Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

[RepoMan207]

I came back to my cottage this afternoon to see my boat (94 Wellcraft Prima 243) sitting low in the water on her mooring.

I rowed on out to discover just how low. Once aboard, I opened the engine hatch to discover the engine 85% - 90% under water . My first thought was all 3 batteries some how got drained, but when I hit the "Bilge Pump" switch on the dash it jumped to life and began to resuscitate my ole girl's compromised state of buoyancy....At this point I don't care what happened, the severity of the situation was starting to sink in (no pun intended). I then timidly moved to the cabin's hatch, as I unlocked, and opened it, I realized just how close I was to losing her to the 56' of water she was sitting in.

My thought at this point is: Thank god I have insurance. (Maine doesn't require insurance, but I thought it best for many factors.)

After alittle over an hour the water level reached the bottom sectors of the bilge....that was until I waded down into the cabin and pulled the bung plug.

With alittle effort I got the 5.7 Mag. running, & timidly unhooked from the mooring and relocated it to the dock on the beach. In that short distance, I could already tell she wasn't running or maneuvering like usual. The sound alone was unnerving.

I left her tied up to the dock (5' of water vs. 56') and headed back up to the cottage. I then called the insurance company, to which I hung up with more question & concerns then I had when I initially called. (Liberty Mutual for those of you wondering). I was given a claim number and pohne number to call in the morning. We'll see how this goes.......

My question is......NOW WHAT? I know the collision / auto body world all to well. Something goes wrong, simply call your insurance guy and head for your preferred auto body shop; Your car gets fixed, and they hack out the details with little to no involvement from you. After reading many horror stories / articles online however, it seems the marine industry doesn't share the same relationship with the insurance man.

My biggest fear at this point is I'm going to be the one fighting for things to get replaced / repaired & coordinating service providers. Even worse....I know the headaches involved with restoring a flooded auto...what heck is involved with restoring a partially sunk boat. I don't even know if I'll know when I'm in over my head. To add insult to injury, I sold my trailer at the begining of the season and was in the process of price shopping marinas to store it this coming fall.

Has anyone had a similar situation? Any advice or words of wisdom.

A few things to consider:
I'm on a fresh water lake (Sebago)
It appears the boat was partially submerged for the better half of a week.
I live in a seasonal region (Maine) (Marina's are not as well equipped / adjusted as they are else where.)

 

[likalar]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

All I can suggest is to carefully read your policy then call the claim office in the morning. They should be experienced in guiding you thru the claim in a timely manner. Be sure to keep the claim "open" as long as possible, so you have the option of making future claims if more problems arise (mold, corroded terminals, etc.) Best of luck!

Larry

 

[trendsetter240]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

If you plan on keeping the boat moored you absolutely must install an automatic bilge pump. AND you must have some method of keeping the batteries charged year round; shore power, solar trickle charger etc.

As for the boat, get it checked out and properly repaired at a legitimate marine shop and save all your receipts. The important thing now is to prevent more damage from occurring. The insurance company may want to send a marine surveyor out to inspect the damage. They did when my boat sank last year.

 

[duped]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

Yikes, the part about you running the motor made me cringe, but after having sat full of water for a week, I'm sure damage was already done before that. Unless by some miracle reason water didn't make it into the crankcase.

Anyways I'm very sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope for your sake you have it insured for a fair replacement value, and they just total it. It might not ever be the same otherwise.

 

[Beefer]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

That so sucks. I feel horrible for you. That feeling in your stomach when you saw it must have really made you nauseous. Sorry for that.

I won't be any help to your problem, but what caused it to happen? Have you been able to figure it out?

