My boat flooded!!! Help!!

[mraz72]

So, I have a 2016 242x, I take it to the yamaha dealer for winterizing and summarizing. I am late to start the season this year so I just got it back from the dealer and I drop it in the water. I leave the boat tied near the launch with the motors running. I park the truck and walk back to the boat, get on the boat and I notice the rear is deeper than usual, the swim platform bottom is almost underwater. I then hear one of the motors stall, I open the engine compartment and it's FLOODED, more than 1/2 way up. I shut off both motors, get some help and we drag the boat back onto the trailer and let it drain from the scupper and the drain plug for ~30 minutes.

I then called the dealer and dropped it off with them.

So, my questions are
1. I believe I am under warranty, would something like this be covered? My guess is the answer is it depends
2. if the motors are rebuilt or whatever they do to get the water out, are the motors than "good as new" meaning I shouldn't have problem? I just feel like when you mess 3. with the platform that was delivered in 2016 (rebuild motor) it's never the same. Maybe that is old fashioned thinking.
How can I prevent this from happening in the future? Water sensor? Check scupper (where we think the water must have been coming in).
4. Where did the water come from ,the scupper?

the motors were running for about 5 minutes while I was gone, not long. the boat filled to listing in 5 minutes, definitely too much water for the drain plug (which was in and secure anyway)

 

[Trevor Shipman]

[USERGROUP=9]@HELP[/USERGROUP]

 

[Scottintexas]

didn't get the help alert again ????

unfortunately the dealer has your boat so you have to trust them,

if you still had the boat we probably could have had you back and running, this happens to a 1-2 members a year,

the engine the bogged down and stopped, if it had water in the engine that needs to be addressed immediately, like now or tomorrow at the latest, the longer it sits the more the moisture can build and rust things causing delayed damage later, my fear is the dealer will let it sit for a week while they "get time to look at it" knowing they don't care if they have to put a new engine in it,

.

 

[Scottintexas]

I would have guessed the water came from the transom, garboard screw in plug that you forgot to put in but since you noticed water draining out I'm guessing you know you had it installed.

your scupper should be above the water line so that didn't start the problem,

my next guess would be either a cooling hose came undone, with the dealer doing a "winterization/summarization" there's no telling what they were messing with that might have happened, /// fyi - Yamaha's don't need to be winterized other than adding fuel stabilizer and running some fogging oil ///

after that it could have been your cleanout tubes dislodged but I can't imagine the dealer doing anything to cause that, normally it has to be a plug blow out to dislodge it,

.

 

[BigAbe75]

Cooling hose come off and run water into the engine bay? Was the water draining out warm? Was there water dribbling out the side from the cooling indicators like normal? Was the bilge pump pumping water out the side? That had to have been a crap load of water to actually drain and bilge pump for 30 minutes. Is your scupper valve under the water level? I thought it was above water level on the ‘15+ hull.

 

[BigAbe75]

didn't get the help alert again ????

[USERGROUP=9]@HELP[/USERGROUP] wasn’t summoned.

 

[BigAbe75]

[USERGROUP=9]@HELP[/USERGROUP] wasn’t summoned.

This is what it looks like for me. This is a screenshot from the alert yesterday. It just says FM mentioned me in a post. It doesn’t say anything about a special Help alert.

 

[BigAbe75]

[USERGROUP=9]@HELP[/USERGROUP] wasn’t summoned.

Sorry, it was summoned while I was composing my previous reply.

Here’s the alert I received this time.

 

[Scottintexas]

you will want to make sure they check the oil and that it doesn't look like chocolate milk shake indicating water is mixed with it.

Normally when this happens we have the member
change oil
remove the spark plugs
remove the safety lanyard (so you don't get an ignition spark)
turn the engine over to see if any water will squirt out the spark plug hole
once you've confirmed no more water is in the cylinder you can install the plugs and lanyard and try to start the engine,
if it runs, run it for 5 minutes and check the oil again and change if needed,
then get the boat on the water and run it hard for another 10 minutes and check the oil and change again if needed,
and repeat and repeat,
your trying to get the engine hot to help burn off any moisture that is still inside it before it rusts,


.

