2520 XL Forward Bilge

[baker]

So I am aware that water drains into the forward bilge via the anchor locker and it should flow to the aft bilge when underway, but does not. The aft bilge has been dry since the boat went into the water in April. I can see water through the scupper holes in the cabin and pilothouse floors. First, there is no access into this area in the cabin or the pilot house. Secondly, there is no bilge pump, even though it appears to be wired for one from the rocker switch board. I assume there must be a clog or something blocking the drainage path to the aft, but how to clear this when there's no access?

 

[sydngoose]

I read another poster with a 2019 2320 with a similar problem: He bought a bore scope, removed the drain plug from the bottom of the transom, ran the bore scope ( $30 on amazon) up to the obstruction: The factory actually foamed in the chase from the anchor locker to the bilge and was "damming" the water up accumulating in the forward bilge/ anchor locker area.
You may need to have a closer look as it sounds like you are having a similar problem.
Have a read here: Tell us if this is what you are experiencing:

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/1029104-parker-2320-water-trapped-hull-fixed.html

 

[jzumi]

I read another poster with a 2019 2320 with a similar problem: He bought a bore scope, removed the drain plug from the bottom of the transom, ran the bore scope ( $30 on amazon) up to the obstruction: The factory actually foamed in the chase from the anchor locker to the bilge and was "damming" the water up accumulating in the forward bilge/ anchor locker area.
You may need to have a closer look as it sounds like you are having a similar problem.
Have a read here: Tell us if this is what you are experiencing:

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/1029104-parker-2320-water-trapped-hull-fixed.html

I have the same situation on my 2520. Sounds like I can skip the endoscope and just get the aft bilge pump out of the way and run the chimney rods forward. I hope I get a gusher.

 

[baker]

UPDATE: I ran the scope from the aft bilge, taped to the end of these plastic flexible rods that I had to clean out the dryer vent pipe. The rods were flexible enough that I didn't have take the boat out of the water to go through the garboard plug. I managed to get it through to the center bilge area under the pilot house up to the pipe at the bulkhead under the cabin door. I did not feel or see any obstructions. The mystery continues...

 

[baker]

UPDATE: I ran the boat out yesterday and SOB the water drained to the aft bilge. There wasn't much water, I soaked it up with towels. I guess there was an obstruction that I cleared by fishing around with the flexible rods. I will obviously have to keep an eye on this going forward.
The takeaways here for me are:
1. The boat sits slightly bow heavy in the water (full fuel) which prohibits the forward bilge area to drain to the aft naturally. This appears like a recipe for disaster. Since there is no bilge pump in the forward bilge, one should be installed here. Out of curiosity I will hose fill the forward bilge area with water to see what happens.
2. Having the anchor locker drain into the bilge is not good. I will look to fix this issue.

 

[Antidote]

My 2019 2520xld has a forward bilge pump. There is a hatch in the pilot house floor that gives access to it and the waste tank and pump. The boat sits bow low in the harbour so water does collect at the forward bilge pump and gets pumped overboard.

 

[Andy]

UPDATE: I ran the boat out yesterday and SOB the water drained to the aft bilge. There wasn't much water, I soaked it up with towels. I guess there was an obstruction that I cleared by fishing around with the flexible rods. I will obviously have to keep an eye on this going forward.
The takeaways here for me are:
1. The boat sits slightly bow heavy in the water (full fuel) which prohibits the forward bilge area to drain to the aft naturally. This appears like a recipe for disaster. Since there is no bilge pump in the forward bilge, one should be installed here. Out of curiosity I will hose fill the forward bilge area with water to see what happens.
2. Having the anchor locker drain into the bilge is not good. I will look to fix this issue.

