[Swept away]

I have a 1999 Tiara 3500 Express. The shower pump box started running non-stop. It pumps water out then slowly refills and repeats. No water is pumping out of the boat. The min bilge will sometimes kick on and pump out some water. Any ideas where there could be blockage?

[jclark003]

I would start by disconnecting the discharge hose. Blow into it to see confirm it is open and clear. If so the blockage is either at the base of the pump or there usually is a check valve on the discharge line going out of box (if it's the box I'm thinking of). Unless it can get the water out of the box the pump will continue to run. Excess water will spill into bilge spaces tripping mid pump from time to time.

[Medicone]

I had a similar issue on my 35 Open a few years ago.  The old bilge pump in the sump box was full of sand/debris.  To change it, it was necessary to remove the cabin steps, which was a pain to reinstall (several posts on the forum about that including one with plans to add hydraulic rams to the steps - forget who authored it).

Once you get to the sump box, remove the top, vacuum out all the debris, remove the bilge pump and flush with fresh water, then vacuum again.  Again, it's a pain to get to, so I just changed out the bilge pump with a higher flow Rule while I was down there.  Has worked great for years and a cheap fix.

Best of luck,

-M1