2012 fd 198 w/yamaha f150 sunk overnight

cuttysark

why did my boat sink

rdcastle

nquirk said:

@cuttysark.  That's terrible news and sorry to hear.  Hopefully your insurance will cover the recovery and the motor.  I'm not familiar with Seatow, etc however its very important that any submerged boat, when recovered should have the engine addressed within hours.   Any company doing that type of recovery should be aware of that.  The guy at Ronnie's was right, it would've been better at the bottom for a few more days instead of raised and exposed without proper treatment. 

I truly hope you come out on the winning end of this.

Take from my very recent personal experience that IF the engine is flushed properly, it needs to be operated for at LEAST 8-10 hours to have any chance of avoiding corrosion damage to the bottom bearing (and top bearing) on the crankshaft. I am getting ready to write a check for $3500 to pay for the top to bottom rebuild I had to have done on my 2001 GS201 (including a new crankshaft). All due to the previous owner allowing the boat to float off the lift during Hurricane Isbel, having the bottom beaten out of it and sinking, and not having the engine properly flushed and operated long enough, and then letting it sit. The broker indicated when I asked re: the damaged railings that "a big ole pine tree fell on it". The railings were actually damaged by the boat being trapped under the owner's boat house during Hurricane Irene. In a small town environment, somebody always knows the truth. The fiberglass repair folks and local mechanic filled me in, unfortunately AFTER I bought the boat. Caveat Emptor.

rcgreat

I'm sorry, Did a under deck hose come off? Drain plug?

nquirk

@cuttysark.  Sorry to hear about your boat.

There are several reasons for this but unfortunately without seeing the boat its tough to determine.

First place to always look is the plug.  If that's intact, then start looking at all the inlet or outlet ports on your boat.  This includes the intake for a livewell pump (I've seen these come loose from their housing and then the water floods in), its return outlet, the scupper on the side, the outlet for your bilge pump.

Another common problem (I've seen it twice this summer already that unfortunately didn't end up in a sinking as it was caught in time) was failure of the auto switch or float switch on the bilge pump.  Water taken on from rain continues to collect while its sits at dock for many weeks and never gets removed.

Again, these are some suggestions.  Hopefully you can raise the boat and get everything back in order and find the cause quickly.

cjjjdeck

Without being there, it's hard to comment.  Is it recoverable (I assume it is because it was probably docked)?    Once the cause is determined (I assume you're getting it to your dealer), the members of this forum would really appreciating you sharing the outcome!

Capt_Steve

@cuttysark ... so sorry to hear this. Keep us posted on what's happening.

fldanny

@cuttysark you only have 1 post to this forum. Im hoping your not trying to hoax us...if not that sorry to hear. Def keep us posted

pmracing

Got me curious also because my bilge is cutting on every several hours.  I'd have a heart attack if I came out and the boat was sunk....hoping this is a hoax.....

cuttysark

went fishing Saturday morning left my dock @ 7:30 was back @ 12:30, I figured I'd leave the boat tied to dock and go fishing the next day. it rained over night I woke up sunday morning  7:30 to a sunk boat!got in the water plug was in, don't know if the bilge came on and could not keep up or did not turn on at all . don't think it should of sunk just from rain.

pmracing

Geez......now that is spooky... Was the main power shut off? I'm not sure if the bilge will cut on if the main power cut off is turned off?????

nquirk

@cuttysark, you're correct, it shouldn't sink from rain.  I've seen a boat sit for a month taking on rain and no auto bilge and it was still floating.  One rainfall, regardless of how severe couldn't be the cause.  Please keep us posted on the status and potential cause and if we can assist in helping you remedy this once floated, we're here to help.

@pmracing, the bilge pumps on the Hurricanes have 2 power sources.  The first is connected via the bilge switch and requires the main to be on.  However, it also has a secondary power source (will have an inline fuse as well) that will operate the float switch to come on automatically, regardless of the position of the main power switch.

Possible reasons that these auto bilge pumps don't kick in:

- drained/dead battery

- faulty float switch on the pump

- failed pump

- upon disconnect/reconnect of battery terminals, some leaves this wire off the positive terminal

- (most common) failure of the inline fuse (via blown fuse or corrosion in the fuse holder) preventing power source from working

cuttysark

the rest of the story.  was in shock tried to bail out with bucket didn't work. wife went to neighbors house (they also own a HURRICANE a FD226) they lent us a submersible pump it didn't do much. we decided to call SEATOW they arrived @ 1100  they said it  would cost $3700 to get it out. I called insurance company to ask if we should leave it in or get it out. they could not answer the question they transferred me to another dept. recorded message said to call back during regular business hours. seatow people said they had no problems with ins paying,we take out boat pickle motor, it'll work out  (hope they are right). it took them @ 2.5 hours gas powered pump, come a long, and ropes tied from my sunk boat to their boat. Towed to boat ramp 12 houses down loaded on trailer. hauled it home paid sea tow $4,007.00 (it took longer than expected) rinsed motor and boat. called INS. Monday morning they said  they would call me back, they called back @ 1130 told me to get to mech as soon as possible to pickle motor. left work called RONNIES MARINE,(very helpful) told me to bring it on in. got the boat there service manager asked when boat was removed from water, I told him @ 2;30 Sunday. he told me sorry its to late to save motor, it would have been better to remove batteries and leave boat submerged till Monday so it could go straight to a mech and get pickled. I think seatow should have recommended this they did not, I think they just wanted to make the $4,007.00. boat is still @ RONNIE'S motor total loss, INS is sending Adjuster from Houston to evaluate the boat.

nquirk

@cuttysark.  That's terrible news and sorry to hear.  Hopefully your insurance will cover the recovery and the motor.  I'm not familiar with Seatow, etc however its very important that any submerged boat, when recovered should have the engine addressed within hours.   Any company doing that type of recovery should be aware of that.  The guy at Ronnie's was right, it would've been better at the bottom for a few more days instead of raised and exposed without proper treatment. 

I truly hope you come out on the winning end of this.

 

rdcastle

cuttysark said:

went fishing Saturday morning left my dock @ 7:30 was back @ 12:30, I figured I'd leave the boat tied to dock and go fishing the next day. it rained over night I woke up sunday morning  7:30 to a sunk boat!got in the water plug was in, don't know if the bilge came on and could not keep up or did not turn on at all . don't think it should of sunk just from rain.

My 2001 FD GS 201 w/ Yamaha 150 V6 2 stroke sits in boat lift all season WITHOUT a cover and i check it every couple days, especially after it rains. I have never had enough rain water accumulation to sink it and most of time the pump cant even find enough to pick up suction. You more than likely have a bad fitting (my neighbor almost sank his boat when the through-hull scupper drain plastic fitting failed). Joyfully, they are all so easy to get to (NOT). Good Luck!

Capt_Steve

@rdcastle... you should be able to get a scupper drain fitting if you need one from your local dealer. If not, say the word, and we'll track one down for you.