Help !! What do I have to do

[Madmark62]

My boat has been submerged and is now back afloat, so I need to totally gut the boat. My problem is , what do I need to do with the engine? Its a Lister air cooled twin cylinder. I know I will have to drain all the oil and water , that has now got in, but then what? Do I have to dismantle the engine? Or fill it with something to preserve it till I need it again?

Sorry if it seems a stupid question.

 

edited , cos I cant spell tonight

Edited January 19, 2010 by Madmark62

[bag 'o' bones]

My boat hasa ben submerged and is now back afloat, so I need to totally gut the baot. My problem is , what do I need to do with the engine? Its a Lister air cooled twin cylinder. I know I will have to drain all the oil and water , that has now got in, but then what? Do I have to dismantle the engine? Or fill it with something to preserve it till I need it again?

Sorry if it seems a stupid question.

 

I've heard of folk filling the engine bores with oil and then turning it over by hand to free off the pistons. Assuming the pistons have not seized solid of course!

 

A case of driving out the water really and then firing her up and hoping for the best. If you do get away with and everything seems ok then a couple of engine oil changes - use some cheap stuff - should get rid of all the emulsified oil which is bound to accumulate. Probably a good idea to clean out the injection system too.

 

Lots of WD-40 and a few prayers that no lasting damage has been done I imagine.

[RLWP]

If it were my engine and it hasn't been under water long, or out of the water long either I'd change the oil and the filters, bleed the diesel to make sure there was no water in it, then start it up and let it run for a long time to get good and hot. That should dry out any water that is still in the engine and make sure that there is only diesel in all of the injector parts. Make sure that there is no water in the cylinder or manifolds first so it doesn't hydraulic lock when you are starting it.

 

Richard

 

If it were my engine...

[Iain_S]

My boat hasa ben submerged and is now back afloat, so I need to totally gut the baot. My problem is , what do I need to do with the engine? Its a Lister air cooled twin cylinder. I know I will have to drain all the oil and water , that has now got in, but then what? Do I have to dismantle the engine? Or fill it with something to preserve it till I need it again?

Sorry if it seems a stupid question.

 

I got away with just this on our canal society boat, which had been sunk several times before coming into our possession. I'd drain the water out of the engine by the sump plug, fill with cheap oil, and turn over with the decompressers in, in case there is any water has got into the cylinders through an open exhaust or inlet valve. If the fuel tank has filled with water, you'll have to sort his out first. The fuel system in the engine itself should be OK, as it will be full of diesel. Hopefully, your engine won't be seized, and will turn over. (Ours was seized, and the starter was U/S, due to brush springs rusting through ). Run for a few minutes, and then change the oil. (I gave ours another oil change after a few hours running and the oil which came out looked water free)

 

IMO, main thing is to act before the water in the engine can do to much damage.

 

Iain

[soldthehouse]

My boat hasa ben submerged and is now back afloat, so I need to totally gut the baot. My problem is , what do I need to do with the engine? Its a Lister air cooled twin cylinder. I know I will have to drain all the oil and water , that has now got in, but then what? Do I have to dismantle the engine? Or fill it with something to preserve it till I need it again?

Sorry if it seems a stupid question.

If the engine was on induction stroke when it stopped and then sank water will be trapped in the cylinder. you will need to remove the injectors to ensure this can escape or you will end up with a bent conrod.

[Madmark62]

Thanks for the answers. Looks like I may be able to salvage it then, Good news

[RLWP]

Thanks for the answers. Looks like I may be able to salvage it then, Good news

 

Thing to remember is that it has only been underwater which shouldn't really be a problem, I often wash cylinder blocks and heads out with a pressure washer including the oilways. The danger is in letting the engine stand around with water in sensitive places that can form rust. Fresh water isn't as bad as salt water but do do something about your engine before it has a chance to dry out and get seriously rusty.

 

Richard

[Chris J W]

Oh, bugger. Sorry to hear about the dunking the boat got. Glad to hear she's refloated OK, though.

[Smelly]

[expletive deleted] hope it's okay...

 

Are we allowed to ask what happened?

[Madmark62]

[expletive deleted] hope it's okay...

 

Are we allowed to ask what happened?

 

We dont know yet, when Brian got her refloated today he cannot find anything obvious that could have caused it to sink. He had thought it could have been the stern gland giving way and flooding the engine room , but he now does not think so. Hopefully we will know more tomorrow when he gets her into drydock and the insurance man has inspected too.