 

[robert graham]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

I'd call the insurance company, get their claims adjuster over to look at your boat, just tell him the honest truth about what happened, and he'll hopefully have some boat experience and can recommend a boat shop or marina that can do a damage survey and give a quote on repairs. I think the trouble here will be to identify the items that are actually damaged and can be repaired or replaced, and all the other stuff "that just got wet",and may give problems later, like all the electricals, upholstery, engine, etc., etc. I mean the adjuster might say that your starter is working fine and the motor started up and ran, but the water in the starter may kill it later on. You hate to say it, or even think it, but the boat may never be quite right after this, kinda like an automobile that's been partially submerged. Maybe, considering the age, damage, and overall condition of your boat, they may just "total" it and write you a check for their appraised value. Well, I'm sorry it happened and I hope you come out O.K. Keep us posted!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

Did you pull the dipstick to check the condition of the oil after running the engine? Way over full or a tan chocolate/vanilla milkshake appearance indicates water made it's way into the crankcase. The fact that the engine started means it may have made its way into the cylinders but not to the point where the engine hydro-locked (water doesn't compress). However, if water got into the crankcase and you did run the engine, the rod and main bearings probably lost a good deal of their life so do not sign a check from the insurance company until the engine has been verified as being "undamaged" (which in my view is very UNLIKELY). Expect starter and alternator problems within a short period. Expect other electrical issues in a very short period. And by all means determined what cause the problem in the first place. It wasn't the pump. Something leaked to allow that much water intrusion.

 

[floatingwoody2006]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

We did have a coupple of inches of rain in the past couple of days..Possible that the rain contributed somehow to this?

 

[avenger79]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

well I have no "boat" experience in this but close. I lost my camper to a lightning strike. took out all the electronics. camper still looked brand new. I had no experince dealing with ins on a camper, my agent had exp dealing with damage on a camper. he gave me the claims number, they had it pulled to a local dealer. the ins adjuster and the dealer went through the camper together and decided it was totalled. no involvment by me at all. worked out very well in the end. oh the adjuster told me he had never done a camper either when we were all done. was American Family ins, all went very well just like with a car.

best of luck with it. I can't even imagine the feeling of pulling up and seeing her half way sunk.

 

[RepoMan207]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

If you plan on keeping the boat moored you absolutely must install an automatic bilge pump. AND you must have some method of keeping the batteries charged year round; shore power, solar trickle charger etc.

As for the boat, get it checked out and properly repaired at a legitimate marine shop and save all your receipts. The important thing now is to prevent more damage from occurring. The insurance company may want to send a marine surveyor out to inspect the damage. They did when my boat sank last year.

There is an auto bilge pump in her. I have no idea why it didn't work, it worked perfectly fine the week before last. I would also think 3 deep cycle marine batteries would be capable of sustaining the pump under normal circumstances for a much longer period of time. With that being said....the question as to "what happened" is still unknown at this point, once or if I know, I'll update all of you here.

 

[sublauxation]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

Sorry to hear about your experience, hopefully all ends well.
My bilge float switch stuck two weeks ago when I had mine moored. I put it in 2 weeks earlier and it worked just fine. Went down to the dock after a heavy nights rain and she was sitting so low I was almost afraid to climb in. Reached into the bilge area, gave the float a light tap with my finger and it kicked right in. That was a SeaSense switch. It almost seemed like as the back filled up a bit and transom went down the switch arm kind of bound on it's plastic mount and couldn't swing up.

 

[J Hartman]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

what caused the boat to get that full of water? rain?

 

[Philster]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

Well, I've been witness to two sinkings this year, and neither are covered by insurance, because buried deep within the full policy is language that damns the owner.

A friend's 26' Fountain center console sunk and capsized at the marina and the claim was denied because the adjuster/surveyor determined a clamp on an underwater fitting failed due to corrosion. According to the policy, the owner is responsible to maintain and replace the clamps. That was in May... and that's 25k dollars worth of boat he is out.

Another similar incident happened on a smaller center console and that claimed was denied because the owner didn't properly maintain his scuppers.

Years ago, I saw a boat sunk in dock and it was a total loss as the owner was required to cover the boat when it was not in use. It wasn't covered. Rain overwhelmed the pump/battery and she went down when sea water came over the transom. Insurance claim denied.

What the insurance DID pay for was the salvage effort, which is a pretty neat exercise to watch.