I agree, and MORE! Having an anchor locker drain ANYWHERE but directly overboard is a massive problem, poor design, and...^!$#@^^!. It's insane; The water passing through the hull, even when NOT blocked WILL contribute to mold/mildew growth in the bilges, which WILL create clogs. (Just like ALL air conditioner condensate drains; when the mold grows, the drains become clogged).... ALL anchor lockers in my previous boats drained overboard FROM the anchor rode locker. It is crazy to do otherwise... On my 2520 XLD that would require that the anchor rode locker 'floor' be raised 4-5 inches. I WILL eventually raise that 'floor' and drill a hole with a sleeve, and a clam-shell vent outside, and drain the anchor rode locker OVERBOARD, like Parker should have done when they built the boat!

 

[Brent]

I am lucky that I have access to the wheel house bilge and have a pump. I can pump out any remaining water with a hand pump. Have you removed the rode from the locker and cleaned drain to the wheelhouse ? I like the scope too. . You could add a deck plate for better access.

 

[baker]

I agree, and MORE! Having an anchor locker drain ANYWHERE but directly overboard is a massive problem, poor design, and...^!$#@^^!. It's insane; The water passing through the hull, even when NOT blocked WILL contribute to mold/mildew growth in the bilges, which WILL create clogs. (Just like ALL air conditioner condensate drains; when the mold grows, the drains become clogged).... ALL anchor lockers in my previous boats drained overboard FROM the anchor rode locker. It is crazy to do otherwise... On my 2520 XLD that would require that the anchor rode locker 'floor' be raised 4-5 inches. I WILL eventually raise that 'floor' and drill a hole with a sleeve, and a clam-shell vent outside, and drain the anchor rode locker OVERBOARD, like Parker should have done when they built the boat!

Yes, all of my previous boats had anchor lockers that drained directly overboard, the right way. I was thinking along the same line as you of raising the floor in the anchor locker. Let me know when your ready to do this so we can share the process. I cringe about drilling holes anywhere in the boat, but it needs to be done.

 

[baker]

My 2019 2520xld has a forward bilge pump. There is a hatch in the pilot house floor that gives access to it and the waste tank and pump. The boat sits bow low in the harbour so water does collect at the forward bilge pump and gets pumped overboard.

It's strange that its apparently wired for the forward bilge pump on my boat but no pump and no access. If I cut an access hole in the pilot house floor, I should see wires in there, maybe?

 

[WarrenD]

I have a 2005 2820. At some point a previous owner added a bow thruster to the boat. My boat has 2 access hatches into that area. I am in the process of a major cabin remodel and one day while working on the boat, I opened the hatch in the v-berth and was just checking things out. After looking around I realized that the bowthruster tube was creating a dam for the water trying to drain back from the anchor locker. I reached my hand down in the area infront of the bow thruster tube and literally was pulling out handfuls of salt crystal. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to glass a raised floor into the anchor locker and drilled a 1/2" hole on each side of the boat with a stainless steel clam shell cover over the holes on the outside of the hull.
It seems odd to me that Parker's answer to draining the anchor locker is to drain the water all the way to the back bilge. Just seems like a recipe for disaster. I always wondered why everything made of steel that was left in my cabin for any length of time would be covered in rust. Now I know!

 

[baker]

I am lucky that I have access to the wheel house bilge and have a pump. I can pump out any remaining water with a hand pump. Have you removed the rode from the locker and cleaned drain to the wheelhouse ? I like the scope too. . You could add a deck plate for better access.

I will remove the rode next to investigate

 

[baker]

I have a 2005 2820. At some point a previous owner added a bow thruster to the boat. My boat has 2 access hatches into that area. I am in the process of a major cabin remodel and one day while working on the boat, I opened the hatch in the v-berth and was just checking things out. After looking around I realized that the bowthruster tube was creating a dam for the water trying to drain back from the anchor locker. I reached my hand down in the area infront of the bow thruster tube and literally was pulling out handfuls of salt crystal. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to glass a raised floor into the anchor locker and drilled a 1/2" hole on each side of the boat with a stainless steel clam shell cover over the holes on the outside of the hull.
It seems odd to me that Parker's answer to draining the anchor locker is to drain the water all the way to the back bilge. Just seems like a recipe for disaster. I always wondered why everything made of steel that was left in my cabin for any length of time would be covered in rust. Now I know!

