Hull Full of Rainwater

[tablerockboater]

I have noticed others have done this same, sorta-dumb, thing.

We have a 20-foot fiberglass deckboat with a 150 Merc OB.

It has always (14 years) been on a lift in a covered dock, but over this past winter I stored it on a trailer. I had both a water-proof plastic and cloth fiber cover.

Unfortunately, the plastic cover broke and the hull filled with rainwater, since I had not thought to pull the transom plug. We discovered this the other day, and have drained the hull.

What should we been concerned about . . . damaged bilge pump, water-contaminated fuel tank, etc. ?

Thanks.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Hull Full of Rainwater

How many months has this water sat inside your boat? How deep was the water inside? Depending on how much water you had in there, you may have destroyed your hull through the expanding ice that was there. However if you are talking about a few gallons of water I don't think you have any problems. Really depends on how much water you are talking about, maybe snap some close up pictures of the area so we can see what you see. Have you filled the boat with some water to see if you have any leaks? As you now know, it's a good idea to remove the plug anytime you store the boat, you can always put some steal wool in the hole to keep critters out and let any that is inside out.

 

[tablerockboater]

Re: Hull Full of Rainwater

Thanks.

Last November til now. Mild winter.

21-foot fiberglass deck boat. We figure the hull was full, or close to.

The fuel tank is in there somewhere. Any chance water could have gotten into it?

We're ready to put the boat in the water.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Hull Full of Rainwater

Thanks.

Last November til now. Mild winter.

21-foot fiberglass deck boat. We figure the hull was full, or close to.

The fuel tank is in there somewhere. Any chance water could have gotten into it?

We're ready to put the boat in the water.

Define what is a mild Winter? No freezes at all?

Your flotation was soaking in water and chances are it has also absorbed water.

The only way to check for water in the fuel tank is check it.

You have some real investigating to do.........

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Hull Full of Rainwater

What year model is your boat?

You can buy a water separating fuel filter for your boat in case water got in the fuel tank.

You should open all of the compartments in your boat and let it dry in the sun for as long as possible.

 

[BonairII]

Re: Hull Full of Rainwater

Def open up the boat the best you can and let the sun do it's thing. The flotation foam is probably waterlogged unfortunately.

 

[tablerockboater]

Re: Hull Full of Rainwater

We put it in the lake (and it stayed on the surface) and took a little spizz.

It's on the lift now, so can dry out all it wants.

A side note, we have solar electricity on our dock, and over the winter I connected all my over-wintering batteries to it. I had the two from the solar system, two deep-cycle trolling, the boat cranking battery, and the golf cart battery. All did fine.