www.iFourWinns.com

Hey thanks, I contacted the previous owner, and apparently the sinks should drain into a pump and then overboard...so this obviously isnt happening. I'll have to look at this pump to see if it's clogged?

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2002 Vista 248
"Sunny Dayz"

That would be your sump and it would contain a pump that might be an Attwood Sahara S500. You can do a search for that online and they are also sold at most marinas and boating stores. They do get clogged or the float can also stick.

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2008 Vista 278 Volvo Penta 8.1 Gi 375 hp
1999 Horizon 220 5.7 GSi

Hopefully I'll be able to get an "in water pic" up here soon!

Indeed an Atwood Sahara S500 which is pumping like a champ as it should, however when I hook it up to the plumbing it will barely pump and what little water is going overboard is just spurting from a vent. I unclamped the hose and blew in it (yeck!!), and sure enough, air will not pass through. So, if water spurts out a vent near the transom, then water is at least making it that far...my mindset making sense here? The reason I'm stumped, is when I blow air through the thru hulls, they all seem clear. Obviously I'm missing something, and to me it should be a easy fix...unclog and water will flow. Where do I start? There are 3 thru hull openings. 2 star and 1 port. How can I figure out which thru hull is connected to this hose? Thanks for all your help. Great site!

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2002 Vista 248
"Sunny Dayz"

Iirc, the sump has a one-way valve in the exit hose. This to keep the nasty water from draining back into the sump when the pump stops. It's still nasty water sitting in the hose, but at least that's contained. This is another reason why I *always* run clear water down the sink and shower drains for at least 2 minutes any time we close up the boat. That way it's only fresh(er) water left in the sump and hoses.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Hmm. The one way valve should allow me to blow air out ( the same direction of liquid) if there's a clear passage, just not back into the pump, correct?
So let me get this right, so I can understand FourWinns drainage process in the 248s...not that it will fix my problem. Was it completely random to have the sinks drain either straight shot overboard, or into the sump then overboard, or was this based on the state regulations etc? The owners manual diagram section J page 13 shows only the shower drain into the sump pump, and shows the sump hose going overboard, however the manual contradicts this diagram in Section J 2d when it states "the shower drains into the sump pump located forward of the aft cabin. The water will then be pumped into a black/gray water holding tank"
I'm starting to get the feeling that the previous owner of my new boat knew something was wrong here.
Any suggestions out there on how I might free up this hose myself? Draino?
Obviously my next step will be to take the boat in to have it professionally serviced, but just want to make sure it's not something I can fix on my own first.

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2002 Vista 248
"Sunny Dayz"

Some waters require using a gray water holding tank, and allow NOTHING to be pumped overboard. Other areas are not as restrictive. Showers and some sinks are low enough on the boat to make it impractical to have them drain directly overboard. So a sump is necessary for those. Whether or not a boat has a gray water setup would depend on where it was sold and what was required in that area, and how the order was placed. Boats are pretty much individually made so it's not uncommon for their to be some variations.

Boats are not like mass-produced assembly line automobiles. They're more like how homes are constructed. There's a plan, but it's not exact. Small variations crop up due to 3rd party supplier changes (different plumbing, fridge, pumps, etc).

The one-way valve on mine is inside the sump box, between the pump and the exit flange on the sump. It would stop water from coming back into the sump through that line. So you'd be able to blow out, but not into the sump box. Not that I'd want to be putting that hose to my mouth... eeeewwww. I could imagine the valve getting plugged.

Then there's the question of what previous owners might have done. All bets are off at that point. Some could have done something sensible, or half-assed it. Or had a 'mechanic' botch it. You never know until you start digging into it.

None of it is so complicated as to be impossible to fix yourself. I don't know the specifics of how the hoses are supposed to be routed on your model boat. What is it you're describing as a "vent"? Might that be the fresh air vent for the grey or black water tank? If you've got water coming out THAT then you have several problems. One being that the tanks are full. The other that the in-line filter has gotten saturated. If the filter gets wet it's ruined (but it can be cut in half and refilled with fresh charcoal for cheap). This is why it's important to monitor the tank levels and NOT let them get full.

As I recall, the owners manual did a pretty good job of showing the plumbing layout. If not you can ask Four Winns to send you some PDFs with the diagrams for it. They send me a couple of PDFs showing how to remove the decking for access to my hotwater heater. So they do have more info available.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Thanks for the tips wkearney99.
I'm referring to the thru hull vents located on the outside of the hull. I basically just let a faucet run and went out to see that the water was draining overboard and that's when I noticed it was spurting out of one of the vents and soon after that out of the stern bilge hole. That's when I realized I had a problem. I guess I dont really know where to go from here, but to have a pro look into it. Thanks for all the info though.

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2002 Vista 248
"Sunny Dayz"

Through hull drains are different than vents. Through hull drains just look like an open hole. Vents often look like a raised button with a screen down along one side (typically facing slightly backward to avoid picking up spray).

So you're not talking about an actual vent, are you?

