Did I kill my boat?

[papahobo]

It's been a bad summer for boating so far. First yellowjackets decide to build a nest in my boat, Then I finally get the boat out.. and... I'm about half a mile out on the lake and I smell something. I cut the engine and smoke starts rolling out of the engine compartment. Obviously it hasn't been getting water to cool. After I determine nothing is actually on fire, I wait for someone to tow me back.

Obviously this isn't much to go on, and I'm not a mechanic, and can't get it to one until next week. I did check to see if the engine would even turn over when I got back home - it does. So what is my worse case scenario here? How much damage have I done?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Did I kill my boat?

You sure didn't supply much information. electrical fire, impeller failure and ensuing exhaust system over heat/engine overheat etc!

difficult to tell without being there or seeing it!

It "sounds" like your raw water impeller failed and the exhaust system over heated. It usually burns rubber parts in the exhaust system that always have water flowing in them along with the exhaust. That usually happens before the engine overheats enough to damage it......did you happen to notice the engine temp?

If so, It's not the end of the world, you end up replacing those components that "burned" and the raw water impeller after you locate the failed impeller parts that sometimes get crammed downstream of the pump.

When was your raw water pump replaced last?

 

[captlee]

Re: Did I kill my boat?

Worse case scenario is the motor is junk, but dont assume that until your mechanic takes a look at it. I had a similar experince last year when a belt for the raw water pump broke and the temp gauge in my flybride wasnt working. Upon returning to my slip I immediately changed the oil, did a compressoin check, changed the plugs and made sure the cooling system was working correctly. It started up and runs fine, I guess it really depends on how long you ran it hot for. Hopefully your luck will be as good as mine was.

 

[papahobo]

Re: Did I kill my boat?

I'm not sure when the last time the water pump was replaced, i bought the boat used last year from a dealer.

When I checked the engine temperature after first noticing the smell it was reading 200+. Nothing actually caught on fire but there were some carpeted pieces that touched the engine that melted the carpet fibers. I thought for sure from the smoke and popping, crackling sounds I would see fire when I opened the engine compartment.

Not quite sure how long I ran it for , but I ran it low rpm's for a few minutes and then had the throttle about 1/3 to 1/2 for another 2-3 minutes.



Thanks for the replies.

 

[Don S]

Re: Did I kill my boat?

Best thing to do at this point is put it on muffs, start it and see what is happening. See if it will pump any water, and see if there are any exhaust hoses with holes burned in them.
If it doesn't pump water within about 15 to 30 seconds, shut it off. But that should be enough time to see how it runs and if the exhuast hoses are toast.

 

[papahobo]

Re: Did I kill my boat?

I didn't get to test it out, someone suggested checking out the thermostat, so we pulled off the housing and it had a lot of rusty black looking debris inside and below. Is there a way to flush all of the debris out of the system?

 

[jsmith3102]

Re: Did I kill my boat?

sounds like impellor pieces. Are they rubber?? If it is check your exhaust hose cause you probably melted it.

 

[papahobo]

Re: Did I kill my boat?

the little pieces of debris feel like metal.