well we splashed her - day from hell

[tawcat]

well wouldn't ya know the day we were to splash our '05 320 was the worst day yet this winter. boat was already loaded and on the way, so there was no turning back. little rock was supposed to get a light drizzzle, turned out we got 3-4 hours of sleet!!!!

by the time the boat hauler showed up at the ramp, the poor girl looked like an isicle, admiral was not happy!

knew we'd get through that, a little soap and water and all would be well. one has to assume the hauler knew what he was doing. he backed her in and we fired up the engines. no discharge!!!!! the twins were not picking up water. crap!!!! admiral by now is in tears.

our marina is 13 miles from this ramp. saving grace, there is a marina close by. so we fired up the engines, running one at a time so as not to overheat. got to the marina and tied up. left her there overnight. we spent the night aboard our good friends 320. Next morning he said, lets go get your boat. so we motored down to the marina where we left her. dropped fenders and tied her to the side. thought this better than towing. about 2 hours later we arrived at our harbor. again, fired engines one at a time to get her into her new home. spent the day cleaning all the icy weather debris off her.

will meet the mechanic in the morning, have to replace impellers. so here we are, a new boat to us and already a major repair. the hauler called me the next morning telling me was at beaver lake picking up a rinker and it had the same problem. so possibly when the engines were drained they weren't drained all the way and something froze.

the broker we bought from is being very gracious and is going to split the repair bill with us. guess we can't ask for much else.

sheesh. will keep ya'll updated.

 

[barryg]

If that's the worst of it you're going to be in good shape...and at least you'll learn how to replace the impellers.

It's a great boat, and I'm sure you and your Admiral will have many wonderful adventures!!

Keep us in the loop.

Barry

 

[Four Suns]

will meet the mechanic in the morning, have to replace impellers. so here we are, a new boat to us and already a major repair.

Replacing the impellers is *not* a "major repair". That would be like saying wiping your butt after taking a poop was "major surgery". If my wife cried everytime I had to replace an impeller,... well... she'd be crying a lot. It's just part of boating.

 

[Newbie]

You did check the seacocks to be sure they were opened, right? Probably a dumb question but I figured I'd throw it out there. At least its not an expensive repair. SB

 

[tawcat]

seacocks?

 

[Sea Gull]

Seacocks. Also sometimes called through hull valves. Those yellow handles in the bilge that keep lake water from entering the boat.

Tell your dealer that you will foot the bill for the major repairs and insist that he provide several hours of orientation and training for you and your wife.

 

[Four Suns]

seacocks?

Surely you are joking....

 

[tawcat]

i am meeting the mechanic this morning. four suns, wish i were joking. the dealer never said a word about seacocks! my instructions from him were, put the boat in the water, fire the engines and check to make sure i was getting exhaust discharge!!!!!

never did anyone say a word about seacocks!!!! so i can call me stupid for not knowing, i can call the dealer names for not mentioning that. but first thing this morning i will check to see if they are open. if not, the dealer is going to pick up the repair tab.

question; if they winterized her, after draining the engines would they have shut the seacocks off? if so why didn't they mention this? surely this is not an assumed issue, is it?

i'll keep ya'll posted!

damn i feel stupid!

 

[Four Suns]

Well... I don't know what they did when they winterized your boat. If they filled the raw water circuit with antifreeze, the seacocks would be closed so the antifreeze wouldn't drain out. Closing the seacocks when you leave the boat for an extended period of time is normal. That way if you get a hose leak, the boat won't sink. It's especially a good idea to close them when you leave the boat in the water (assuming not winterized) in the winter as if the water in the raw water circuit freezes, it can break a clamp/hose and sink your boat.

The opening and closing of seacocks is a normal operation thing with an inboard boat. You should have also inspected the strainers for debris since this is a new boat to you. I would become very familiar with the raw water circuit on the boat as it is not a "set it and forget it" item but is something you have to check everytime before you go turn on the ignition keys. You can pick things up like a plastic grocery bag, sea weed, etc. and it'll clog the water circuit and smoke an impeller as well.. Sometimes you have to stop while underway and drift around for a few minutes to clean junk out of the strainers. These are not "repairs" but operational items you need to know.

Saying that... Most of us have closed the seacocks and forgot to open them and smoked an impeller or two... but it's one of those things that you know exactly what happened when the engine starts to overheat and scream out "DAMN IT!!! I'M AN IDIOT"... and proceed to blame the wife, kids, and dogs for distracting you.

You do need to spend some time getting familiar with the boat...

 

[Four Suns]

Not to make your day or anything... since you ran your boat with no raw water flow, there are other things you may have damaged..

You need to have the shaft seals looked at now as they are lubricated/cooled by the raw water flow as well. No lubrication on those and running the boat can/will cause them to fail. Also, I'm not sure what could have happened to the risers/exhuast system since it had no cooling either...

Regardless of what other people tell you, you should not run an inboard boat in gear with no raw water flowing even if the coolant temp looks ok.

 

[tawcat]

gary thanks for that info. this is our first ownership of inboards and probably due to my ignorance did not know the right questions to ask. you can be assured that from now on i'll be checking stariners etc before getting underway. we did check the strainers to make sure they were clogged so at least we did one thing right!

i'd love to see a before and after operation checklist posted.

keeping fingers crossed that the only damage is smoked impellers!!!!

thanks again for all the great info. these boards are such a wealth of boating knowledge.

 

[Four Suns]

I assume you mean "unclogged"... ;-) Clogging your sea strainers before you leave the dock is not recommended.

 

[Four Suns]

So here's another observation...

If you were able to open your strainers and check them... the seacocks would have to be closed at that point or you would have flooded the bilge.

 

[tawcat]

lol, yes i meant unclogged! when i get down there the first thing i am going to check is the seacocks. of course, the impellers will still have to be replaced, no doubt they are fried!

think i'll title this day as "okay, i'm a dumbass" monday!

 

[Four Suns]

Some people here refer to it as the "stupid tax"... it should be category in Quicken (if you use that).

 

[comsnark]

You can create categories in quicken. I have a category for "expensive women".
One could argue that this category is really a "stupid tax" category.

 

[Pirate]

You can create categories in quicken. I have a category for "expensive women".
One could argue that this category is really a "stupid tax" category.

There are sub-categories as well.

 

[Bottom Line]

Stan....sorry to hear your day of excitement, became the day from hell. Hope all turns out ok....keep us posted.

 

[aquadancer]

Tawcat - I hope that your damages are limited to fried impellers. At least you know you're starting the season with brand new impellers.

I suggest you inspect your shaft seals. They are pretty sensitive to running dry for any extended time. Were you freewheeling during the two hour tow to your marina or where your shafts locked in place?

 

[wish2fish]

When your dropping some serious coin with the dealer shouldn't they provide you with a launch education, test drive with your boat, etc? I had it with my first Sea Ray and got it with the last (my second).