2012 Ski 200 OB total loss - Now What?

[laddski]

So short version of a long story, my 2012 was submerged at Lake Powell for 5-6 hours and insurance is calling it a total loss. The boat still looks totally fine meaning hull and everything else is still in good shape but it will obviously need a lot. Insurance is paying me out and said I can keep the boat.

Soooo... Being that I have a lot of mechanical experience with LS implants in various old trucks, I am looking to take on this project and for around $20k end up with a very usable boat. I have skidim working on the power transplant from PCM which will include the ZR9 or ZR4 or whatever they can get their hands on and then the trans. It had the 343 which you can no longer get. Motor and trans are full of sand and water. All the foam is soaked so I have to remove all the vinyl and see if the foam has mildewed yet. Vinyl is still perfect. Then I need to verify all electrical. The Linc system is fully functional at this point. I don't think I am going to do a full electrical replacement as the dealer wanted to. I will just fix and replace as I have issues and clean what I can get to.

Due to some current job insecurity I had been contemplating downgrading to a 206 when this happened and pocketing the difference but it is really hard to look at this basically perfect boat and even think of going back to an older version when for less money I can potentially rebuild. Am I crazy?

For those concerned, if/when the boat is sold in the future, it will be a full disclosure at a cheaper price and all receipts. I don't want anyone to think I am going to pull a fast one.

[JD ski]

You are thinking right. For a lot less than the insurance company will pay you to total your boat, you will be able to re-motor how ever you choose. Rebuild the stock motor and trans or as you suggest replace with an LS based motor and any electrical that needs replacing. Sometimes, if the boat was treated right when it came out of the water ( all fluids drained and replaced and fired up within an hour of leaving the water) it may be salvageable in it's current state. The motor needs to get warmed up to help evaporate any moisture inside the block. Electrical gremlins may show up later but you have saved the motor and trans.

This has to be a well coordinated event. The boat is fairly safe while it is in it's watery coffin on the bottom. The trick is to have all the needed equipment and a mechanic or three available along with back up electrical available at the marina so when it is brought up off of the bottom the motor can be fired up in an hour to prevent cylinder wall damage. Electrical will need to be looked at and some replaced at some point. This was done last summer at Tahoe to someone who was on their maiden voyage in their brand new fully loaded G-23. The boat received a salvage title and was resold for $90,000.
If the boat was opened up and allowed to air out and not mold and if the foam did not get saturated you have a easily salvageable boat. Post pictures with the new LS motor in place. I would look at trying to place a PCM H6DI in place of the stock motor. It might be a perfect fit and has 450 Hp and 465 of torque.

[charlesml3]

Sometimes, if the boat was treated right when it came out of the water ( all fluids drained and replaced and fired up within an hour of leaving the water) it may be salvageable in it's current state. The motor needs to get warmed up to help evaporate any moisture inside the block. Electrical gremlins may show up later but you have saved the motor and trans.

This is something that a lot of insurance companies do not understand. They'll have the boat brought up, but then leave it for 4 weeks while they decide what to do. That's the worst thing you can do. As soon as it comes up, get the engine flushed. If you do it immediately, that engine is very likely to be just fine.

-Charles

[scottb7]

i agree with charles, the engine is probably fine. and i think the tranny is fine...those things will likely need to be flushed a time or two...alternator and starter might go out early but they are cheap...if it was me i would leave everything bolted in and not start pulling things. i would just flush, run, flush, run...until fluid wear clear. the electronics like linc, etc may fail down the road...but you gonna have plenty of money to replace if you don't replace the engine.

[Evening Shade]

The OP said the engine and tranny were full of water and sand so flushing the engine and tranny may not work. If were just water I would say yes, but sand is another story.

[scottb7]

Yes, I read that, also. No harm in trying...I would try flushing water/sand out before trading engines and tranny.

[laddski]

I am less concerned about the water and sand in the oil than I am about the water and sand in the intake which likely dropped down into the cylinders. That will be impossible to get out without opening the engine. I will have to dig a bit further before I actually take it out and see what is possible. When I pulled the air filter/screen, there was some sand in the intake area. You are correct though, there is really no harm in trying at this point.

[DealsGapCobra]

Pull the plugs and spray everything out with a water hose then air hose. Fill with oil and crank with plugs removed. Then you can use the fill, start flush, repeat. What do you have to loose?


