Gilligan's First Run

[Toyonewbie]

Has anyone else had this happen? Read on...

Last Friday I had a demo run on a 2001 SX that I am proposing to buy with a partner. The boat is gorgeous (purple stripe version with factory white tower and Bose speakers) and I was excited about how it would perform given the low 193 hours on the engine. Brought both my kids with me as well as a friend of my daughter's and with all three kids in the bow headed out slowly into the lake (fresh water) with the Lexus engine purring nicely. When the time came to drive, I switched places with the dealer, grabbed the throttle and went for the hole shot. Instead of the expected rush of torque and acceleration, the boat bogged, hesitated and slowly climbed to a plane creating a HUGE wake.

The dealer was duly concerned (as was I) and we quickly reduced speed and started heading back to the ramp hitting the ballast drain switch (thinking the ballast tanks were full). The engine felt like it was either not getting enough air, fuel, or both. It also seemed like the plugs might be fouled.

The dealer's service guy met us at the ramp and we quickly got the boat out of the water. The first thing he did was check the area in front of the engine (under the seat cushion where the battery switch is located) and promptly notified us that we had about 4-5 inches of water in the bilge. You guessed it...no drain plug.

The boat had basically filled with water on the way out to just under the cabin sole, probably emptied a bit when we accelerated, then filled back up on the way back in. Having that much water in the bilge apparently can keep the engine from breathing properly and that caused the hesitation. The extra weight didn't help either.

Once we had the bilge emptied, the plugs and fuel filter replaced, we went back out and had a screaming good time. The engine performed well and the boat got on a plane about as quickly as I expected it to. The ride was solid and I can see why this forum of owners is so enthusiastic about their boats. NICE!

Once back at the dealer's lot, several of the guys were asking how Gilligan (not our dealer's real name) was planning on getting off the island.

The question I have is this: assuming I (and my partner) keep the bilge relatively dry, is there any reason to think that the water that came into the boat could have caused any short or long term damage to either the engine or the boat's systems? I know they were still working on drying out the carpet the next day...

Any feedback would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[lesman01]

I had a similar experience when I first got the boat, except it was the shaft log leaking and filled up the bilge. It happened three years ago nd the boat is still running great with no problrems.

I'm sure there is someoone who can speak technically to what this may or may not do to the boat, but I had no ill effects of having the bilge full. I'd say give it a good look over and if it runs good and all systems works, you're good to go.

[ErinRae]

I can't speak technically but I do know that our bilge filled up a couple weeks ago (a combination of a leaky shaft and an ill functioning auto bilge)  Since we've repacked and remembered to run the bilge we haven't had any issues and the engine runs like the day we got it.
Good Luck!

[Capt Rick]

was it fresh water or salt. The water will get on the altenator and will short the diodes. ( it wont work no more). Thats will be the main concern for water damage.

[Toyonewbie]

Fresh water Cap'n Rick. Does that put the alternator out of danger?

[cyclone]

No, but if it still puts out 13+ volts (check voltage at battery while running, should be over 13vdc) its OK. Even if the diodes are fryed, you could get it fixed locally for pretty cheap. Other than that, I'd say you are A-OK. Most other boats have starters that get wet and go bad, ours is under the intake manifold and they rarely go bad. They certainly can't get wet, unless the boat sinks!

[Toyonewbie]

Thanks to all for the feedback. We are going to pass on this boat due to its size and our preferred moorage location size limitations. If anyone is in or near the Seattle area and is interested in a really clean SX, I recommend they take a look at this boat. Ask for Justin.

http://www.boats.com/listing/boat_details.jsp?entityid=15753471&searchtype=buy&searchid=1&back=%2Flisting%2Fcache%2Flisting_search_results.jsp%3Fbdi%3Dtrue%26searchtype%3Dbuy%26payingBrandsOnly%3Dtrue%26sm%3D3%26%26lid%3DSearch%26lpos%3Dcenter.x%3D37%26toYear%3D2007%26currencyid%3D100%26luom%3D126%26sfm%3Dfalse%26man%3Dtoyota%26slim%3Dquick%26psdistance%3D500%26%26lid%3DSearch%26lpos%3Dcenter.y%3D10%26pszipcode%3DZip%26searchPage%3D%252Flisting%252Fcache%252Fquick_search.jsp%26detailed_view%3Dfalse

[cyclone]

That's the Ski Masters SX that I looked at a coupla months back. I'm gonna buy Terry's instead, but that is a nice boat, lots of options. No PP though.