boat sank at the slip today

Pietro

Pietro

Active Member
Nov 1, 2009
1,757
Rome, Italy
Boat Info
1990 390 EC
Engines
3208 375HP CAT
Here a couple of pics I took as I was on the boat this afternoon.
This is always sad! But it’s also another lesson in boating... The owner of that boat realized that one of the i/o bellows was leaking yesterday. He soon ordered a spare one and waited.
Today, while he was on the boat, the leak become suddenly too big to be handled by the bilge pump and the boat sank instantly!!!
If he had pulled it on land yesterday he would have saved a lot of money... He would have been obliged to do so anyway to put the new one ...

P1010130.JPG


P1010135res.JPG
 
We had a boat going down in our marina two weekends ago with the same problem. We put a 110 pump on it to keep it afloat while I called the owner.

The owner seemed a little confused about what to do, but in the end had a local marina come down to get it out of the water.

After all was said and done, the owner came over to my boat and begrudgingly thanked me while returned the extension chord. He was complaining that he had to pay $1800 to get it towed and fixed.

I think he would have rather me let and sink and just look the other way!
 
LifeisGood said:
He was complaining that he had to pay $1800 to get it towed and fixed.

I think he would have rather me let and sink and just look the other way!
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He was upset, don't take it personally.
 
I think he would have rather me let and sink and just look the other way!
Click to expand...

Depends on the guy's situation - letting the boat sink and collecting a check from the insurance company might have been the best thing that ever happened to him for all we know!
 
Totally agree. Our first boat was one that my wife would have preferred be sacrificed to the 'Lake Gods'. :grin:

We had a sailboat go down in our marina last year. It didn't get saved. As it turned out it was a 'preventable mechanical failure', so the insurance company didn't cover it. I don't know the specifics other than the owners didn't challenge their insurance company too much and just took the loss.
 
Boat at our marina (37' mainship aft cabin) sank in 3' of water b/c of a corroded air conditioner intake hose. Engines unaffected since the bow sank first and aft end raised a bit. This guy hounded the insurance company to "total" the boat, which they ultimately did. He got a check, the boat was sold to a nearby marina where it was refurb'd and ultimately re-sold. This guy was happy as a pig in poop. He should have never owned a boat and it's a wonder no one every got hurt aboard his boat.
 
If a boat sinks in the marina like the OP, what happens? I know the insurance will do there thing, but do boats get "totaled" more often than not? Is this boat fixable?
 
i had an odd situation happen on my dads first boat(26' bell boy)he bought the boat new,and he went to pick it up it wasn,t quite ready--two zinks had to be installed--my dad told em it's ok i'm putting it in the water to find the water line to bottom paint it. well,four weeks passed,my wife and i had just brought the boat back to morage area--when i tie a boat up i always tie in a spring line method--well my wife tied it this time and she tied all four corners tight---now this is in puget sound wa. 11-13' tides--i looked at it and thought thats cool it will work.(trying to give her a break)thank god she did tie all four corners-got a call from the marina-stateing my dads boat was sinking--when i got there you could pluck the lines like a banjo--the bilge had water just over top of starter--pumped it out ,and did a haulout--the little brass insert that went into the center of the rubber drain plug was eaten away--now do you remember me telling you about the zinks at the start of this--thats right !the electrolises ate that plug in 4 weeks--go figure !!

steven
 
do boats get "totaled" more often than not?
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Just like a car, depends on the cost to repair vs. value of the boat. Sometimes damage to electrical systems is too extensive from water and re-wiring the entire boat is cost prohibitive. Also, engine damage. How long was boat under water? were engines pickled in a timely manner? Has to be judged on a case by case basis.
 
When I was in high school, my Dad had a little Century Arabian. Cool little boat, and man I had a lot of fun with that thing.

On vacation once, we had a problem with the upper end of the out drive. So we yanked the boat out of the dock at the cabins, and proceeded to pull the out drive. At one point, we needed a hex socket, but didn't have one. We had the bright idea to take a bolt from the swim platform bracket, and use the head as the hex socket, which worked great. Got the drive repaired, installed, and floated the boat again. Everything was dandy.

Until the next morning, when the resort owner knocks on the cabin door, and tells us we have a problem at the dock. We had forgotten to reinstall that little hex bolt in the swim platform brace, and the boat sank. Just that fast. Like rusobr2's story, the dock lines were all that were holding it up at all. We got it leveled, got a sump pump in it, and got it empty enough to float it out and trailer it. Cleaned it up, etc., and used it for another few years before Dad traded it. Never had a problem from the incident.
 
That second pic with a water fall coming out the port cabin window is disturbing.

If you're gonna sink her, take her deep!
 
He was complaining that he had to pay $1800 to get it towed and fixed.

It's time to learn what B.O.A.T. stands for.

Break Out Another Thousand..........:grin:
 
Since I have joined the site I have heard about bellow leakage so much that I really started to worry about mine. I checked them today and I'm glad to say that they are in very good conditiond. No checks, stress marks, wear or discoloration.

I know the PO had the out drive rebuilt but I didn't know if they had replaced the bellow. Looks like they did.:smt038

Thanks for the heads up CSR members. Now I am relieved and don't have that sinking feeling.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
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