Could I have damaged my boat?

[JoeJITSU]

Brought my family out on my 93 bayliner capri to lake mead and thank god about 100 feet out my son noticed that there was water coming in quick. I turned on the bilge pump and did a 180 degree turn and emptied the boat. Thank god my family was alright. Then as soon as we put the boat back on the trailer and went up the ramp it took approximately 3-4 hours before the boat was finally empty. Could I have damaged anything? I want to bring the family out again and of course I will have to take more precautions from now on. That was a wake up call for sure...especially on my Birthday.

 

[duscarter]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

Put it on the muffs in the driveway and see if it will start. It has been my experience that the starter is the first thing to when they take water on. Good Luck.

 

[bad_boy]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

Brought my family out on my 93 bayliner capri to lake mead and thank god about 100 feet out my son noticed that there was water coming in quick. I turned on the bilge pump and did a 180 degree turn and emptied the boat. Thank god my family was alright. Then as soon as we put the boat back on the trailer and went up the ramp it took approximately 3-4 hours before the boat was finally empty. Could I have damaged anything? I want to bring the family out again and of course I will have to take more precautions from now on. That was a wake up call for sure...especially on my Birthday.

Yeah, but what did you do forget to put the plug in? You never say what the problem was... 3-4 hours, I can't imagine getting that much water in the boat in such a short period of time...

 

[chris269]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

I couldn't imagine it being the plug. If it took 3 or 4 hrs to drain it would have taken that long to fill up.

 

[QC]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

Sounds like drive bellows, I/O ?

 

[cpubud]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

3 to 4 hours for the water to run out ? thats a lot of water ,what size boat is this that holds that much water?

 

[FSTHUH]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

holly crap I though I had it bad.....did you guys hit anything?? Where is the watter coming from?

 

[JoeJITSU]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

Well it took about an hour and the rest of the 3 hours it was dripping. It was just the plug. We had it on the water for approximately 15 minutes. The starter was not affected.

 

[QC]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

If there were no components, reservoirs or electrical connections under water, then you did not hurt anything but your ego. I would've put the plug in while on the water, let the pump do it's thing and gone boating . . .

 

[milehighboater]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

I forgot the plug I just turned on the bilge and went swimming. It took a minuite but I found that plug, it was better than sinking the boat. I didn't need my thermos of coffee after that morning.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

I am so scared of forgetting that.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

Next time you put it in I would certainly make sure it was the plug, I am with the others, that sounds like ALOT of water for no longer than it was in.

I never take my plug out so I can't forget to put it in and I have an alarm on my 2nd bilge pump(slightly higher than the primary pump) so if it does come on I know right away something isn't right.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

I never take my plug out so I can't forget to put it in. you can't do that in FL, even with a cover. just towing home in a rainstorm. we got 5 inches in an hour yesterday.

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

Put a spring-clip on the boat's keychain. When the plug isn't in the boat clip it to the keychain.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

spray down everything with WD-40..Then buy a bottle of CORROSION BLOCK and repeat. doubtful anything was damaged in that short of time. And yes , a boat will fill with water faster than drain. the pressure of the hull will allow water to enter faster than drain, Mistakes happen. Happy Birthday.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

how high was the water? was it over the floorboards, or still underneath the floor?

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

In 20 years of boating, I forgot the plug once. I was shocked to how much water came in before I got the boat off of the trailer! Now the plug goes in at home during the warm up (prior to launching).

 

[JimKW]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

I never leave my plug out. When I get home I take the plug out, wait for the water to drain if there is any and then put it back in. If it has rained since the last time I went out, I will pull the plug before leaving the house just in case and then put it back in. I never leave it out.

 

[bigbad 4cyl x2]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

Put a spring-clip on the boat's keychain. When the plug isn't in the boat clip it to the keychain.

best idea ever

 

[Al Bee]

Re: Could I have damaged my boat?

My plug is attached to my engine oil drain with a series of cables/ties. I too had a sinking sensation not long ago. I put the boat in the water, wife and kids on board, I then parked the truck and trailer about a 8min walk away, then walked back to the slip the boat was in, kids and wife waiting patiently for me, I sit down facing the stern and noticed that the water had seeped under the doghouse and was coming up the floor. I raced into action, my wife is a newb, and didn't realize what was happening. I was able to beach the boat, and with the bilge on and two kids bailing the floor out, it took about 20 minutes to empty it. The alternator and starter were pretty close to being submerged, no harm done tho, It started and ran like a champ. It was nice that the plug was attached to the oil drain tho, just leaned down and bolted it in. The wife and I had a good chuckle, 'cause I had procrastinated about that plug all week, and we had joked about the key float with the "is the plug in?" slogan on it a couple of days before. Had fun the rest of the day tho!