Open the engine compartment (when the engines are cold is easier) and see where the hoses go from those through hull connections. Then have someone run the sink and see if the engine room bilge pump gets triggered. If it does then you have some sort of leak. But if not then it may just be a coincidence that the bilge pump ran at nearly the same time, or there's some other water source leaking into the bilge.

As an aside, I think I finally found the source of the extra water in my engine room. I think it's the shore water bib. I think it leaks just enough over the course of a weekend to be the source of the problem. I'm not looking forward to the circus contortionist act it will take to get to the back side of it to refit the hoses. Hopefully I'll be able to do that from the outside when I remove the current hose bib fitting.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I've confirmed that my shower sump pump which my galley and head sinks are both draining to, pumps overboard via a screened vent, and therefore if I drain water too fast, then water fills up the little box that the pump sits in and it overflows and runs into the bilge.
All thru hull drains in my boat are for the floor drains (3 of them), and 1 for the main bilge pump. There are 2 vents. 1 vent for the water tank, and the other vent a drain as described above.
This seem odd to anybody? Any debris getting through the pump will surely clog the vents screen.
Take a shower, and run the sink at the same time and water will overflow into the bilge.

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2002 Vista 248
"Sunny Dayz"

As for the sump, yes if you run the sink and shower at the same time it is possible to fill the sump faster than the pump will clear it.

Where's the fresh air vent for your waste tank? A pump should not be draining out a screened vent.

Do you have a gray water setup? As in, do you have both a black water (toilet) and gray water (sink/shower) tank? If so those have to be pumped out. Have you pumped them out? And confirmed that they're empty? One easy way to tell that they're actually empty is to shine a flashlight against the tank. That helps show the liquid level inside the tank. There are lots of different kinds of tank sensors and most of them eventually clog or stop working accurately.

I seem to recall that gray water setups are sometimes to designed to fill the gray tank first and then overflow to the black water tank. It's the black water tank that has the vent. I don't have a gray water setup so I can't offer firsthand advice involving it.

If your black water tank is full and you add anything to it you'd see the liquid (and SMELL it) out the vent. When is the last time you had it pumped out?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

On my Vista 278 when the gray water tank is full the water from the galley will just sit in the sink. I don't seem to have any sort of overflow.

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2008 Vista 278 Volvo Penta 8.1 Gi 375 hp
1999 Horizon 220 5.7 GSi

I'm going to check this out next. All I know at this point for sure is that the black hose disappears aft, then the hose coming into the engine room and ultimately into the vent is white. I'm thinking maybe there's a full holding tank, and when more water pumps, it forces the excess through the vent.
Just so I'm clear - Waste tank is black (and should have a fresh air thru hull vent?)
Holding tank if I have one is Grey
Fresh water is white

I'll keep you posted

Thanks for your help. I've only ever had bowriders, so although frustrating at times, it's fun to figure out my new complex setup

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2002 Vista 248
"Sunny Dayz"

Flyer, does your sump pump directly overboard?

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2002 Vista 248
"Sunny Dayz"

My boat came from the factory with nothing going overboard. This quickly became a problem and it was a pretty easy fix for me to splice into and share the existing bilge line that was going overboard. As someone else mentioned I put in a one way valve in the line so that water that came from the bathroom area did not go back into the bilge pump. I still need to run the sink line overboard and I'll get to that soon.

Since no one else has responded to you yet I don't recall the black water tank and the gray water tank being different colors. The are both the same type of tank. The fact that you are pumping out the vents tells me your black water tank is full. Do you have a locator diagram for your boat? That will help you out a lot as far as identifying what is on your boat and where it is.

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2008 Vista 278 Volvo Penta 8.1 Gi 375 hp
1999 Horizon 220 5.7 GSi

Tank color itself is irrelevant. On my 348 both the fresh water and the black water tanks are made of the same white colored polyethylene plastic. It's a common term to call water that's from toilets 'black' and sinks, laundry, bathing water 'gray'. Some hotels in water-challenged places even recycle their gray water for use on lawns and such (Las Vegas and Phoenix come to mind).

Yes, I suspect you've got a full tank somewhere. Get it attended to NOW. You really do not want to leave waste products in the tanks for any significant period of time. The hoses eventually get permeated by the waste and start to stink. Some waters have a pump out boat that will come to you. That and many fuel docks usually have a pump out connection. I make it a practice to pump out after every weekend. Either at the fuel dock or by calling for the pump out boat.

A common technique for determining if hoses need replacing is to wrap one with a dampened clean towel (washcloth size works for this, get oddball ones on clearance at the local Target). Leave the damp towel on there for a few hours and then take it off the boat and give it the sniff test. If the hose is bad the stink will have gotten to the towel. Hose is relatively cheap, it's the labor to pull and replace it that costs more. But it's certainly a job within the bounds of DIY kinds of work. It's just a 'crappy' job.

Did you buy this boat from a dealer? Someone should have given you a more thorough walk-thru of all its features and how to maintain them. It may be well worth your while to pay someone to do that for you.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista