Almost sank my boat. Looking for what to do now, AR240.

[Bcooke100]

Hello all and happy Tuesday. My son ended up being asked/paid to take out some family friends today on the lake. It sounds like he drove up on a sandy beach and ended up using the engines to back the boat up instead of pushing it off then starting the engines. When he got it back in the water one of the engines didn't sound right but eventually sounded okay. Not sure if he sucked something up and maybe a seal got torn but shortly after the boat would not run and it was taking on a ton of water. They quickly flagged someone down to tow them to shore. Lots of time there trying to trouble shoot what was going on with no real progress other than ruling out all of the obvious stuff. Direct wired the bilge pump to the batteries (nothing at all works electrically when the keys are turned) and also used a fat sac pump to get the water out. Got the water pumped out & continued to run the pumps while they got towed back to the dock.

He said the engines and batteries were totally submerged in water for maybe an hour. Any thoughts as to what might be needed for the engines so that hopefully they aren't full of water and are ruined? I'm not too concerned right now with the leak as I'm sure that can be resolved in the shop. I am curious what might have happened electrically once everything was under water......what might have shorted and is the culprit for no electrical power. Hoping to have it in a shop tomorrow for it to be looked at.

Thank you sooooooo much for any and all thoughts and recommendations!
Brian

 

[Cambo]

Are your batteries sealed ? If they were under water they may be wrecked check the voltage. Then pull the spark plugs and start the motors to hopefully blow out any water in the cylinders. Maybe your scupper valve cracked that was a common issue with these boats. Check your oil to see if it’s milky there are plenty of members that have swamped the engine compartments .This is another example of needing a water alarm anyone reading buy a cheap battery powered one from amazon, hang the sensor 2” above the bilge pump base.

 

[Cambo]

Your signature says 2008 AR 230 but this must be a newer boat ttile is AR 240 those are newer models what year ? keep us posted on what you find out

 

[Ronnie]

230s had a low mounted scupper, 240s don’t .

As far as the leak goes, check to see that the cooling hoses are still connected to their engines and cooling spouts on the side of the boat where the bilge pump outlet is. Also determine if the clean out plugs are / were fully seated.

mechanically/electrically @Cambo covered it. If this happened in fresh water I would be less concerned than salt water but in any case any water in the engines needs to be removed. I’d start by checking the oil on the dip sticks, if it looks like chocolate milk it and the filters need to be replaced.

good luck on getting identifying and resolving the issues quickly.

 

[CaptRedbeard]

I'll echo what all the others have said - check motor oil, coolant hoses, scupper valve, and cleanout plugs, but want to emphasize the most important part being to pull all spark plugs before trying to start the engines. If there is water in the cylinders and you crank the engines you'll likely bend a rod and then you're rebuilding an engine. Sounds like you'll need to sort out the battery issue first.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[HawaiiBreeze]

As listed above, pull all plugs before even thinking about thinking about thinking to start the engines. Nothing bends internals faster than being hydro-locked and turned over trying to start. In addition to the above checks from the others, check for the leak source by dropping a light source down into the engine bay and then your camera phone on video and make slow passes along the engine towards the back and look for the hoses connecting the pump to the engine. Verify they're still connected here at the Y and the engine exhaust manifold.

Good Luck!