Boat Sunk, Now What?

[georgert]

I swear on a stack of bibles this was not me. My ski partner's boat however sank today (9.8.2020) in one of Utah's worst wind storms in years. The boat's still shiny side up at a slip on the reservoir and the plan is to try and get it out tomorrow. I didn't find too much help online, but can anyone point me to a step-by-step engine/components recovery plan? Some guidance to disassembly/cleaning/reassembly of a very waterlogged MC Prostar? Something I can pass on to him to refocus his mind. Right now he's either whimpering in the fetal position on the floor or passed out drunk... or both.

 

[UWSkier]

Insurance time.

[DangerBoy]

I have had old outboards fall off the dock and be submerged in several feet of (fresh) water and they were easy to revive and get started again. A modern boat with a modern engine with all the engine electronics and all the boat's electronics too is a very different story. I could give advice on what you'd need to do to get an old school motor with no electronics restarted but something as complicated and full of sophisticated electronics as a MC Prostar is orders of magnitude beyond my pay grade. The only comfort I can offer is that at least it's just fresh water intrusion and not saltwater. The motor and at least some of the electronics may be salvageable because of that. Wish I could help more. If I may speak for all on this forum, pass along our sympathy and best wishes from the people on the BOS forum.

[DanE]

Suggest immediate action getting engine and tranny internals flushed and lubed to prevent rust. That's the most time critical thing if it is to be salvaged.

[ReallyGottaSki]

I concur,

If one wants to save it

A couple cans of wd-40 fast can mitigate lots of damage to internals, most of the long term damage occures the days afterwards, like rings and cylinder walls,

Take plugs out and rotate engine by hand asap with lots of weinershlidin 40 and rotate daily.

 

Take the starter right off and give it same treatment.

 

But it's a long list..

 

[thager]

Had an old Hydrodyne that same exact thing happened to. Float it onto the strongest lift or trailer available. Lift is preferable as boat will literally weigh tons. Lift a little and bail out some water. Lift a little and bail. DO NOT even try to turn engine over!!!! You do not want to hydrolock engine. When water is removed float to trailer and get out of water. Take to a place it can dry out. It's going to sit for a while. Get fans etc. going moving, air is your friend to help dry it out. Remove all spark plugs and pump/siphon all the water you can out of every cylinder. Remove valve covers. Leave spark plugs removed. Drain oil.

Fill with fresh oil. Drain water from everything else you can then let boat sit to dry out. PM me. There is much more!!

[DanE]

@thager Totally agrree on not to hydrolock engine.

Do not agree on let it sit for a while.

The draining and replacing of fluids should take place asap.

Engine internals is actually better off if you leave the boat sunk until you have a plan and spare time to take action.

[LOTW]

If no insurance, a lot of the stuff previously stated but also run the thing and flush the oils a few times. Get some heat in there to help get rid of the moisture. Just pulled my old outboard up off the bottom the other day, it's a huge bummer but less work than anticipated.

[vtmecheng]

Does he have insurance for this?

[oldjeep]

If you have insurance

Step 1 - file a claim

Step 2 - let them haul it away

 

If you don't

Get the engine/trans drained out asap, pull the plugs. Put fluids back in, crank it over to get any water out of cylinders. Then put plugs back in and start it up. Then you need to keep draining and refilling the oil/trans fluid until it looks decent. Don't stop until you have gotten it all in a good state and can run the engine normally. Whatever you do, don't drain everything out and let it sit or the engine will be junk.

 

You are going to need a new starter, new alternator and you will be chasing electrical gremlins in the wiring and dash for the rest of the time you own the boat. - So you may just want to set it on fire now and save yourself the trouble.

[skiinxs]

Good advice above on the process, but very important. LEAVE IT UNDERWATER UNTIL YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO START IMMEDIATELY! I can't stress that enough. The corrosion when underwater is very slow, but once the air gets to it, it speeds up over ten fold.

