The marina called this morning My boat is under water!!!!

H

Hotlanta

New Member
Oct 15, 2006
91
Alpharetta GA
Boat Info
270 SD 2005 -
Engines
496 I/O
I got a call this morning at 7AM it was the Marina security. My boat was taking on water and the engine was almost submerged.
I quickly asked my wife if someone knew anything about my boat being used while I was out of town this week. She told me my daughter and her husband used it tuesday.
What?
I called them and was told that they had a great day and pumped down the heat exchanger and closed it up. The shop called back and told me that they pumped it out and they still heard water running in. I told them to check the air relief valve on the heat exchanger. That was it.
Seems that there was still pressure in the valve and the raw water intake was auto siphoning into the bilge. Sea Ray did't put a seacock valve on my lake boat and when the bilge pump quit after running non-stop for several days the boat started sinking at the dock.
They hauled the boat this afternoon and flushed all the fluids and reinstalled the oil and cranked the engine and let it run to dry it out.

The only good news is US Boat had an adjusted come by today and agree to replace all the electronics and the starter , Alt,Batterys,trim motor, power stering pump and trim tab pump.

The repair Guy told me I should glad only the engine was under water. Yah Right.

Anyone have any advice? Should I contact Sea Ray about why the design left out a seacock on the fresh water intake. This seems like a huge "Design Flaw"


:smt100 :smt013
 
Was your HVAC installed at SeaRay or at MarineMax? I doubt SeaRay would allow that out the door and it is not ABYC compliant. I could see a dealer installed unit being that way.

On the engines, as long as the remediation work was done timely from the haul out there should be no problem. I've saved many in this lake the have suffered the same fate.
If you want an unbiased opinion feel free to call me. my number is in the link below.


Pat
 
Hotlanta
Sorry to hear it :smt089 Let us know what they find. How long was it under? With it being fresh water and getting dried out so fast how much damage was done to it???? Didn't you have a bilge heater? Was there any problem with your shore power setup?
 
I don't agree with it, but apparently sea cocks are not required on out drive boats where an impellor is in the lower unit......unless the owner makes a big enough fuss about it.
 
This is on the closed cooling system?
I could see a siphon being set up...sort of. The heat exchanger should be above the water line though. I'm really confused. I thought you were talking the HVAC .

Anyway, like I said the engine should be fine if it was flushed promptly after removal from the water. Replace/rebuild the electrical components and enjoy your boat.
 
Sorry to hear Hotlanta, but I am with Rob I am confused what went wrong. Could you tell us more so maybe others do not experience the same thing. :huh:

Good luck with everything...

Wesley
 
Re: The marina called this morning My boat is under water!!!

Hotlanta said:
.....I called them and was told that they had a great day and pumped down the heat exchanger and closed it up. The shop called back and told me that they pumped it out and they still heard water running in. I told them to check the air relief valve on the heat exchanger. That was it.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about you incident, that must have been an awful phone call.

BTW - What do you mean when you say "pump down the heat exchanger"?. I am not sure I follow you and I an curious.

Mark
 
The whole fresh water cooling system is OEM stock. The water pump impeller system is not in the lower unit it's a Bravo 3 unit. The water pump is front mounted on the Serpentine belt.
Although the heat exchanger is mounted above the engine belts the drain out system when preshurized drains into the bilge. Why is the real issue. If it drained overboard it would not have taken on water. The shop explained that the motor will auto siphon if the pressure is not completely released. The whole system is not protected if the boat is stored in the water and not dry stored. I don't understand why it is proper not to have a shut off on a through the hull fitting. What if it corrodes you should have a remedy.the biggest problem is the Shop thinks they will have to pull the engine to replace the starter. There is no clearance.
 
Guy's, I'll be soon storing my boat in a wet slip and I'd like a better undertstanding about this problem. I've never heard of this happening! What's the best way for it to be prevented?
 
Hotlanta.......sorry to hear about this problem. I believe you have the closed cooling on yours so I am not sure how low the drain point is for the heat exchanger and other things that need draining. On a raw water cooled boat like mine there is no provision to drain the block overboard is because the drain point is below water level inside the boat. But I do agree not having a Sea Cock is pretty silly too. I don't have one on my 260DA either so honestly there is no easy way to drain my block with the boat in the water because it has the conventional gravity drain. In order to do mine in the water you have to remove the hose comming from the outdrive and lift it above the water line.........yep you heard me right. :smt021 Now just picture the average person having to do that every time they wanted to drain their block on their boat in the water. :smt013 This kind of setup has a high risk for sinking your boat if something goes wrong. For sure Sea Ray should have a Sea Cock on our boats but they have chosen not to install one.

I don't know if you have electric at your dock but if you do I would install a bilge heater and forget about draining the heat exchanger in the future. I use a bilge heater on mine and there is no way I would ever risk draining my block with the boat still sitting in the water.
 
The raw water inlet hose comes from a low inaccessable point on the transom. I don't see how a seacock could be installed and accessable enough to be used on a regular basis unless the line was plumbed to a different location, through a seacock, and then to the raw water pump. Sounds like a simple winter project while the boat is on the hard. I don't know of many I/O boats that remain in the water in freezing conditions that would necessitate someone draining it everytime they leave the boat.
 
"Engine needs to be pulled" $$$$$ :smt089

How much of this will your insurance company cover for you? :smt017

Hopefully all! :thumbsup:

Keep us posted Roy.... :smt024
 
Roy,
Having had raw water in my engine after a bad incident. {Don't Ask}. Change the oil at least 3 times letting it run 30 minutes to an hour in between changes. This insures that all the moisture is evaporated and purged from all of nooks and crannies in the engine. Don't forget the filters. You don't want them to hold water and dump it back into your engine after you run it.

Doesn't the BravoIII have an impeller drawing water to the cooling system then the water pump is dedicated to circulation?

I'm really sorry to hear this. best of Luck.
 
Thanks for your kind responses, you feel my pain.
The insurance will pay for all repairs after the $600 deductible.
The adjuster seems to be decent and wants the job done complete. He asked about multiple oil changes and filters. I will have the impeller change out while they are doing the repairs.
I spoke to Marine Max today and thy never heard of this type of problem before. Strange!
The service Manager told me that the LAN Mar shop was an authorized Merc Repair center and that they would help them figure out weather the starter could be replaced without pulling the engine.
He adjuster told me that since they were already paying for the haul out that I should clean the bottom and paints the out drive. (Bravo III corrosion)
:smt021
 
Hi Stil

Yes I do.
When they pulled the boat up on the sling. I inspected the B III lower unit an saw corrosion around the Prop and on the top cover.
I will take some pictures Monday and post them.
 
Sorry you're having to go through this mess. Good thing you have a decent insurance guy. Was it Boat US?

It will be very interesting to hear the complete story from the mechanics, once they troubleshoot the whole thing. We'll all want to hear that one.
 
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