Boat "sank" -- port engine just clicks

Am I correct that it was fresh water that got in?

Freshest of MN lake water, yes.

Yes, there was run time between each flush. I was surprised by how frothy the oil got. Is that indicative about the quantity of water in the engine?

RiverRat said:

Once you get the engine squared away figure out what let all the water in. Scupper maybe?

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Seems like it would have to be the scupper. Just to be clear that you need to run it on water hose. Engine on, water on, water off, engine off. This may be understood but just covering bases.

Yes, the 'froth' is the emulsion of the water plus the oil--just like the oil and vinegar salad dressings. You are running it to heat it up to drive out as much water as possible, and changing the oil to speed up the process (draining the water that is in the emulsion instead of heating it to wait until it evaporates out of the closed system...).

So, you are looking to change the oil and run and change and run until you no longer have that milky, frothy oil.

UPDATE: Marina get both engines cleaned and fresh oil. The engines run and he said sounds great. I was confused and asked next steps. (AKA-- did they find a leak) Marina said they are waiting on insurance to give the green light to do further diagnostics -- stated that when electrical components are under water -- they need to be replaced, or we will experience gremlins forever. ECU / Starter / Sensor. For the guys who have done this -- any issues with starters or ECUs? @Bruce @KXCam22

If it were my boat I would say thank you, pay the bill and not go back until I had problems (but I probably wouldn't be filing on my insurance). I think they are just trying to track down some more work especially if your insurance is going to pay for it.

I've heard of 10-15 boats over the last 7 years that had water over the engines and of the 10 that got the engines working again I don't remember any of them having additional problems.

and I would be monitoring my oil over the next few hours of run time to be sure they were able to get all the water out,

The ECUs should be sealed on the wall behind the engines.

I would spray every exposed metal component with fluid film to stop and prevent corrosion.

The starters are under the engines. I would spray them well.

Spray Spray Spray. WD-40 got its name from Water Displacement formula #40s decently good at that. Anything like CRC 656 or Silicone Spray is a good (some would say even better) fit for this purpose. I would spray and run it like you stole it for an hour or two at least this weekend...to get everything to operating temperature and increase chances of no future issues.

Enjoy your working boat!

Did you figure out where the water is entering from? tell them to fix that if you don't have a chance. There is still time before the weekend!!

If not done already.... run the piss out of the motors (back and forth on the lake for an hour) to burn off any trapped moisture and follow the run with an oil change. Fogging the motor is good advice to protect from any corrosion between now and your next run.

Wow, sorry to se this but glad it is running. Like everyone said, run the crap out of it for awhile.

Murf'n'surf said:

If not done already.... run the piss out of the motors (back and forth on the lake for an hour) to burn off any trapped moisture and follow the run with an oil change. Fogging the motor is good advice to protect from any corrosion between now and your next run.

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...and in addition to running the piss out them, I would change the oil a few times more for good measure. Maybe overkill, but it's cheap and easy to do so why not?

One more thing, if the shop didn't already do so. Open up the box containing the ecu and dry off any moisture that may be in there. The boxes are sealed but may still get some water via the cutout for the wiring loom for instance.

I learned the above the expensive way when one of my fx cruisers flooded over night while anchored in shallow water. It ran fine for years afterwards before the rectifier and eventually the ecu died. When I opened up the box to troubleshoot what turned out to be a bad rectifier/ecu the box interior wasn't completely dry. Nothing like seeing an $1,100 critical electrical part for your pwc moist and near standing water. Of course I don't know if the water caused it to fail or not but if I could do it all over again I would check and clean the box asap. It takes all of 10 minutes to do, 20 if it's you for first timers.

By the way, in my case the ski had an unsealed skeg/fin which caused a slow leak that I only discovered the first time I left it in the water over night. I took it to a shop to ID and fix the electrical problem. The fee for the exhaustive diagnostic services was $300 (2 hours at $150 each) and spent another $100 or so trying to get the ecu repaired. After sitting in my backyard on a cart for two seasons I sold it at a big loss, just to get it out of my sight.

@Ronnie, is it possible to reseal the ECU after inspecting?

@Bruce , no need to seal the ecu itself (it's a box about the size of two decks of cards side by side with a hard plastic cover and a plastic coated pcb for a bottom/back all connected by a small din) but of kept the ski I was going to fill the voids in the wiring loom with silicone and coat the opening for the loom with silicone as well. The electrical box cover has a rubber seal on it that could also be reinforced by some silicone.

What is that "crushed rock like" finish? Is that as designed?

Thanks.

That's what mine looked like. For some reason I thought it was a pcb.

Beachbummer said:

What is that "crushed rock like" finish? Is that as designed?

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Could it be that rocks are added to the sealant to prevent someone from digging in and making a simple repair; forcing them to buy an expensive replacement?

I was actually thinking it was some sort of added coolant feature -- but that is a 100% guess.

I work in electronics, and that is REALLY bizarre. One of our products uses an epoxy resin, but it leaves a black glossy coating. These granules, looks like some sort of filler maybe? I tried Googling, but could not find anything of the sort.

I thought I read somewhere on the forums here that there was a company that would attempt to repair the ECUs. Am I imagining that info?