Hello and Need Help

[SeaRay215]

Hello all! I am a former member of SRO... glad to have found this new site and to see many familiar "faces". Although I did not post much, I always received excellent information when I did... I really could use some advice as I received a call from my marina that my 2004 Weekender developed a "significant" leak and took on quite a bit of water. Apparently the cabin had a significant amount of water in it. I will not be able to get out to the boat until Thursday (it's slipped 2.5 hours from my residence), but the marina stated that there are no obvious signs of damage, and that it may be a structural issue. They hauled the boat and have begun the cleaning process and will be inspecting the entire boat over the next few days. Since it sounds like it was not hit by another vessel, the only thing I can think of is that perhaps the bellows developed a leak and the bildge pump couldn't keep up and eventually burned out? Any thoughts on what I shuld look for when I review the boat?

Thanks!

 

[chuck1]

Hello all! I am a former member of SRO... glad to have found this new ..... but the marina stated that there are no obvious signs of damage, and that it may be a structural issue.
Thanks!

Welcome aboard :smt001 glad you found us, sorry your first post had to be one about a problem. Why did the marina think it may be a structural issue? Is your slip covered? Has it rained a lot? How often is the boat checked? Sorry for so many questions :smt009

 

[STIHLBOLTS]

Have you been in contact with your insurance company. Might want to get them out for a inspection. Sorry I can't offer any obvious things to look for. :smt017

 

[fwebster]

A bellows leak is certainly a possibility. The bilge pump is wired with a constant 12V so it would cycle on every time the float switch told it to. Eventually, the battery would run down. I tend to think you are more correct then whoever guessed at structural damage. A hole that big in the hull boud have been preceded by a "lick" of some sort. If it happened while the boat was in operation, you'd have felt it. If it had happened while the boat was untended, then there would be obvious signs of damage, however, a collision with another boat would almost certainly be above the waterline, unless a submarine hit you.

Dry the boat out and find the leak, then decide how to proceed. However, call your insurance company immediately and tell them you have a partially sunk boat, that you have had it hauled to stop the leaking, and are proceeding to dry the boat to minimize damage.....all of which you are required to do under most marine policies.Then tell the insurance company that you will be intouch with them as soon as you determine the cause and extent of damage.

These situations while scary, are usually are not that expensive to handle on a smaller boat, so get an idea of how much is going to be involved in the fix before filing a claim. Your deductible and losing a no-loss credit may cost more than the repairs do.

Sorry your are having to deal with this one..............

 

[SeaRay215]

Thanks for the replies guys... I have contacted my insurance company to let them know that I have been informed that there is a problem. They told me to call them once I have met with the marina and viewed the boat first hand. The person that called from the marina said that they have only just hauled the boat and that they have not found an obvious reason for the leak, like a collision, but that they will be searching in more detail over the next couple of days and felt that it could be structural, but did not provide any additional detail. Our slip is not covered, and although it has been a wet year, the boat was about "half-full" of water, more than rain could account for. My brother in law was at the boat about two weeks ago but did not open the cabin at that time, but also never mentioned that the boat was listing or anything appeared out of the ordinary other than it was not in it's normal slip spot, but rather a few away... this is not uncommon, as we are slipped "in-line" near the service area of the marina/dealer and sometimes the boats get temporarily "shuffled" when new boats are launched or boats are retrieved for service.

Sorry about the long posts. :smt001

 

[chuck1]

Looks like you got some good comments. Let us know how it works out.

 

[SeaRay215]

Went to review the boat today... good news! The damage was not nearly as severe as we anticipated, or at least how I took it when I first got the call (pure panic). Looks as though our suspicion that there was a leak in the bellows was true. It was a slow leak that filled the bilge... water also made its way into the cabin, about 2-3 inches deep in the "footwell" area, actually the bildge in the rest of the boat. About 50 gallons was pumped out. The marina/dealer did an excellent job of cleaning the cabin. They said they pulled the boat immediately upon noticing that the boat was sitting slightly low in the water. They will be checking the starter and rebuilding or replacing if necessary (it sits on the bottom of the motor on this model and was partially submerged).They have had the boat opened up in heated storage since they pulled it, so it has dried out very nicely.

Sounds like we were lucky and have a great marina/service/cleaning crew that kept an eye on things and took action at the first sign of trouble. Thanks for the replies and advice and kudos to them! :smt038

 

[chuck1]

Great new. :smt038

 

[CmpCAW]

SeaRay 215, Glad to hear the damage was minimal. It may be someone else, but if I remember correctly, your boat was kept somewhere in Alex Bay, NY, and you were selling it and getting out of boating temporarily. It that was you, glad to hear your still a SR owner.

 

[Freebyrdjason]

Glad to hear it was not something horrible and expensive and that the damage was real minimal. Happy Boating! :smt038