Everything is ruined...

[Quarry Man]

was planning getting out win the water a few weeks ago. After arriving to the lake, it was frozen so I went home. Left everything in the boat with there cover on. The other day I knew the lake hd thawed so I went to get my boat ready, and sure enough it was filled with water. Trolling motor and fish finder won't turn on. Luckily the actual unit wasn't in the boat, but all the wiring was left exposed. What should I do?

[kenmitch]

I'm confused and maybe others will be also. Was your boat at your house with the cover on and rain water leaked in? Was your boat sitting in the frozen lake which may have damaged your hull causing it to fill with water when the lake thawed?

[Fishingmickey]

First things first, get it all dried out and cleaned up. Then (if you know how) get a multi meter and check out your batteries and see if they still have a charge. Check all of your fuses. If you have one (or you've got a charge on your other ones) use a battery and start checking individual components (fish finder, trolling motor, bilge pump lights etc one at a time. If your not familiar with a multi meter, take it to the shop or bribe one of your fishing friends that is electrically inclined with a fishing trip or beer to come and give you a hand on checking it all out. Good luck and hope you get it sorted out with out too much damaged to the pocket book.

FM

[slonezp]

Boats are designed to get wet. Id start with the batteries 

[Quarry Man]

2 hours ago, kenmitch said:

I'm confused and maybe others will be also. Was your boat at your house with the cover on and rain water leaked in? Was your boat sitting in the frozen lake which may have damaged your hull causing it to fill with water when the lake thawed?

boat was in my driveway with the cover on it. bought the cover for 170$ at cabbalas. not even waterproof, thats why it filled

1 hour ago, Fishingmickey said:

First things first, get it all dried out and cleaned up. Then (if you know how) get a multi meter and check out your batteries and see if they still have a charge. Check all of your fuses. If you have one (or you've got a charge on your other ones) use a battery and start checking individual components (fish finder, trolling motor, bilge pump lights etc one at a time. If your not familiar with a multi meter, take it to the shop or bribe one of your fishing friends that is electrically inclined with a fishing trip or beer to come and give you a hand on checking it all out. Good luck and hope you get it sorted out with out too much damaged to the pocket book.

FM

battery works fine but is very crusty. trolling motor is a power drive v2, shows battery meter, but doesn't spin the prop. fish finder shows lines on the screen but not fish/anything remotely close to what it should be.

[Fishingmickey]

Your battery was under water for a period of time? it might be shot. What did your trolling motor battery meter say?   Remove the battery from the boat, clean the terminals, put the battery on a charger over night. 

FM

[Quarry Man]

1 hour ago, Fishingmickey said:

Your battery was under water for a period of time? it might be shot. What did your trolling motor battery meter say?   Remove the battery from the boat, clean the terminals, put the battery on a charger over night. 

FM

like I said above, battery seems to be working fine. Meter read full charge on tm, but it wouldn't spin

[jbsoonerfan]

You leave your plug in all the time?

[Quarry Man]

1 hour ago, jbsoonerfan said:

You leave your plug in all the time?

nope, usually take all the stuff out after I am done fishing.

 

may have forgetting to mention that its a 14' v hull, not a bass boat, sorry for any confusion

[WRB]

I believe the question was did you leave the drain plug in boat while it was on the trailer covered? If the drain plug was in then the water couldn't drain out.

The trolling motor is water proof, the on/off switch may have gotten wet and needs to be cleanerd and dry. All the wire terminals need to be cleaned and dry.

Tom

[jbsoonerfan]

22 minutes ago, WRB said:

I believe the question was did you leave the drain plug in boat while it was on the trailer covered? If the drain plug was in then the water couldn't drain out.

The trolling motor is water proof, the on/off switch may have gotten wet and needs to be cleanerd and dry. All the wire terminals need to be cleaned and dry.

Tom

This

[HenryPF]

Check the batteries with a load tester (or any auto parts store will do it for free).

 

I have done the same thing as you, but in a lake - left it for a week that rained and it filled up with water (no cover).

 

New batteries and it was all fine. Fish finder, trolling motor, all worked once it dried for a week.

[Fishing Rhino]

Excellent.  Not ruined after all.

[Quarry Man]

On 3/22/2019 at 9:39 PM, WRB said:

I believe the question was did you leave the drain plug in boat while it was on the trailer covered? If the drain plug was in then the water couldn't drain out.

