Nearly Sank Boat, need advice on getting it sorted

fi.na.tine · **Posted:** Wed Dec 31, 2014 7:58 pm

Good job making it back - also good to hear insurance should pick up the tab.

+1 on the radio. Not only for communication, but for ongoing weather reports. I usually turn mine to the weather station as we are prepping to leave. However - Weather here is generally really predictable.

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

Holy Cow....glad the motor didn't stall. I'm not sure how the figure it on boats but you may want to check with insurance company on the flooded motor issue. If you have anyway of documenting water level in engine compartment, it may be wise.

I know they don't pay for something not broken, but my concern would be bearings. That crank turning for that long with water in oil may lead to bearing failure. Maybe OK, but might be an issue to talk to them about in case probs come up.

I do know there is an oil flush process for motors and trannies on vehicles and may be worthwhile in your case.

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

Making it thru that in a bowrider says a hell of a lot for you at the helm. Good job getting everyone back!

My family would have been in panic mode for sure...as would I with water to the knees in an I/o drive.

meinmelb · **Posted:** Thu Jan 01, 2015 2:41 am

TX H210SS wrote:

Making it thru that in a bowrider says a hell of a lot for you at the helm. Good job getting everyone back!

My family would have been in panic mode for sure...as would I with water to the knees in an I/o drive.

Yep Family was a little shaken but it all happened so fast there was no real time to panic. I sailed competitive off shore racing in my youth and we have sailed through serious sh1t before but in bigger boats and more prepared. A calm skipper always puts the crew at ease.....( even when they are soiling their pants as well!)

meinmelb · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:14 am

Update:

Insurance has sent an assessor to look at the boat. So far he has agreed to most of the work on the motor, replacing the stereo equipment, dash gauges, steering and gear shift cables, gimbal bearing, bow cover. Starter motor has now died, alternator was charging intermittently, gimball bearing is grinding, dash gauges have died, stereo is fried..... But if you charge the battery over night, slam the starter with a hammer when turning the key it will run all morning as long as you don't turn it off :twisted:

Several boat industry people have suggested the boat should be written off because the wiring and general boat construction of the boat is not designed to withstand salt water submersion. If it was a Sea-ray or Cobalt maybe but not this model Four Winns ( no tinned wiring loom, no waterproof loom connections, exposed wiring etc). BUT economics decide.... and it is cheaper to repair what will reasonably be effected by dunking in salt water and leaving the rest...

So for the second time this year the motor is coming out and the leg is being removed. At least I will not have to pay for a service this year as everything will be new after this. :roll:

ric · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:37 am

meinmelb wrote:

Several boat industry people have suggested the boat should be written off because the wiring and general boat construction of the boat is not designed to withstand salt water submersion. If it was a Sea-ray or Cobalt maybe but not this model Four Winns ( no tinned wiring loom, no waterproof loom connections, exposed wiring etc).

This is correct. If the boat is not written off as soon as it's fixed sell it or trade it in for another vessel. Within 6 months you'll be replacing the whole electrical system.

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2015 11:37 am

Anyone with a bowrider esp with non self bailing decks has to think about this. I always keep the bow cover on when the water is rough, or when I venture out into Long Island Sound. I am going to talk to my 'glass guy about making a removable cover for the bow area. I would like for it to be made in 3 sections. One that basically covers each bow seat area and a center section in line with the center opening window that can lift up so you can access the bow for mooring/anchoring. We rarely use the bow seats anyway.
In the mean time I have made a very strong support for the bow cover. Going to add a 2nd one this year. I bet if you added additional snaps, made a new cover out of thicker material and made 2 supports using a piece of plywood under the cover (triangular shaped like those cover supports with the straps) to support without it getting torn by the weight of the water, the boat would be a lot safer. That and get a much bigger bilge pump and keep the OE one as a back up. So you could add a 2,000 GPH pump and keep the 1100 gph as a back up.
Still can't believe they sell these boats with the warning labels for everything else etc and then that little pitiful 500 gph pump and no warning about water over the bow....