Do you have any photos of the anchor locker with the installed floor? Why two holes through hull?

 

[Ludicrous40]

Just an FYI: I have 2003 2520XL. It has a forward bilge pump that is accessible through a slam hatch on the first step into the forward berth. Secondly, the water will never settle into the rear bilge on this/your boat. The only time water is in the rear bilge is when underway. The boat is bow heavy with the positioning of the cabin and the helm. Every time I leave the boat, I manually run the front bilge to lower the water, but there is always water.

 

[Brent]

I add some soapy water with bleach To wheelhouse bilge then Pump out and drain aft to kill off odors.

 

[baker]

UPDATE:
I cut the hole for the hatch in the floor of the cabin.
Since its cored, I will seal the wood with epoxy, but I didn't have on hand, so it will have to wait a few days. I was surprised that the floor was 1" thick. The bilge area below was very clean, no mold either, just water laying in there which I promptly pumped out.

 

[Lucky John]

UPDATE: I ran the scope from the aft bilge, taped to the end of these plastic flexible rods that I had to clean out the dryer vent pipe. The rods were flexible enough that I didn't have take the boat out of the water to go through the garboard plug. I managed to get it through to the center bilge area under the pilot house up to the pipe at the bulkhead under the cabin door. I did not feel or see any obstructions. The mystery continues...View attachment 25757View attachment 25756

I had the same issue with my 2015 2520 xld. I had my dealer come and they did the same thing with the scope and flexible rod. He left the rod in the tube if I needed to clear it. When I had called Parker back then they told me the forward bilge was the lowest point in the boat and there would always be some water in that area. There was a lot of debris left from the build which was cleaned out, sanding discs, chunks of foam etc. The only time I get any water into my back bilge is when I get hauled out. The water runs to back bilge when at an extreme angle.

 

[baker]

I had the same issue with my 2015 2520 xld. I had my dealer come and they did the same thing with the scope and flexible rod. He left the rod in the tube if I needed to clear it. When I had called Parker back then they told me the forward bilge was the lowest point in the boat and there would always be some water in that area. There was a lot of debris left from the build which was cleaned out, sanding discs, chunks of foam etc. The only time I get any water into my back bilge is when I get hauled out. The water runs to back bilge when at an extreme angle.

Doesn't your water run from the forward bilge to the aft bilge when you hit the throttle and the bow comes up? That's how I realized that the forward bilge sits lowest in the water, actually I read on a post here first.

My hull is the same way, always water in the front bilge area. The water comes from the anchor locker, which drives me nuts. But, I'm going to solve this by plugging that, drilling a hole through the hull to directly drain the locker overboard and raise the loacker floor slightly to pitch. There are a few posts on here and elsewhere about this and what others have done about it. I have a plan, just need the time.

 

[Lucky John]

Doesn't your water run from the forward bilge to the aft bilge when you hit the throttle and the bow comes up? That's how I realized that the forward bilge sits lowest in the water, actually I read on a post here first.

My hull is the same way, always water in the front bilge area. The water comes from the anchor locker, which drives me nuts. But, I'm going to solve this by plugging that, drilling a hole through the hull to directly drain the locker overboard and raise the loacker floor slightly to pitch. There are a few posts on here and elsewhere about this and what others have done about it. I have a plan, just need the time.

My rear bilge has been dry for 7 seasons. The only time water goes back there is when at a extreme angle when going on or off a trailer. The forward bilge always has some water in it. I feel they didn't wire the forward bilge correctly either as the only time it will come on is if I turn on the battery switch or manually turn it on.

 

[mrtodds]

If they are using the same pump as they did in my 04 it has an internal float and is always hot. Mine has two tabs on either side, push them in while pulling up to detach it and stick it in the water, it should operate.