The trolling motor is water proof, the on/off switch may have gotten wet and needs to be cleanerd and dry. All the wire terminals need to be cleaned and dry.

Tom

plug was removed, except the hole clogged with debris somehow, allowing it to fill up. How do I go about cleaning and drying these?

 

[ww2farmer]

Take the cover off and let it "air out". Clean that crap away from the drain hole so that don't happen again. My boat has lived outside with nothing but a cheap cover on it the last 3 years, and, knock on wood, I have never had any of these problems with my electronic stuff. Boating items are usually water/weather proof.

 

Bring any suspected wet electronic stuff inside to dry out.

 

Old farmers trick....spray WD-40 on wires, it will draw and chase the water out of wires as good as anything. Next to jumper cables,  spare tire, and other misc. emergency items a can of WD-40 used to be a mandatory item in older cars/trucks with spark plug wires/distributor caps when driving around in wet weather. You'd be surprised how well it works. The "WD" in WD-40 stands for "water displacement, formula #40" That's what it was originally invented for.

[RichF]

If you have a Power Drive trolling motor, it could just be your foot pedal.  I used to have one and the digital pedal that it comes with always crapped out.  Had to replace it at least 3 times. 

[Fishing Rhino]

WD40 is good stuff.  But this is WD40 on steroids.

 

CRC 3-36

 

"A corrosion inhibitor which helps prevent electrical and electronic malfunctions caused by water penetration, humidity, condensation, or corrosion. Displaces moisture and inhibits corrosion.

Applications: Protects seat & cargo tracks, landing gear, lower fuselage interiors, flight controls, facing surfaces, crevices, electrical connectors, relays, circuit breakers, transformers, switchgear, motors, hinges, generators, controls, instruments."

In my lobstering days, everyone I knew kept a good supply (usually a gallon jug) of the CRC 3-36 in their boats.  Everything electrical got baptized with it.  Generators, alternators, starters, electronics, buss bars, switches, etc.  Spare or backup parts would get misted down with it, then sealed in a plastic bag.  When needed, it came out of the bag looking like new and more important, ready to go.

[Quarry Man]

4 hours ago, RichF said:

If you have a Power Drive trolling motor, it could just be your foot pedal.  I used to have one and the digital pedal that it comes with always crapped out.  Had to replace it at least 3 times. 

How do I feel if this is the case? I have a piwerdrivepower drive

[RichF]

22 minutes ago, Quarry Man said:

How do I feel if this is the case? I have a piwerdrivepower drive

If the battery indicator on the trolling motor says you have juice in the battery but the prop isn't turning when you touch the pedal, it could be that the circuit in the pedal itself is fried.  I left my first 2 pedals hooked up and in the boat overnight before, forgot to cover the boat, and a rainstorm fried them.  I don't  know if this is still the case, but my old Powerdrive pedal had the speed scroll dial on the right hand side.  Try turning your pedal to continuous run mode and see if the prop starts to spin.  It could just be the manual foot button on the pedal has quit working (as in my case).      

[WRB]

Check the circuit breakers, fuses first. 

You clean battery posts and terminals using baking soda and rinse with water then buff with steel wool or wire brush. Tighten back together and coat with vasoline to prevent oxidation. WD-40 will help remove moisture, after cleaning spray the switch and wire connecting terminals with De-OxIT D5. 

Good luck,

Tom

[Catt]

8 hours ago, ww2farmer said:

 

Old farmers trick....spray WD-40 on wires, it will draw and chase the water out of wires as good as anything. Next to jumper cables,  spare tire, and other misc. emergency items a can of WD-40 used to be a mandatory item in older cars/trucks with spark plug wires/distributor caps when driving around in wet weather. You'd be surprised how well it works. The "WD" in WD-40 stands for "water displacement, formula #40" That's what it was originally invented for.

 

Exactly!  ?

 

When I was a teenager I worked at a filling station, ya know the place where they pumped gas for you. When we had heavy rains i would get a can of WD40, ride a round starting  stalled cars for $5 a pop!

[Brew City Bass]

I've fished some wretched downpours with all my electronics running and exposed to the rain. I'm talking rain so bad that I have to have my bilge pump on or I'd sink. 

I'm guessing your electronics are just fine and the battery or some wiring got corroded and went bad.