skibum
Well-Known Member
Well, my season is over. I used my boat last weekend to go over to Rock Hall. We came back Sunday evening and tied the boat up in the area to have her pulled out and put back on the rack. We left her floating there. Fast forward to Saturday (yesterday) afternoon. I called in for a launch on my way to the marina. I got there pretty quick and the boat was still sitting on the rack when I pulled into the parking lot. A friend of mine was there, so he asked me if I wanted to go up to the bar and have a beer with him while he had something to eat. I had a backpack and a couple of extra shirts that I wanted to take with me, so I went to the boat, put the swim ladder down, climbed about half way up and tossed them onto the back seat. I climbed down, put the ladder back up, and went up to the bar to have a beer with my friend and wait for my date to show up. I didn't notice anything unusual at the time.
Shortly after that, I saw them drop my boat in the water and tie her to the dock. I stayed at the dock bar for a little over a half hour, and then took a walk down to the boat. As I approached her, she looked like she was sitting in the water funny. The port side was definitely lower than starboard. As I got closer, I heard the alarm sounding. I hopped on board and immediately hit the bilge pump switch. I looked over the side and saw a steady stream of water coming out. I believe it was already pumping but I didn't bother to look before I hit the switch. I turned the switch off and the stream continued, so I'm sure the float switch was working. By the time the marina owner got the forklift into position, the water in the engine compartment was about 4-6" below the deck. The entire engine, with the exception of the top couple of inches, was under water. The step down area in my cabin had about 8"-10" of water in it. Fortunately, it was about 2" below the area that the cabinetry and refrigerator sit on, so none of that was affected. I think I only have carpet damage in there.
When they lifted her out, the problem was obvious. No drain plug. The marina swears that they do not pull drain plugs, which I am fairly certain is true. I've never seen them take it out before. I haven't had it out in months. I can only assume that someone went down there during the week to use their boat and needed a plug, so they took mine.
At this point, I'm assuming that all of the electronic parts in the engine compartment will need to be replaced. AC water pump, hatch lifter, battery charger, bilge blower, vacuflush pump motor, HWH, fresh water pump, trim tab and drive trim pumps, etc.. I'm not sure if water got in the engine or not. The marina was trying to get me to start it up, but I was pretty sure that all of the coils were soaked and I didn't know if water got in the oil, so I decided to not even try. I just had them put her on a rack and let the bilge pumps do their thing. By the time I left, both the EC and cabin were drained completely. My primary concern at this point is the engine. I know the starter and alternator were both submerged so they will need to be replaced. If by chance the water did not get inside of the engine, I speculate that all of the wiring harnesses, coils, etc will need to be replaced as well. The water also went into the bellows, so I'll probably need a new gimbal bearing too.
I'm 99.9% sure my insurance will cover this, unless there is a "stupidity" clause in the fine print that I don't see in my policy. I've been though it a number of times this morning and don't see any applicable exclusions. I sure wish I knew exactly how this happened. I'm sick to my stomach right now.
One last question, does this count as "sunk"? The deck never went under. The EC did fill up. Just curious.
Shortly after that, I saw them drop my boat in the water and tie her to the dock. I stayed at the dock bar for a little over a half hour, and then took a walk down to the boat. As I approached her, she looked like she was sitting in the water funny. The port side was definitely lower than starboard. As I got closer, I heard the alarm sounding. I hopped on board and immediately hit the bilge pump switch. I looked over the side and saw a steady stream of water coming out. I believe it was already pumping but I didn't bother to look before I hit the switch. I turned the switch off and the stream continued, so I'm sure the float switch was working. By the time the marina owner got the forklift into position, the water in the engine compartment was about 4-6" below the deck. The entire engine, with the exception of the top couple of inches, was under water. The step down area in my cabin had about 8"-10" of water in it. Fortunately, it was about 2" below the area that the cabinetry and refrigerator sit on, so none of that was affected. I think I only have carpet damage in there.
When they lifted her out, the problem was obvious. No drain plug. The marina swears that they do not pull drain plugs, which I am fairly certain is true. I've never seen them take it out before. I haven't had it out in months. I can only assume that someone went down there during the week to use their boat and needed a plug, so they took mine.
At this point, I'm assuming that all of the electronic parts in the engine compartment will need to be replaced. AC water pump, hatch lifter, battery charger, bilge blower, vacuflush pump motor, HWH, fresh water pump, trim tab and drive trim pumps, etc.. I'm not sure if water got in the engine or not. The marina was trying to get me to start it up, but I was pretty sure that all of the coils were soaked and I didn't know if water got in the oil, so I decided to not even try. I just had them put her on a rack and let the bilge pumps do their thing. By the time I left, both the EC and cabin were drained completely. My primary concern at this point is the engine. I know the starter and alternator were both submerged so they will need to be replaced. If by chance the water did not get inside of the engine, I speculate that all of the wiring harnesses, coils, etc will need to be replaced as well. The water also went into the bellows, so I'll probably need a new gimbal bearing too.
I'm 99.9% sure my insurance will cover this, unless there is a "stupidity" clause in the fine print that I don't see in my policy. I've been though it a number of times this morning and don't see any applicable exclusions. I sure wish I knew exactly how this happened. I'm sick to my stomach right now.
One last question, does this count as "sunk"? The deck never went under. The EC did fill up. Just curious.
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