Wet slipping for a weekend. Do I leave the battery on for the bilge pump?

At the end of August we have weekend trip to a condo rental on Lake Martin with a dedicated wet slip. Boat will be in the water Fri-Mon. There is not shore power to use so do I leave the battery turned on but everything off except bilge set to auto or is it ok to leave the battery off for just a weekend? I've noticed that during a day of use I will have maybe a cup or so of water in the bilge. It has never got high enough to kick in the bilge pump or anything but usually have a cup every time. I assume this is coming from the drip on the shaft? What do you guys who wet slip for a weekend do? Thanks in advance.

Not sure if all Moomba’s are wired this way, but my Max will still run bilge with battery switch turned off.

Sweet! I didn't realize that.

Yes auto bilge will still work... I leave mine in a slip all summer and just shut it off at the end of the day no matter what.

you would NEVER want to have no power going to your bilge pump if you're in a slip!!! The bilge is the one thing that could save your boat should something go wrong. Have you ever seen pics of sunk boats tied to a boat slip? Don't ever take that chance. (although I don't think you can since they said your bilge is wired constant hot)

Pretty easy to check. Just turn off the batteries and hit the bilge switch.

Unless you aren't close to your boat I suppose.

No if you turn off the battery, then hit the bilge it will not work. It’s an auto bilge default off position), so the best is to turn off the battery switch, then drop a bucket of water down the hatch and watch it work first hand. I test mine all the time and have a battery voltage meter to ensure I’m not low on power by chance.

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Originally Posted by jph3

No if you turn off the battery, then hit the bilge it will not work. It’s an auto bilge default off position), so the best is to turn off the battery switch, then drop a bucket of water down the hatch and watch it work first hand. I test mine all the time and have a battery voltage meter to ensure I’m not low on power by chance.

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Bilge pumps have 2 hot lead. 1 for the switch, and the other direct to battery and float switch.

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Originally Posted by jph3

No if you turn off the battery, then hit the bilge it will not work. It’s an auto bilge default off position), so the best is to turn off the battery switch, then drop a bucket of water down the hatch and watch it work first hand. I test mine all the time and have a battery voltage meter to ensure I’m not low on power by chance.

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You don't have to use a bucket of water to test the power and float switch. The bilge pump has a little knob that you turn to test it. The knob is attached to the float so it's the same as using water to lift it. Using water doesn't hurt though. I like to see water pump out before my first outing as I've had the tube get clogged in the fall such that the pump runs but doesn't actually move water.

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Originally Posted by BrentC5Z

Pretty easy to check. Just turn off the batteries and hit the bilge switch.

Unless you aren't close to your boat I suppose.

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Boat isn't stored at the house. I'll verify next time I go check on the boat though.

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Originally Posted by haknslash

Boat isn't stored at the house. I'll verify next time I go check on the boat though.

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Did you verify your question? I am staying in a wet slip on Labor Day and was wondering the same questions.

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Originally Posted by rockymtnsurfer

Did you verify your question? I am staying in a wet slip on Labor Day and was wondering the same questions.

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If the fuse for auto-bilge is not blown (little fuse holder next to the battery. It will work if the batteries are switched off. It is wired direct and not through the switch.

I have a 2018 Max, I rented a slip overnight for the first time last week and I was paranoid so I put a hose into the bilge and verified the pump did turn on with the batteries switch off. Didn’t matter too much, when I arrived in the morning and looked below deck there was practically no water which was a relief as we seem to accumulate a decent amount during a day on the water.

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Originally Posted by Large Farva

I have a 2018 Max, I rented a slip overnight for the first time last week and I was paranoid so I put a hose into the bilge and verified the pump did turn on with the batteries switch off. Didn’t matter too much, when I arrived in the morning and looked below deck there was practically no water which was a relief as we seem to accumulate a decent amount during a day on the water.

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Sounds great....I am going to do the test as well, just wanted to see others thoughts. Thanks again

You do not have to flood your boat with water. There is a knob that you rotate and it simulates the float being in the up position. Just turn your perko switch off, then rotate the knob and your should hear and feel it kick on.

yep, like Holdmybeer said, just manually turn it on by rotating the knob and you will hear the motor start up.

Am I the only one intrigued here about only having a cup of water in your bilge every time you go out? We probably gain 2 gallons or so everytime we go out from peoples getting in and out dripping wet, filling bags with a tsunami pump ect. Usually the water is at or just below the top of the T bilge plug handle lol.

More to the point, we wet slip for week at a time twice a summer and I never bother turning the batteries off. Unless you are parking jaming hard on the stereo with the engine off for a good portion of the day I would not worry about batteries. For reference we run 2 deep cycle AGMs and 1 Sarting AGM and the switch generally always stays on "ALL"

I end up with the water in my bilge being about half way up the t handle at the midship point too. Probably a gallon or so when I drain it on my lift, which is slightly tilted back. It's very rarely enough for the bilge pump to pick it up even when I manually turn it on. We are pretty good about getting people to take off their jacket and drain it a bit while still on the swim platform though.

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The only reason I had a scare was the fuse was blown on mine while at Norris and we had a 1.5hr monsoon come through. I waited until the rain was a sprinkle and ran down to find the bottom of the V-drive was in the water. Nothing bad, but I had to turn the batteries back on and manually run the bilge. Found the fuse later one and replaced it. Been working fine ever since. I assume the fuse blew before I bought the boat, since I cleaned some garbage out of the strainer when doing maintenance.

I get the same about of water in mine also. Mostly from kids jumping off the back or burping bags. Nothing major unless I turn too sharp and take a roller. Been known to happen sometimes.