warning lights

[diverphil]

hi, we just got a 2006 bav33 cruiser, are there any warning lights/alarms for bilge, fuel, engine overheat and things like that on the standard switch panels.
if so then what and where are they, as the owners manual is not very clear.
another question is are the bilge pumps automatic or only pumping when you switch them on at the panel (meaning you have to look under the floor to check)
we are new to sailing yachts (owning one) that's out of the water for winter and ime just trying to figure out what does what.
thanks for any reply's
Phil

[Symphony]

Welcome to Bavaria ownership.

Engine overheat is on the Volvo engine control panel at the binnacle and has a test function. Bilge pump is manually switched. However the chances of you actually needing it are minimal. The bilge pump on my last boat died from lack of use!. If you do get water in the bilge, find the source and fix it as soon as you can. Fuel only has the gauge at the binnacle activated by the engine on switch. Not very reliable and most people rely on keeping a record of hours run to estimate fuel used and therefore fuel remaining. You have a 150l tank and the typical fuel consumption is in the region of 1.3-1.5l per hour. So you have a safe range of around 100 hours or 500+ miles on a full tank. As much as many people use in a season! Suggest you fill the tank - can be a bit slow getting the last few litres in - and monitor your usage in the first year.

[MagicalArmchair]

You'd suggest filling the tank right to the top and you can fill it no more (as if you were filling your car?). It won't start spewing out the vent pipe or anything?

[diverphil]

thanks for the answers I will have a look when we go down in a couple of weeks,
 I take it then that there are no warnings to let you know that theirs a leak until you notice it above the boards. it may seem a daft question but when we first did com crew course we  were woken by an alarm that turned out to be the last one to use the loo had left it switched the wrong way and sea water was syphoning back in then filling the boat.

[Symphony]

That suggests the loo was incorrectly plumbed. Not  problem with the standard Bavaria plumbing.

Anyway, by all means fit an automatic bilge pump or a level indicator. However the chances of an unexpected leak on a properly maintained modern GRP boat are very small. There is no stern tube to leak, no leaky seams like a wooden boat and the seacocks are readily accessible and generally reliable. one possible source of seawater leakage is corrosion of the end caps of the exhaust muffler, but it is usually slow and the water becomes visible under the engine. With a newly acquired boat it is worth checking the aft end of the muffler. presumably your surveyor carried out a thorough check on all systems including plumbing and seacocks and made any recommendations where remedial work was required.

[diverphil]

yes survey came back ok, a few minors now sorted or will be b4 it goes back in.

[nightowle]

There are different sorts of bilge alarms you can add.  I agree with Symphony that disastrous water intrusion is somewhat unlikely, but twice over the past year, we had a full bilge due to breaking hoses on the calorifier.  The second time was distressing because we were out sailing (just moving up to the start line of a race) and the water was noticed near the bulkhead by the chart table!  Not realizing at the time the source and being away from port gave my heart a workout.  Thereafter, I bought a cheapie battery-operated alarm for the bilge.  It's the type used primarily for detecting washing machine leaks.  Better than nothing and damn easy to set into the bilge.  I just hope I hear it timely as I'm usually in the cockpit underway.

[heywoodp]

I'm considering putting a pair of remote lights on the binnacle fed from the power feeds to both the freshwater and bilge pumps. Friend of mine had issues this year, with the motor running, he couldn't hear the freshwater pump running and emptied his tank into the bilge

[semaphore]

Putting a light to see when the pump is running is an interesting idea, but we usually turn off the breaker when underway.