Making sure everything is dry

Let's say hypothetically that a very first time boater took out a boat without the drain plug in because it had been in the water 30 minutes before, and they didn't think that the person who drove it then would have taken it out.

After fully accepting the stupidity of not checking the drain plug before launching, and promising to all that is holy never to do such a thing again, and after all of your laughter has abated, I need some help.

I drained all of the water out of the boat (there was a lot of it) and took off the seat covers and left the engine compartment open. Will this be sufficient to dry out the carpet and stuff underneath?

On top of that, directly to the left of the transom is a small fluid reservoir with pink fluid in it. What is that for? Is it the hydraulic fluid for the engine trim control? How would one flush that out if water got into it?

How would you clean the carpet assuming that some of that pink oily fluid mixed in with the water that came into the boat? Wash it out with a hose?

I'm looking to avoid water damage and water soaking into the wood. I realize it was a dumb mistake, I really do. I'd like to move forward from this very embarrassing mistake.

On a side note, I tried to appease the boating gods by getting a gift certificate to a four star restaurant nearby for the nice guy who dove into the lake to put in my drain plug and gave me a tow back to land.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

Blow a fan on the carpet, doesn't sound like it was soaking for long. If you have a ski locker or some other floor opening then direct a fan in there too.

Disconnect the hose from the reservoir to drain it and then refill with the proper fluid. If it foams when you use it then there was still some water in it.

Carpet shampooer with some carpet cleaner should take care of the fluid on the carpet. Straight water will just make a mess (oil/water and all that)

Re: Making sure everything is dry

Welcome to the Submarine Captains Club!

There's enough warm weather left that the boat should dry out, you can speed things up by putting 2 or 3 fans in your boat and let them run.

Pink stuf is probably hydraulic fluid, consult your maunal for draining procedures.

Dawn dish washing liquid should remove the hydraulic from your carpet.

You did good when you rewarded the person that helped you.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

Is it an outboard or inboard?

Re: Making sure everything is dry

Sorry for not mentioning, it's a Volvo Penta sterndrive.

I'll have to get some fans on it. I didn't even think of that. Probably because I was too busy being red in the face.

I can put some dawn on it too and scrub it down. The same guy who helped me has a hose on his site and welcomed me to come over with the boat tomorrow to work on it with me. I did forget to open the ski locker, but it is vented so should be ok till tomorrow. Everything has a greasy film on it now from that fluid. I suppose I'll just have to wash everything down with Dawn and a good scrub brush. Is it ok to hose down the deck to rinse it? I know boats go on water, but spraying water on the deck concerns me. Especially with carpet.

One weird thing is that the cap on that reservoir is gone. I can't find it anywhere. Weird that it popped off in the first place and even weirder that I can't find it. Possible, but not likely, that it wasn't there in the first place.

I just picked it up from the dealership this afternoon. I hadn't even had it in the water for 15 minutes. Live and learn I suppose.

Thanks for the replies so far. Keep them coming! I need to learn all I can apparently.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

I'm curious: was this in fresh water or salt?

Re: Making sure everything is dry

Fresh water.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

Washing the carpet won't hurt it a bit. Do it on a sunny day and I will be dry with in a couple hours.

Definitely get a cap for the reservoir. I'll make a mess if you don't.

How high did the water get on the motor? There are some precautions you'll want to take if it got high enough on it (guessing it did if you needed a tow).

Re: Making sure everything is dry

If it got up to the carpet I'm sure the starter was soaking and maybe even the alt, these will fail if not disassembled and cleaned.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

check your oil before cranking again, to make sure it's not milky.


Your not alone, alot of us have left a drain plug out atleast once. I know I have.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

Put the boat on the trailer, take it to a do-it-yourself spray carwash to remove oil and grease, and then take it for about a 40 mile ride on the Interstate at 70MPH, when you get back it'll be dry! Mother Nature's Hair Dryer!

Re: Making sure everything is dry

Sounds like the gentleman who helped whoever it was that flooded the boat:redface: is quite a guy. Were you friends already? If not, that's quite a silver lining. Good luck with the drying out.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

No, we weren't friends. I didn't even know him before yesterday. I was lucky enough to get a nice guy when I waved someone down. But he offered his help whenever I need it. I might even go talk to him today.

The boat is at the dealership, and I'm waiting to see what they come back with for an estimate. The canvas in the back and the reservoir that didn't have a cap should have been checked by them before they delivered the boat. We'll see what happens with that.

