Unexplained Sinking

[imported_scott_m]

Got a call from my Marina Thursday morning around 10 - you're Wellcraft St. Tropez is on the bottom. Wow, talk about a punch in the gut. It was like hearing someone in the family had died. We've owned our Wellcraft for about 8 years now and have kept her in tip top condition. Boat sank in about 3 feet of salt water. Generator was completely under, and both motors had water in the cylnders and oil. AC and most other electricals were under water as well.<br /><br />Boat US has been great so far as far as getting the surveyor and mechanic out there to try to save what they can. Yesterday, they were able to get both motors running (24 hrs with salt inside). The generator is a total loss as parts for my Onan are NLA. <br /><br />We were able to strip out most of the soft goods in the cabin (carpet, cushions, etc.) and get the inside and engine room washed down with fresh water. Of note, when they pumped the boat in the slip, much of the water was fresh. The batteries were still functional in the fresh water, and only shorted out when the salt came in contact with them. Initial guesses as to why she sank was a heavy storm combined with a bilge pump failure, but the pump AND float switch started operating normally once the mechanic hooked up a new battery to get the engines running.<br /><br />Will keep the forum posted.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

Mack,<br /><br />I feel for you - the news hits like a grenade. <br /><br />Some years ago I had a day cruiser, with a mooring in a tidal harbour that had a river running through it. A bad storm brought rocks rolling down the river and my boat sat on one when the tide went out. When the tide turned, I got a phone call from a harbourside friend at 2a.m. with the same message you got. I arrived just in time to see my boat slowly disappear.<br /><br />I salvaged what I could at next low tide, and had a six month fight with the insurers for compensation.<br /><br />The worst bit was standing on the quayside in the dark with the harbour lights reflecting in the water, feeling helpless as my pride and joy was slowly overwhelmed.

 

[stan_deezy]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

Ouch! That has got to hurt. A lot <br /><br />My father was the skipper of a 54ft research vessel. It was brand new and owned by a government department. It was fibreglass and looked like a fishing trawler. About three weeks after it was put into service he docked one Friday night and left the (known alcoholic) engineer to shut down and secure the boat as my father wanted to join us for a weekend holiday.<br />No sooner did he get home than the phone rang: it was the harbour master to say that the boat had sunk alongside <br />Apparently the engineer had been desperate to get ashore to the pub and had left seacocks open and not secured the mooring lines correctly: she sank like a stone.<br />Although the subsequent enquiry found my father not guilty he quit the job a broken man. Never seemed the same person after that incident

 

[AJ168]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

You'd probably have to get monsoon like rains for days to fill up a boat like that. I just can't see rain and faulty bilge pumps as being the culprit.

 

[watered down]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

Darn...real sorry top hear that. Hope everything works out and it's not too expensive.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

Mack,Real sorry to hear this.Probably not rain that sank it though.Thats a BIIIG boat and the amount of water needed to sink it is astounding.I looked at a 280 Regal years ago that had a bilge full of water.Not enough to reach the starters but there was more than there should have been.The bilge pumps were not working.I had the dealer hoist it out of the water to check the bottom and drives.I asked them to pull the drain plug since the pumps were not working.The drain was big enough to fit your thumb in and the water draining from it was shooting out about 3 feet.Almost looked like someone was shooting a hose.Well as I checked the bottom and the drives and the trim tabs,the water kept draining and draining and draining.Since the hoist was paid for by the 1/2 hour,it was easy to figure out how long the boat was draining.25 minutes to be exact!!!I could not believe how much water was in there.It obviously was not confined to the bilge under the motors.The water was able to run all the way to the front of the boat under the floor.Based on how much bigger the St. Tropez is than the 280 Regal,I just cant see rain doing it.Howerever I can see a bilge pump through hull dropping below the water line and not having a loop in the hose and that being where water comes in from.Or a through hull for the head or hose or valve that failed.I would recommend getting as many fans in the boat as you can and leave the hatches and windows open for as long as you can and a dehumidifier.Get every drop of moisture out of it that you can.Anywhere that got salt water on it wiil never dry completely unless it is rinsed with fresh water.You may need to get in there with a garden hose believe it or not.Charlie

 

[imported_scott_m]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

Thanks for the condolences. The boat was hauled out of the water on Thursday afternoon. The marina put a pretty big 110V sump pump in her at the slip (2 inch discharge). That pump ran for about 2 hours until enough water was out to float the boat, then we used the lift. Pulled the plug and it drained (as you described) for another 2 hours. Our estimates are about 3200 gallons of water! The surveyor is supposed to be back out there today looking for the cause. We stripped out all the upholstry and carpet and did actually take a fresh water hose to the inside of the boat to clean up the salt and sand. We had about 3-4 feet in the engine room, and about 2+ feet in the cabin. At this point, the only thing I can think of is a catestrophic failure of one of the hoses going to a thru hull, although the mains and gen thru hull were checked and all appears OK. That leaves the thru hull for the AC and head as possible culprits.

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

Brightside of this is that it happened at the marina rather than the middle of nowhere.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

I hope this didn't happen..........<br /><br /><br />Last summer, a group of tanked up teenagers went through our marina and drilled small holes in a few of the bigger boats - just below the water line.<br /><br />All that could be seen in the morning was TV & radio antennas. They were never caught, the marina has CCTV servailance but could not distinquish details in the dark. Large floodlights have since been fitted.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

MackSea -- sorry about the internal wash down of you vessel. Regarding your Onan generator, I have an acquaintance that deals in Onan engines, generators, and parts and I've e-mailed him the link to your message. If he can't help you, it is very likely few others can. Good luck on the "dry out".

 

[imported_scott_m]

Re: Unexplained Sinking

'Internal washdown'. Now that's funny. Sort of. At this point, I guess the only thing I can do is laugh about it. Especially considering what the poor people on the central gulf coast are going thru. Thus far, no word from insurance or the surveyor. The mechanic's comment on the Onan is they could save the engine, but there is just no practical way to clean the salt out of the generating side of the machine.