I'm very worried and feel like an incompetent a$$!

[Big Shasta]

The Yamaha bilge pump is a terrible design. It has to run a little every 10 minutes or so to "check" for water. That was the case on my 05, not sure how many years Yamaha used that horrible design.

When you replaced it, hopefully you bought a water sensing pump like the Rule 750 I bought. I also wired it directly to the batteries (with a fused link) so the switch is unnecessary. It will run anytime there is water and not drain the batteries by running for no reason. It will also run if you happen to leave the cover off and get a lot of rain or any other reason you get water in the bilge when the switch is off. Still takes a couple inches of water in the pump area so it doesn't run unless absolutely necessary. It was a great upgrade that allowed me to stop worrying about turning on the switch. It was also annoying to feel the pump kick on and check for water when we're sitting anchored.

This is the one I bought. (2 actually, I keep a spare onboard)

http://smile.amazon.com/Rule-Rule-M...3ML2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1435142202&sr=8-4

Also, make sure you check the intake screen occasionally, mine had a nasty buildup when we bought the boat.

 

[mgabsa]

I never get water in the bilge area either, so I will dump a couple gal of water in just to test run the bilge pump and to let me know it's working......which reminds me to do it before Saturday

Thanks for sharing

These are all things that can happen to us at anytime. I follow my pre-launch and post-load routines and block out everything else (did u c my flip flops?, where's my shirt? Did u remember to pull the plug?) cuz if its not in my routine I will deal with it once the checklist is complete. Rude?, maybe but if something is gonna go wrong it will b my fault and most definitely my dime. I taught this to my buddy and he learned the hard way when he pulled his boat with the i/o trimmed all the way down and the skeg scraped on the ramp then in a rage pulled away with the tailgate down and put a nice dent in his tailgate as he turned. "I told u so" wasn't appropriate plus I look better with front teeth. Lol