One last thing, I leave my VHF radio on the weather station all the time. If there are any storms, it beeps a very loud warning, no matter what the volume on the radio is set to. Really gets your attention. If you are in an area with weather reports such as this available from marine radio, GET A VHF and use it....

Thanks to the University of Ct, we also have this:
5 weather monitoring buoys across LI Sound. I look at this before I leave and even check it with the phone if I have service on the boat.....

http://www.mysound.uconn.edu/wlisgw_wx.html

http://www.weather.gov/okx/

meinmelb · **Posted:** Tue Feb 03, 2015 8:30 pm

LouC wrote:

I bet if you added additional snaps, made a new cover out of thicker material and made 2 supports using a piece of plywood under the cover (triangular shaped like those cover supports with the straps) to support without it getting torn by the weight of the water, the boat would be a lot safer. That and get a much bigger bilge pump and keep the OE one as a back up. So you could add a 2,000 GPH pump and keep the 1100 gph as a back up.

One last thing, I leave my VHF radio on the weather station all the time. If there are any storms, it beeps a very loud warning, no matter what the volume on the radio is set to. Really gets your attention. If you are in an area with weather reports such as this available from marine radio, GET A VHF and use it....

Thanks LouC, the bow cover was reinforced with additional press studs for high speed towing by the previous owner, and along with the centre pole I would have thought it would have been sufficient, except that at times we had green water over the windscreen which would have challenged a closed nose boat... I agree on the bilge pump ( current project) and will be buying a hand held VHF radio for my next boat...

( The severe wind warnings were posted on line 15 minutes after we left shore which is when we checked last, as we keep phones in the glove box, so a VHF will be handy)

Yes Insurance has offered to write off this boat as the repair costs are higher than 70% of the value of the boat, and as they offer to guarantee the workmanship of the repairs, any future damage as a result of this event will still need to be covered. There are some catches as always and we are negotiating because if they do write it off I am going to be a few thousand out for pocket....

ric · **Posted:** Tue Feb 03, 2015 10:14 pm

Yeah that's just a bad situation you're in. People wonder why I have a cuddy, but days like you had would just be another Funday Sunday for me. Trust me I've tested it out :mrgreen:

meinmelb · **Posted:** Wed Feb 04, 2015 4:36 am

ric wrote:

Yeah that's just a bad situation you're in. People wonder why I have a cuddy, but days like you had would just be another Funday Sunday for me. Trust me I've tested it out :mrgreen:

Horses for courses mate. We are water-skiers and wake-boarders who enjoy getting out and about on our boat, so a family friendly bow rider is perfect for what we need. A mate of ours has a nice 22 foot cuddy with twin Evenrude 150's on the back - perfect for fishing 12 miles off shore - crap for water-skiing!

Bottom line we should not have been out in that, and our boat was not designed for that- but we got caught out. That we made it back is a testament to the design and build quality of the boat ( oh and I will take some credit for driving through it

, but balance that against that I was responsible for taking us out in the first place :oops:

)

The memories are priceless though.....

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

I agree...we are boarding, tubing or skiing whenever we go out too. A cuddy is useless for how we boat too. For us the cuddy is wasted space that makes it a pain to anchor, board, sit or move around. If your cruising around with two or three folks and like sleeping in a pup tent size area on the water then great choice. We are day boaters and prefer to sleep in a real bed on land. Yes the cuddy offers some more security but to say a 21-22 foot cuddy it's a rough water vessel is very much overstating reality.

When it comes down to it, these small I/o relying on small bilge pumps ain't setup for big water cuddy or not. I would much rather be on a 24' center console, true self balling with outboard power all day long in a storm than my boat or your cuddly. Post some pics off them waves breaking over the bow in that cuddy on some of them funday sundays.

www.iFourWinns.com

Nearly Sank Boat, need advice on getting it sorted

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