Good luck. The lesson here is to get a surveyor/adjuster now and be prepared to counter the insurance company. The adjusters know the ins/outs of each company and can usually make things better, although you might not get 100% of what you want, it's better than nothing.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

If the insurance company gives you a hard time for running the engine, I'd explain that under the circumstances you thought it better to get to shallow water immediately. You are required to take measures to mitigate damage, and you did. But I doubt they'll say anything about it.

 

[RepoMan207]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

Did you pull the dipstick to check the condition of the oil after running the engine? Way over full or a tan chocolate/vanilla milkshake appearance indicates water made it's way into the crankcase. The fact that the engine started means it may have made its way into the cylinders but not to the point where the engine hydro-locked (water doesn't compress). However, if water got into the crankcase and you did run the engine, the rod and main bearings probably lost a good deal of their life so do not sign a check from the insurance company until the engine has been verified as being "undamaged" (which in my view is very UNLIKELY). Expect starter and alternator problems within a short period. Expect other electrical issues in a very short period. And by all means determined what cause the problem in the first place. It wasn't the pump. Something leaked to allow that much water intrusion.

I didn't check the oil...I thought of it after the fact. I'm heading down to the dock in alittle bit to check it all out in the day light.

All good points...And I think your right, I almost think it's going to be better if they do total it. I over obsesses about little things as it is, I'll never feel see is back to 100%. The mere thought of boat shopping again is discouraging, We put alot of time and energy into finding this one.

We did have a coupple of inches of rain in the past couple of days..Possible that the rain contributed somehow to this?

Oh yes, It deffintley had something to do with it. Although I had her full camper canvas on....so I don't know where it could of gotten in. The deck was dry when I went aboard. I do know It was extremly rough, the swim dock's mooring even let go at some point, and the beach was given some extra footage of sand when all was said and done. I got some video of it actually the other day. I'll post it up later tonight.

 

[RepoMan207]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

If the insurance company gives you a hard time for running the engine, I'd explain that under the circumstances you thought it better to get to shallow water immediately. You are required to take measures to mitigate damage, and you did. But I doubt they'll say anything about it.

That's funny you replied with that, that very same thought and reasoning came to mind when I was replying to another post a moment ago. In hind site, I still would of turned the key.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

I wouldn't worry about what you did or didn't do.

I ran my car thru a puddle during one of our "monsoon" rainstorms. Puddle turned out to be a small pond in the middle of the street. Car stalled.
I tried to restart it. Was able to get it running in a few minutes and limped home. Took it to the dealer and had them run diagonstics.
They said the engine was shot, so I filed a claim. The insurance company claims people took my story, interviewed my passenger, and also went to visit the shop where the car was.
They concurred with replacement of the engine. Did I damage it more by trying to start it after it stalled? Maybe, but the average joe isn't going to know any better.
I paid my deductible, Ins. paid the balance, and I have a brand new engine in my almost new car. Car worth multiples of the cost to repair, so the repaired instead of total.

Same could happen with a boat- your normal boater would likely have tried to start the motor. Maybe the people on this forum are a bit wiser than average to this stuff, but what you did wasn't unreasonable.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

Sorry to hear about the boat. It's always a terrible feeling. My thought is that your automatic bilge switch malfunctioned, which sounds like it's a common problem. You could have also had a short in your electrical system when the heavy rains hit, that prevented the bilge from running. By the time you got there it might have all dried out.

I don't have any advice for the insurance claim, except to fight whatever bs they toss at ya. There are very few companies that don't take advantage of their customers, so make sure you know the contract you signed, and make sure that they honor it.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Partially Sunk Boat, Now What??

As Philster alluded to earlier, many policies have clauses excluding them from covering damage caused by neglected maintenance. Same reason your car insurance won't buy you a new motor because you let it run low on oil and fried the motor.

I'm not familiar your Liberty Mutual policy, obviously you need to read it closely. But if it took on water because of a leaking bellows or something similar, don't be surprised if none of the damage is covered.