[skihacker]

I have to go with @oldjeep on this, if it's insured for this call them. I really don't think there's any way you guys won't be chasing electrical gremlins for the rest of time. Actually easier to dry out the engine/trans/fuel system. The several miles of wiring and connectors and modules would be the hard part.

[Keith_Menard]

Caveat...yes, leave it under water until you can do all the things cited before...UNLESS IT IS SEEPING FUEL...Those costs can quickly outweigh even a new Nautique.

[lottawatta]

Disconnect battery as soon as possible to slow down corrosion. I am sure any good mobile marine mechanic can vacate the motor and trans of water where it is. If you are doing it yourself, need to get fresh oil circulated in the motor. Need to get it started if possible. If the electronics are shorted out and you cant get it started, you at least need to get the oil flowing by spinning the motor as much as you can. flush trans, same deal, need to get fresh fluid circulated. Drain the fuel tank. WD40 on all electrical connections.

[DW]

A couple of questions - what year MC to determine what level of electronics are underwater, that will lead you to understand future costs when non repairable electronic gizmos start to malfunction. Second and a key question as you note Utah, is it in salty or brackish water or is the water truly salt free? If anything less than raw, salt free water, the potential issues down the road increase dramatically.

[thager]

@DanE I wrote that at 0345 am. There is much to do before it sits. What I wrote is only a paragraph of a book that has to be accomplished. If he wants more he will contact me. Engine type, electronics, time available are all factors. If I did it again I would go the insurance route and let others handle it but I was a 20 yr old kid at the time and could only afford doing it myself. At some point that boat is going to sit. In my case it sat about three days before I could even get to it. I changed the oil like 5 times, transmission fluid at least 4 times. Fuel many times. When finished, I ran that boat another 10 years. Electronics were simple then but I had zero issues.

[Horton]

@georgert my understanding is if the boat has really been submerged it'll never be the same again. It will forever be plagued my odd electrical and electronic issues. To restore the boat I believe you actually have to strip out everything and start from scratch.

 

In other words just go get another boat.

[LeonL]

What some others said. You can handle the mechanical stuff, but the electronics are insurmountable. Like @Horton get another boat! I hope he has insurance.

[lakeaustinskier]

It depends on your insurance coverage. Many of you might remember pictures from when a windstorm flipped our marina last summer. We lost 9 boats. Fast forward a year later and every single boat that was underwater has either been restored or very close. We all kicked in insurance and the new owners bought the boats under a salvage title (we all bought another boat). Yes, those boats will always have a salvage title but my 2015 6 litre CC tournament team that the insurance company paid me $60,000 for was purchased for $14,500 by a young kid who has completely restored it. My point is, sure you can restore a boat but be careful of the numbers (the insurance company took the hit so someone got a deal). PM me if you want more details about what the kid had to do to restore the boat.

 

 

[BraceMaker]

For flushing - even oil is too much money - get a 5 gallon can of kerosene or diesel dump your oil dump the oil filter (reinstall it primed with fresh oil for now not worth a new one yet) - then pour kerosene into both valve covers to fill the engine completely to the top with kerosene and move on to the cylinders - and you can put kerosene into a windex bottle and start spraying into the plug holes.

 

Water will settle out of the kerosene to the bottom so you should pull the drain hose and drop a quart or so out into a clear container and if you watch it settle you'll know once you have the water out of the engine. If you have an oil pump priming tool or can make one you can also pull the distributor and circulate the kerosene through the oil passageways - makes for a lot less $ in oil flushing.

 

Works in the trans too.

 

For all the electric bits best bet is to spray them down wiht something like contact cleaner or denatured alcohol and then pray for the best.

 

[teammalibu]

@thager weren’t boats mostly steam powered when you were in your 20s?

See you next Thursday!

[elr]

Would only use a sunk boat in a private ski ditch . . .

[thager]

@teammalibu You tell me! You retired first! Mirror and Hooey on the way!

[LOTW]

Yes and no on the electrical, remember that it's a boat and designed to live and operate in and around water and moisture. Lots of boats and sleds sunk around here and still running. I do agree that the newer electronics may make it more of a problem but possibly the opposite.

