Posted: July 05 2009 at 10:33 | IP Logged

I just purchased a 1996 264 Coastal and read about 270's and 260's - but I need people who own 264's to help me out. I've owned 15 boats but this is my first w/a. I'm about 80% taking family out and 20% fishing - the live well(s) I guess will make nice coolers. Fish bopxes=storage but it seems to get wet... anyway, he's some initial questions I'm looking for help on.

This boat sat 2 years next to marina club house while owner started at 34k and lowerred to 24.9k - I just bought for 17k and they made it like it was a favor selling me thew boat but anyway...

Bildge pump: the boat has a blue box type float switch with 2 wires coming up and into harness under the transom... and the bildge pump also had 2 wires following them into harness...  pump did not work. A few taps, etc - I got bildge pump tp work but only with dash switch - manual mode - when I cut out the float and tied both wires together (also tried moving float) - neither would activate the bildge pump... that tells me (I think) the flaot wasn't wired right?  even if broke, shorting it out should have actiated the pump, no? Does anything else in boat use that float? Now I have only a manal pump...  my thought is to test float and probably replace anyway - then cut or tie into 1 of the two wires going to bildge pump to get it to work from float...  but then I think I lose manual mode...  I thought b pumps should have a 3rd wire....  so maybe start from scratch and put new pump and float in?

To do this - it's tight down there - battery box platform in way - can pull batteries but are the vro oil tanks also on same platform so that have to come out?  The bildge down there is disgustingly dirty -  so it all needs scrubbing - but again - access hinderred/

 The prev owner had a semi waterproof 3" x 6" board screwed down into bottom of boat and under it was 'stuck' a transducer in a depression in the bottom of hull that looks like its meant for a thru hull transducer... but it was held in place by screwing this small board over top of it - that 1 screw also held the float switch box down...   is it best to mount transducer down there or run wires out back of engine well, over and down the transom?  I can get the transducer wire out to engines and over hull easy enough...  but then you have one more thing hanging out back and while on my 17 whaler, if the transducer 'pops up' I can easily reset it, on this boat I cant - so - maybe better to mount inside ands shoot thru hull?

I've gabbed a lot... I still havw queastions about fresh and raw water and how do I get the water out of those two big fish boxes and something called a discharge pump switch on dash...  prev owner disconnected pu0lp for fish boxes and ran drans to bildge he said... why nit drain to scuppers...  whats the norm on getting water out of fishboxes?   He said water runs down walka round and into the fish boxes and will fill up bildge....   I also found a quest 3 bank battery charger down below....  is that standard?   I'll stop here...  any help moocho appreciated.

Posted: July 24 2009 at 00:10 | IP Logged

Hi - thanks for the reply and I use a variation of that pump in my smaller whaler - not a built in float but because there's no  room for that type - I use whatlooks like a regular pump that is made to turn on every 5 or 10 minutes and if the impeller senses water then it pumps til the impeler senses no water - battyery drwain is minimal - but it does exist and if you d on't charge or solar charge your battery - after a few weeks it will kill it so I keep a small 1.5 amp maintainer on my whaler and have it plugged int a ext. cord  with a 30 amp plug....  but on the welcraft - I can fit a self contained bidgle but - I have a new float and want to use it... there are 4 wires that come out of the wiring hrasness for the pump abd wghen I take the two that used to go to the previous float and I touch them - it doesnt turn thepump on.. I dont get it...    if you short the two wires on the float switch it should turn pump on  but it doesn't. On my 30 sea yray - the bildge pump was a 2 selection switch - up was manual mose - turned pump on, down was float mode - the float switcfh turned pump on....    but thisswitch in the 264 coastal is a single position switch. Does that mean I run a hot and ground from battery to pump via float switch AND I also run a hot & ground topump from the harndess - dash switch?