 

[mark_m]

So, I have a 2016 242x, I take it to the yamaha dealer for winterizing and summarizing. I am late to start the season this year so I just got it back from the dealer and I drop it in the water. I leave the boat tied near the launch with the motors running. I park the truck and walk back to the boat, get on the boat and I notice the rear is deeper than usual, the swim platform bottom is almost underwater. I then hear one of the motors stall, I open the engine compartment and it's FLOODED, more than 1/2 way up. I shut off both motors, get some help and we drag the boat back onto the trailer and let it drain from the scupper and the drain plug for ~30 minutes.

I then called the dealer and dropped it off with them.

So, my questions are
1. I believe I am under warranty, would something like this be covered? My guess is the answer is it depends
2. if the motors are rebuilt or whatever they do to get the water out, are the motors than "good as new" meaning I shouldn't have problem? I just feel like when you mess 3. with the platform that was delivered in 2016 (rebuild motor) it's never the same. Maybe that is old fashioned thinking.
How can I prevent this from happening in the future? Water sensor? Check scupper (where we think the water must have been coming in).
4. Where did the water come from ,the scupper?

the motors were running for about 5 minutes while I was gone, not long. the boat filled to listing in 5 minutes, definitely too much water for the drain plug (which was in and secure anyway)

[USERGROUP=9]@HELP[/USERGROUP] did not page out.

I would look first at if the cleanout plugs were in and installed since you left the boat running perhaps that created enough swirl to flood the compartment

Next then below the cleanout plugs in the bilge. See if a hose to the water boxes came loose.

Drain plug perhaps may not have been fully sealed.

were both motors still running when you shut it off and you didn’t inject water you’re probably fine. I would check oil and make sure it doesn’t look like milkshake.

 

[Bugz]

So, I have a 2016 242x, I take it to the yamaha dealer for winterizing and summarizing. I am late to start the season this year so I just got it back from the dealer and I drop it in the water. I leave the boat tied near the launch with the motors running. I park the truck and walk back to the boat, get on the boat and I notice the rear is deeper than usual, the swim platform bottom is almost underwater. I then hear one of the motors stall, I open the engine compartment and it's FLOODED, more than 1/2 way up. I shut off both motors, get some help and we drag the boat back onto the trailer and let it drain from the scupper and the drain plug for ~30 minutes.

I then called the dealer and dropped it off with them.

So, my questions are
1. I believe I am under warranty, would something like this be covered? My guess is the answer is it depends
2. if the motors are rebuilt or whatever they do to get the water out, are the motors than "good as new" meaning I shouldn't have problem? I just feel like when you mess 3. with the platform that was delivered in 2016 (rebuild motor) it's never the same. Maybe that is old fashioned thinking.
How can I prevent this from happening in the future? Water sensor? Check scupper (where we think the water must have been coming in).
4. Where did the water come from ,the scupper?

the motors were running for about 5 minutes while I was gone, not long. the boat filled to listing in 5 minutes, definitely too much water for the drain plug (which was in and secure anyway)

I have a 2002 17' Seadoo Speedster. Purchased brand new, i had it in a marina only to get a call that the entire boat was filled with water. After pulling it out and investigated, they found out a factory seal in the rear was not installed, allowing water to get in. They wanted to replace engine, wiring, everything. After going back and forth, I told them I don't feel my kids will be safe in it. (which was the truth) That's all is took. THey ended up finding another 2002 at another dealer. Still have this replacement one to this day, running like a top.
Not sure what happened but I'm sure they will find out where the water came in and why. At that point, make your pitch as how to rectify.
All the best going forward.

 

[GTBRMC]

I received the Help notification at 2:10 pm, CDT, in case that is helpful for anyone troubleshooting the alert.

Good advice already given by others above.

Were it my boat, I would be at the dealer RIGHT NOW forcing them to IMMEDIATELY pull oil samples from BOTH engines to look for signs of water in the oil (milky, etc, per above descriptions.) If evidence is found, do whatever is necessary to make the dealer address it TODAY using above or similar methods. Not tomorrow, TODAY. Those engines are, what, $15,000 each (wild guess), and any engine swap, even if covered by warranty or insurance or whatever will be VERY HIGH PIA FACTOR vs taking immediate, high-probability action to save them, TODAY.

