunately people also find out their float switch is broken, corroded, or full of junk (preventing it from turning on the pump) when they most need it.



The blower is intended to pull any gasoline vapors out of the engine compartment and exhaust them to free air via the vents on the sides of the boat. Always run the blower for at least a minute before starting the engine. Boats really have exploded because the captain neglected this step.



Do you have the electric lifts? If so, and if you're trying to lift the hatch manually, you'll put yourself in the hospital trying to lift it. Look for a switch at the helm.



Do you mean an 1/8" stereo input, say for an iPod, etc.? Which stereo head unit do you have? (I can't remember when they changed from Clarion to Sony.)

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

1. Got it. Would lifting the gas tank cause any issues and is there room to lift it?

2. So would I keep the bilge pump on all the time or just every now and then?

3. Good to go

4. No electric lifts (sad face), and it's a pain to pull up because the front of the hatch rubs as I'm lifting it up? Are there any other ways to build an electric lift other than paying over $1K for parts?

5. I have clarion cd player on port side and bought the clarion CCAAUX (already installed), but want to run the aux cable to the starboard side so that I can plug it into my phone that sits on a charge on the 12v plug.

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2006 Four Winns H240 5.7GXi

1. Not sure on lifting the tank, but I doubt there's room without removing the deck plate over the top of it. Personally that's a job I'd have a mechanic tackle.

4. I'm not sure how else to do electric lifts other than to use the original parts. However, you might be able to find the parts cheaper than through FW (not sure though).

5. Getting cable from one side to the other... that's something I haven't needed to do, but there are a few guys here who have - hopefully one will chime in.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Bilge - you have an auto and manuel side to the bilge pump....leave it on auto and that way it will kick on whenever the water level raises the float. Test this by placing a water hose in the bilge and let it fill above the float. Don't leave it unattended in case it's well broken.

Keep the bilge clean and don't let debris stay down there - a plastic wrapper can clog your pump in a hurry and a piece of garbage can cause some real probs. The manuel side of the bilge bypasses the float swith and turns the bilge on direct regardless if there is water in there or not.....don't leave this on when not needed or you will burn out the bilge pump. I leave it on auto and occasionally will hit the manuel side when out on the water -just to make sure my float hasn't failed.

Blower - i leave it on a couple of mins before cranking - i also switch it on when in putt putt mode (no wake)....when boarding i leave it on cuz your constantly stopping and starting and shutting the motor off. YOu don't need it on when under power cuz the air flow thru the vents will evacuate the fuel fumes. When re-fueling on the water I always raise the engine hatch before starting and also hit the blower for a while. Just a habit, but the oil gets checked with each tank of fuel.

Bilge drain - try backflushing from the bilge side with a spray nozzle on stream - if debris that may push it to the ski locker so you can remove it. Careful forcing rods or probes - hate to puncture the fuel tank, which would cause stress.

As far as the wire run - don't know...would imagine around the bow, across the stern or up and over if you have a tower/arch.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

All good questions and not dumb at all. Most items covered off by others. For the Audio extension lead, the standard way FW do it with their remote is to run it from the back of the stereo up to the bow and back to the dash.

I figure if there was a more direct way, then FW would have used it...

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

Agree with all the others have said here.

In my 180, I have just added a stereo remote to my helm. The easiest way to run the wire was around the bow, as Aussie had mentioned. I would imagine that would be true for moving the Aux input as well.

Regarding the bilge pump, I start every season by testing it. While the boat is on the trailer I screw in the drain plug, get the bow of the boat tilted upward slightly and fill the bilge with water until the pump cycles (automatically) a few times. While you are doing all of this, it is also a good time to clean out the bilge as well.

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

I ran my LED wires (housed in a plastic wire tube) in the forward part of my ski locker. Just in front of the edge of the opening, there is a a board (looks like plywood) that is part of the boat. and there was just enough room on both sides to run my snake (and used some wire coat hangers to assist grabbing the wire) to grab the wires. I did remove my speakers and cup holders to give me some access once I reached the sides of the boat. I did not take any pictures, but will try and take some when I get my boat tomorrow.

I found out the hard way my auto bilge pump was not working. I replaced the float and the pump (West Marine had a deal going) and increased the pump capacity to the max the output hose would fit. My bilge switch allows me to manually turn the pump on and make it pump. When the switch is off, there is power still set up to the float. If the float raises, the pump will turn on and pump the water out. You can hear the pump when you turn it on if you have your engine compartment open. I would do the float test too.

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2010 Sea Hunt Triton 220 "Big Whiskey"
2003 FW Freedom 180 Volvo Penta 4.3GL/SX-M "It'll Do Four Now" (Sold)
2012 Avalanche LTZ 4X4