Worse comes to worse, I like the idea of the spray wash. There's actually one right down the road. That sounds like an easy way to get the carpet soaped down and rinsed. Then I'll plug in a couple of box fans to dry it out. Might have to happen tomorrow cause it's supposed to rain today.

I'm hoping that the starter and everything else is ok. I asked them to check everything out. This whole experience is really making me mad. There's a LOT more to this story, but it's a lot to type out. The dealership is at fault for the issues that came up after the drain plug.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

Don't be embarassed for too long, this happens to every boater at one time or another(whether they admit it or not) and hopefully you will remember in the future.

You will find many boaters like your good samaritan, we tend to look out or each other and always keep an eye out for folks in need.

Welcome to iboats!

Re: Making sure everything is dry

You may not have starter issues right at first, just be ready for continuing problems from residual effects. That is why I asked if Outboard or not. Water that high can get into the engine also thru dipstick connection, etc. The alternator on mine would have been underwater at the level you describe also. Getting the carpet, floor, and other cubbyholes dry is one thing, but the electrical components being underwater is another. Starters and alternators and such devices do not have drain holes, and once water gets in thru an opening that is not on the lowest part of them stays even after the flood has abated. I hope the best for you with this.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

I just heard from them. The trim pump had water in it so they flushed it out and replaced the fluid. They removed the canvas piece that got sucked into the starter motor and made sure the oil wasn't contaminated. In any case, they said it's ready. They said it was 3 hours of labor but charged me for 1.5.

The issue was, the water that got into the stern floated up a piece of canvas something or other, and when I tried to start the engine it got sucked into the starter motor and got wrapped up in it, keeping it from turning the engine. The other issue was that hydraulic reservoir cap being missing, which mixed the fluid with the water and got everything nasty. THEY said the water that got into the compartment blew the top off. I don't know how much truth there is to that. Maybe someone here can verify if that's possible or not.

Anyway, its my opinion that they should have verified there wasn't any debris in the engine compartment, and also verified that all of the caps were present and tight. If they checked the fluid levels (which they told me they did before delivering the boat) then the cap should have been on and tight.

It's also my opinion that I shouldn't have had to pay anything, since if they hadn't failed to check out the boat completely before delivering it, all I would have had to do is pump out the water and be on my way. Of course I probably should have checked too, but it's sloppy work in my opinion.

Anyway, 1.5 hours pay for what they say took 3 hours, I'll take it. What else can I do?

Re: Making sure everything is dry

I think you need to look in the mirror to see who at fault here. The cap on the trim reservoir cap is not water tight and any time water goes over the top of the reservoir you need drain and flush the system. As for the starter, it's toast. It is only a matter of time before the insides rust and the starter will fail.

Maybe if you were not blaming the dealer for your failure to put the plug in and trying to get him to pay for your mistake he would have told that the starter will fail in the next few months.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

The cap was gone, dude. Like not in the boat anymore.

Maybe you think it's OK for a boat dealership whose only job is selling boats to not check things like whether or not there's a 4 foot long piece of canvas under the engine, but I don't. I was told the boat was thoroughly inspected, thoroughly cleaned, and all fluids checked and topped off before it was delivered. How hard did they look if they didn't see that strip of canvas? What else didn't they do?

If the only thing that happened is I forgot the plug, fine. If the starter shorted out or the battery blew up, fine. I'll pay for that and mark it down as my own mistake. But there shouldn't have been anything in there to get sucked up. I don't expect them to pay for my mistake. I expect them to have done what they say they did.

Thank you for the tip on the starter, however. I'll pick up a new one when I'm there to get the boat tomorrow.

Re: Making sure everything is dry

If you were the one that tried to start it after the water drained out then, well, mirror time, did you look in the engine compartment first? Please realize that none of this was evident until the water intrusion. I am sure the canvas moved quite a distance by the action of the water. Just sayin', in my opinion you are pretty lucky right now and should give the dealer a break on this one

Re: Making sure everything is dry

I tried to start it again before I knew what was going on. I shut off the engine for a few minutes and when I tried to start it again, that's when it happened.

Look, I know you all are boat experts and I'm the noob, I get that. My entire point throughout this whole thing has only been that if they had checked the engine compartment and said "hey this thing shouldn't be here", it would have been half as bad as it was.

I agree I'm lucky. I'm not asking them to take care of it for free. I simply gave them my opinion, and they cut the bill in half. Fair by me.