Good luck and keep this group updated. The experts here will be with you all the way.

 

[mraz72]

I wasn't trying to invoke the [USERGROUP=9]@HELP[/USERGROUP] function as the dealer already had the boat.

I launched the boat, first one of the year, the boat filled. I killed the one motor still running and manually yanked the boat back onto the trailer. The drain plug was sealed as 10 or so other people can attest to.

I don't know where the water came in from. I will definitely post what the dealer tells me. I feel like they are going to hit me with a bill and I don't think I did anything wrong. I mean, it's ultimately my responsibility, other than opening the engine bay while first dropping it and watching what happens, what could/should I be doing differently?

 

[zipper]

Got the alert. I thought the scupper valve/deck drain line is above the waterline on that m/y. Unlike my 07 where it is below the waterline. Bilge pump working at the time?

 

[GTBRMC]

I left the drain plug out (totally forgot to install at launch) once on my 2008 SX-230 while doing a modified version of the Chicago Loop cruise with a few other members here. I noticed the boat acting oddly after, maybe, 90 minutes, and only realized the boat was filling with water when we took lunch break at 2+ hour mark. Even then, the water was well below the danger point - even though it scared the daylights out of me.

So, I really doubt the drain plug caused this... don't think it could flood anywhere near that fast. Think about how long it takes to drain a few gallons out of the drain when on the trailer.

With this in mind, it might well be a cooling water hose connection came apart - as @BigAbe75 suggested. Seems most likely from available info

 

[mraz72]

Ok, so I just got off the phone with the dealer. they said it was a scupper valve, it's cracked in 1/2. My boat is indeed under warranty but they aren't sure if this is covered!? Sounds crazy that some part they installed flooded my motors and it isn't yamaha's fault? They are looking at the motors right now to determine the damage if any.

Anyway, should I be inspecting this scupper valve? No engine shutoff if the bay fills with water? Is that a lapse in engineering or is that a normal occurrence? Seems crazy.

 

[Scottintexas]

Did you have your bilge pump on when you launched from the trailer ?

That's crazy and not believable.

Your scupper valve is above the water line, so unless you were carrying a huge amount of ballast sinking the rear of your boat or water was being pushed into the scupper (past the rubber flap) there's no way that happened.

You could have no scupper and just an open hole and water would get in your boat,



What dealer are you using ?


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[mark_m]

Ok, so I just got off the phone with the dealer. they said it was a scupper valve, it's cracked in 1/2. My boat is indeed under warranty but they aren't sure if this is covered!? Sounds crazy that some part they installed flooded my motors and it isn't yamaha's fault? They are looking at the motors right now to determine the damage if any.

Anyway, should I be inspecting this scupper valve? No engine shutoff if the bay fills with water? Is that a lapse in engineering or is that a normal occurrence? Seems crazy.

Ask them to replace with a stainless steel one Amazon.com : Attwood 66553-3 Boat Self-Bailing Cockpit Barbed Stainless Steel 1 ½-Inch Scupper Valve, One size : Boating Control Cables : Sports & Outdoors

 

[Julian]

On my last boat, I installed a high water alarm.....its been on my list for a while to install on the new boat - now you are giving me a reason to do so!

I'm surprised that your boat's bilge pump wasn't able to keep up and keep the boat floating for longer than 5 minutes. The scupper is close to the water line, so initially it would flow in slowly, but as it goes further below the water line, the faster it is liable to come in.

Here is the bilge alarm thread from my SX230:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/bilge-alarm-install-know-if-youve-had-a-blowout.624/

I will be curious to see what the dealers says. What work did they do? Where they working in the stern installing a transducer or something (which means they might have hit the scupper hose or scupper connection).

We are aware that the help function sometimes doesn't hit everyone (it has a limit). Something we will likely need to replace with a different add on - but for now it alerts quite a few people.

 

[BigAbe75]

We are aware that the help function sometimes doesn't hit everyone (it has a limit). Something we will likely need to replace with a different add on - but for now it alerts quite a few people.

That’s the first time I’ve seen that mentioned. Thanks for the clarification.