We had just finished the interior as well , so it looks like starting from scratch again.

 

My own theory is that after all the snow we had built up on the sheeting I put over the stern(ironcally to prevent rain getting into the engine room) and the extra weight caused her to dip at the back. The exhaust is very low , only a few inches above the waterline, so water entered there , then as the stern sank lower water entered through the air intakes. I may be the only person with a water cooled Lister SR2 at the moment.

Of cours eall that I have just written could be complete balls, but until it is drydocked we cant know for sure.

[Iain_S]

To add to above posts, don't forget the gearboxes

 

Good luck

 

Iain

[Radiomariner]

To add further to above. Do not forget the electrics. Alternator and starting motor to be thoroughly dried out.

 

SR2 I am assuming a cruiser stern.

Accumulation of snow/water above or in the engine compartment seems likely.I do not think much water would enter throught the exhaust (unless the exhaust had a leak) as exhaust and inlet valves would not both be open at the same time.

However, as an air cooled engine, there are usually large air apertures for cooling air inlet and outlet if these get below the water line downflooding causes the boat to sink rapidly. Old regulations dictated these had to be at least 10 inches above the water line, but changes to the boat, overplating, extra equiipment such as more batteries larger water tank, larger fuel tank etc can reduce this, but I doubt if as much as ten inches.

What is possible is that if you have gas locker(s) at the stern, the drain to these tanks may be near the water level, water in gas lockers is quite common and harmless if the locker bottom is sound. However quite often corrosion occurrs letting water leak to the engine compartment. The rate of downfilling will increase as the hull lowers in the water (increasing pressure).

 

I have a few more ideas as well, but not much point as the surveyor will soon have it sorted. Tip, when the boat comes out of the water if you can see any water leaking out of the boat it is an indication of your problem!

 

Edited to add. Good Luck!

Edited January 20, 2010 by Radiomariner

[billh]

To add further to above. Do not forget the electrics. Alternator and starting motor to be thoroughly dried out.

 

SR2 I am assuming a cruiser stern.

Accumulation of snow/water above or in the engine compartment seems likely.I do not think much water would enter throught the exhaust (unless the exhaust had a leak) as exhaust and inlet valves would not both be open at the same time.

However, as an air cooled engine, there are usually large air apertures for cooling air inlet and outlet if these get below the water line downflooding causes the boat to sink rapidly. Old regulations dictated these had to be at least 10 inches above the water line, but changes to the boat, overplating, extra equiipment such as more batteries larger water tank, larger fuel tank etc can reduce this, but I doubt if as much as ten inches.

What is possible is that if you have gas locker(s) at the stern, the drain to these tanks may be near the water level, water in gas lockers is quite common and harmless if the locker bottom is sound. However quite often corrosion occurrs letting water leak to the engine compartment. The rate of downfilling will increase as the hull lowers in the water (increasing pressure).

 

I have a few more ideas as well, but not much point as the surveyor will soon have it sorted. Tip, when the boat comes out of the water if you can see any water leaking out of the boat it is an indication of your problem!

 

Edited to add. Good Luck!

 

For the future,I suggest look into moving the air apertures onto the deck and plating over the hull side holes. It will be a little noisier but a lot more safe. You can boost the air flow into the engine compartment with a car type electric radiator fan if necessary.

The engine will be fine after a couple of oil changes, but run it as soon as you can to dry it out.

As regards the interior, get the solid fuel stove lit ( hope you have one!) and run it continuously for a few days , get the soft furnishings out and dry them at home. Most damage will be to chipboard or mdf fixtures which may have swelled and will need replacing. Solid wood or plywood should be ok. Get as much of the floor up as possible and get every bit of water out from the bilge.

Check the wiring, particularly in the engine compartment- there may be some electrolytic corrosion at crimp terminals if the battery was still connected, in particular the starter and alternator wiring.

Bill

[Madmark62]

well Brian the owner of Shepley Bridge Marina, who has done all the hard work in refloating "Barking Mad", today told me that he was going to see to the engine this afternoon and fire her up tomorrow morning all being well. So fingers crossed.

[soldthehouse]

well Brian the owner of Shepley Bridge Marina, who has done all the hard work in refloating "Barking Mad", today told me that he was going to see to the engine this afternoon and fire her up tomorrow morning all being well. So fingers crossed.

Good luck with it...