Horror Story...need some advice..

[SSSuper83]

Well..so much for being excited for spring...

Last week I went to check on "Pigpen"...and was greeted by something real bad in my opinion. An animal at some point chewed through my cover (its in outdoor storage). Dont know when this happened..but it must have had a hole in it for a while because 1/4 of the boat was filled with water. Unfortunately it was the rear because the boat was parked "bow up".

And at some point the water turned to ICE. Prob 500 pounds of ice block..bilge full, frozen all the way up to the top of the oil pan. Starter, alternator, balancer, gimbal housing/transom plate FROZEN.

Luckily it never reached the exhaust ports on the engine, as the manifolds are off and they are wide open. But as my luck rolls something is prob wrong.

I went to the trouble of cleaning the bilge and ski locker in the floor in the fall, rinsed everything out and only found leaves and a few bits of interior foam. And yes..the plug was out.

How could this happen?? Man I hate when you take measures right to fit her up for winter and stuff like this happens. I guess the next question is where to go from here?

Will water/ice that high require drive and engine to come out?? It was up to the output shaft..so I am already assuming that the gimbal/bellows got full of water. Can the engine and accessories that were in the ice block survive this??

I am at a loss for words..made so much progress with this boat last fall. It's a solid craft with very low hours and ZERO floor problems. Well, it was, anyway.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys... Beer has helped...

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

So you didn't store it with the plug out? I don't see how the water would have stayed in the boat, if it was stored bow up and plug out???

 

[SSSuper83]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

Yep, I stored it with the plug OUT. I have no clue what could have caused it not to drain. Prior to the beginning of February I had it stored outside at work..seemed to be always draining right when I peeked at it. But between now and then I believe this happened.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

man, that's a bummer story. not like ya didn't try to do it right either. bow high, plug out, clean inside. what else is there?

speculation. cover fragments from the animal chewing it up plugged the drain hole? kinda academic at this point though.

got any insurance for such instance? seems like it might be an expensive animal shelter... i'd think everything would be suspect.

 

[SSSuper83]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

It was draining a small amount of water when I found this..but that was because it was frozen. I ran a decent size screwdriver through the bilge drain...and found NOTHING blocking the hole. There was some ice as you shot the screwdriver in there at different angles...but nothing blocking the hole. I am goin nuts...

 

[SSSuper83]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

Yeah, Zig, I am thinking the cover fragments too...right there with you. This rodent chewed or clawed a 6 inch hole in the cover..thought rats that big only existed in New York??? And it was in the bow area too..so the water just let itself in...

It's been 50 plus here all week, and I bought a new cover for it when I found the damage..so hopefully I can get better access to the damage tomorrow when I revisit her. Fat chance finding anything if the bilge isnt melted down yet...

 

[SSSuper83]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

And unfortunately no insurance...planned on getting it this month..just bought the boat in August 0f 09...barely had time to get it running right and didnt think something like THIS would happen. Have owned quite a few boats, worth a lot more than this one..never had this problem.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

I am goin nuts...

switch to something more numbing, boiler makers come to mind.. probably nothing ya can do about it till it thaws anyways. maybe some folks will come on and give ya better advise than me just giving ya condolence...

man, just sitting here thinking about the possible damage. i'd make a list. including the boat. thinking about a full bilge and then freezing, expanding. in every crack and crevice around all the stringers, pushing up on the sole. then there's the engine, then there's the drive... mind boggeling. all because of a critter.. sorry..

 

[SSSuper83]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

switch to something more numbing, boiler makers come to mind..

Already got the Glenvliet Scoth goin..realized beer wasnt doin it.

Ok, I guess I need to be realistic. All mechanicals need to be inspected, as a 27 year old drive as a whole should be gone through anyway. I went through most of it (gimbal bearing, bellows, all seals, hoses, etc) when I did the engine swap. Once it was dialed in it ran perfect and also like a bat out of hell. Everything checked out great.

Well I guess it could be worse. I only have 1400 in the whole thing including reman 350. Maybe take the Bennetts off...part her out???

Breaks my heart to even think about that... (gulp, gulp, gulp...)

 

[SSSuper83]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

Or maybe I'll just buy a pontoon and float around and drink all summer.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

And unfortunately no insurance...

And even if you did have insurance, this would all be excluded anyway. Damage due to vermin and freeze damage are excluded in most policies, even the "yacht" policy that I had.

But as far as there being a bunch of damage to the boat, there might not be. Since your bilge is an open area, the water had the room to expand as it froze. So while it might look horrible, it may not be creating a huge amount of pressure on the components.

I'd remove the outdrive as soon as possible to check the bellow/gimbal bearing for water intrusion, as well as the u-joints. If you can get the ice out before it melts into water, the starter and the other accessories should be able to survive. Alternators can get wet, as can the balancer on the front of the motor.

Again, since it had the room to expand, hopefully it is not crushing everything.

Be careful if you go breaking the ice, don't hit the expensive stuff with the hammer and chisel.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

You never know.....pull the drive and inspect.

If that checks out maybe a new starter and she will be good to go..
Got my fingers crossed for you! What a bummer!

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

Makes a great case for heated, indoor storage! 'nutcase

 

[brhodes]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

Buddy of mine, experienced boater, bought an old somerset I/O full of water, had frozed, etc, bought it for nothing, I couldn't believe it but it ran great. Thing had a perfectly good cover.........stored under the bow seats. He changed a few odds and ends, and obviously not the best thing for it, but you may get lucky......................or go get some boilermakers

 

[SSSuper83]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..**update**

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..**update**

OK, heres an update on the horror story...

Water and ice now completely gone, (thanks warm spring). Got a chance to go through everything for the most part. Starter slave solenoid shot, but starter is ok. havent gotten to the alternator yet. Drained oil from engine...and lo and behold WATER. Not sure if it pushed its way in or what...but I am doing a compression test tomorrow along with air checking the block. I have a feeling the results will not be good.

Also now see the brown stream of death from the driveshaft area inside the boat. Going to get the drive off ASAP and assess the damage too.

Its going to be 85 degrees here tomorrow. This is just unfair.

The boat itself seems fine, and collateral damage seems minimal. I guess the further I get into it I will find out if anything else is wrong. I guess it could be worse...the transom could be seperated from the hull...and its hard to find scrap guys that want to pick up fiberglass.

 

[marlboro180]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

Well, glad the hull seems to have survived. As for the motor, let us know how she looks. Darn vermin.

pssttt... Gramps taught me to use moth balls when the boat cover is gonna be on for winter .....wise man.

 

[imraan47]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

Oh man so sorry to hear this news...hope there isn't any further damage to the engine.
I made a new boaters mistake going in this this winter..i left the drain plug in and by Jan/Feb my bilge area was solid ice...lucky it barely touched the bottom of the engine.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Horror Story...need some advice..

Well it probably didn't rain ice. So I am guessing it got full of water and froze. So at some point you will need a starter. Did you winterize the block?