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[laddski]

Update: Saturday I drained the oil. About 3 gallons of straight water came out. Literally straight water. Then the oil came out. Crazy what a clear separation it was. I pulled the spark plugs and 4 of them drained water out. After putting the boat on the lawn I literally stuck the hose in the intake and turned it on. While it was flushing, I slowly turned the crank and watched until each spark plug hole was pushing out clear water. Next I stuck the hose in the oil fill and again turned it on and flushed the motor for about 5 minutes. Next I ran compressed air in the intake and each cylinder. Might have helped a small amount but probably not a ton. I then filled the engine with 4 quarts of oil and with the plugs still out I craned the engine for about 20 seconds, 3 times. This seemed to get all the water out of the cylinders and I could smell the gas coming out. I then drained the oil and refilled it.

I put the spark plugs back in and it was time for the moment of truth. I hit the start button and to my shock and amazement it fired right up. Rough idle for about 10 seconds and then it smoothed out as I am sure it flushed the last bits of water out. I ran it for about 5 minutes at 1500 rpm. Then I stopped it and changed the oil and filter again. Very milky. I put new plugs in and started it again. This time I ran it for 10 minutes going up as high as 2500 rpm and then changed the oil again. Still a bit milky. Started it one last time and let it run another 10 minutes. Let everything settle and the dipstick doesn't look milky. I will lake test after I get the seats back in and finish the cleanup.

The quality of the vinyl install on these boats is amazing. Makes tearing them apart a ton of work. So many layers of staples. Took everything apart and dried everything out. Most of the foam just had water around the edges surprisingly. Lots of fans and towels to make sure it is all bone dry before reassembling. Hours and hours of work. No mildew at all other than in the sub box. Very relieved by this.

Now that the motor condition is determined, it will go back on the lawn for a complete pressure wash of the interior to get all sand out. We vacuumed everything really well to start but there is still sand in hard to reach areas.

Gas tank does not seem to have any water in it. Dealer told me they use one way valves on the vent ports and apparently they worked. However, I will be completely draining the tank and changing the gas filter before it goes on the lake.

The transmission dipstick does not show any water and it is not over full. I will be sucking the fluids out tonight so we shall see. I am hoping again that the vent on the trans is a one way vent.

Sub and amps are corroded and so they are removed. Haven't checked the radio yet. All else seems to be working normal including the linc system. Checked all wire connections and there is no water or corrosion that I can see and they are all dry. Time will tell. I am fully expecting starter replacement and alternator replacement. The belt tensioner is making noise so I have ordered a replacement. It must not used sealed bearings or else they were penetrated somehow. Found the part on skidim.

In my mind this is all a tribute to the outstanding quality of the Correct Craft boats. At the end of the day I might still have to do a motor replacement but I am impressed that I can literally hose out a motor and it will start right up. Thanks to those on this forum that suggested doing this. I would have never even considered it.

[charlesml3]

Outstanding! Thanks for the follow-up. You did everything right with that engine. You didn't hydro-lock it and you were diligent about getting the water out. So many people believe an engine is a goner if it gets submerged. That just isn't the case most of the time. They're much tougher than most people believe. I sincerely doubt you'll be replacing that motor. No reason to.

Spray the starter and alternator really good with WD-40 to displace any water and let it dry before you run it again. If you do that, the starter will probably be fine. The starter on my buddy's 2001 Sport has been underwater 3 or 4 times now. They're pretty tough. Same with the alternator. Are your gauges working?

-Charles

[laddski]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I will do that.

I have the Linc system and at this point everything is working including the separate ZO system. I am not getting any errors yet either. Lake test will confirm but I have cycled through everything.

[charlesml3]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I will do that.

I have the Linc system and at this point everything is working including the separate ZO system. I am not getting any errors yet either. Lake test will confirm but I have cycled through everything.

Wow, I'm incredibly impressed with this. I figured your electronics would be shot. If the gauge indicates the alternator is charging, it's probably fine. BTW, how did this happen? What caused the boat to sink?

-Charles

[laddski]

Caught in a bad windstorm at Lake Powell. Took enough water over the bow to put it into limp mode so I couldn't keep the bow up. Turned it off and floated it to the sandy beach. Once we hit the beach the 3-4 ft waves from the wind just rolled in over and over and there was nothing I could do. Worst feeling in the world. I felt totally helpless as I watched it fill up. Been going to Powell for many years but this time we got caught in the open water.

[laddski]

I also think part of the reason the electronics work is I turned off the battery before it was totally submerged and never turned it back on until it was completely dried out.

[charlesml3]

I also think part of the reason the electronics work is I turned off the battery before it was totally submerged and never turned it back on until it was completely dried out.

That was some really good thinking on your part. Now the part about getting caught in bad weather....

It happens, man. It happened to me early in my boating days. I heard the thunder. I saw it getting dark "over there" and thought: "Nah, we have at least another hour before it gets here." It was on us in less than 15 minutes. That was a very scary run back to the dock.

-Charles