Good luck! Get it up and running then use it lots.

[owennibley]

I've rebuilt a couple sunk boats. Water sat in them for too long and the engines had to be rebuilt so don't wait to get the water out of the engine. With regards to electrical, it depends. Newer boats with touch screen, zero off, etc will most likely be problematic but honestly, I've had minimal electrical problems with the boats that I've worked on. Now, I'm not saying electrical problems could arise in the future because of the exposure to water but my opinion is just drain the water from the engine and fuel systems, dry the boat out and try it.

[aupatking]

If it’s a 2014 or newer, it’s trash. I’ll pick it up anytime he’s available.

I like pulling the plugs and Marvel Mystery Oil in the Cylinders, and Corrosion X on everything on the outside.

[Orlando76]

Pre 1993: sell it to a wrenchhead.

Post 1993:

Or

 

[escmanaze]

@georgert I'm very sorry to hear this. I'm in Utah, parents in Farmington and a sibling in Bountiful as well as a coworker downtown. Yes, yesterday was a CRAZY day!! Oddly enough we were fairly calm in Draper. I wish you guys the best of luck.

 

Out of morbid curiosity, can I ask what lake he was at and how it went down?

[6balls]

Insurance claim, get a new boat. Will be a headache forever.

[Lovell]

Contact the insurance company ASAP. Let them deal with it and everything that comes with including salvage pollution concerns, etc. Start shopping for a new boat. This is why you pay your premium.

[adkh2oskier]

If you have Insurance then definitely let them determine if this is a total loss. Better to just get a new or new to you boat with the proceeds. Future head aches avoided with electrical issues.

[Dobrodan]

I'm surprised noone has mentioned the flotation foam in the hull. Depending on the age and construction of the boat this may be your biggest issue. It can be like a sponge and may never dry out. My skiing buddy has a '90 Prostar that sank in Floyd (1999). It is still running great but lists to starboard, so not any good for the course. The foam never dried out and it is heavier on the driver's side. The electrical and mechanical issues are no big deal, just stuff to deal with.

[oldjeep]

The mechanical issues are no big deal. The electrical will cause gremlins forever unless the entire wiring harness is replaced. Curious if a modern Prostar has flotation foam - not required in boats >= 20 ft

[sixball]

Plus one on "The mechanical issues are no big deal. My thoughts on the electrical might be to pull as much of the wiring harness and let it bake in a very low temp oven a day or more. But that is the best bet for issues ECU's switches all the other electrical. Many long term gremlins can be water inside the wire insulation. If you could get them dry who knows?

[MDB1056]

So sorry to hear if this. It’s what any boat owner dreads. As much work as I’ve put into my boat if it goes down, that’s what insurance is for. Mine would also go WAY down, as I took all the foam OUT when I re did the flooring and stringers. What a mess but now so much cleaner below deck and was essential for the job. Hopefully you get a nice check and can enjoy boat shopping!

[Orlando76]

@MDB1056 I hate to say it but now you took the foam out, Insurance has strong leg to stand on to not pay you.

 

If it’s an older boat with no electronics, no EFI. Pull engine open and clean it and oil, tranny too. Wiring harness was likely becoming toast at this point anyways so just start over with a new one. If it’s got foam, start cutting it out. I dont see how this would be a total loss no matter what year boat.

[MDB1056]

@Orlando76 - Foam had to come out to do the restoration job. Wasn't optional as anyone that's done that level of repair will attest. Based on the age of my boat (92), not being a high value, in the rare event of a catastrophic accident resulting in sinking there's not a carrier out there that would spend 5 minutes vacillating on whether or not to total it, let alone take the time and incredible effort required to cut open and remove the fiberglass and flooring to look for foam just on the off chance that it might not be there, and then consider whether or not that may or may not have prevented. The boat and trailer are riders on my HO coverage at stated value, I've read the language in detail and there is no specifying or restrictive language. If this were a $250K Donzi I'd agree with you 100%. For this low value item though if it sank they wouldn't give it a thought. Cost/benefit.