Swamped the Airslot

dizzyspots · #1 10-08-2015, 08:23 PM

Came back from fishing in the Sea of Cortez, tied up to our friends mooring buoy...cooked up a batch of triggerfish fish tacos...couple of cervezas and bed time...
.awake the next morning to the sunrise, sipping on coffee...I notice that I cant see the red stripe on my 74 Airslot 185 OB...in fact I can only see half of the Wellcraft "W"...hmmm taking on water???. I wake up my fishing buddies...we swim out to the boat and its FULL...floating OK but FULL to the gunwales...bilge pump is on...we start bailing, get it unhooked from the mooring and beach it on the sand. We get all the gear out and eventually all the water.

We find the culprit: 8 in x 1/4 gash in the port "sponson". We get that patched up enough to tow it around to the estuary and get it back on the trailer.
What do I need to be doing next...the 88 140 Rude was in the up tilt position.
I opened the bow hatch and under dash flaps...its sitting in a dry Baja garage until I can get back to tow it home at the end of the month.
I put a lot of sweat and tears into rehabbing the old girl....The engine started in fast idle but would stay running.
So plan is to drain fuel...repair gash (epoxy or poly resin?)...what else am I missing here....stringers ...foam...transom? Any issues with motor?

smokeonthewater · #2 10-08-2015, 11:27 PM

You need to be flushing any salt from the motor within minutes of getting it out of the water...

Figure on replacing all electrical... All switches, wiring, gauges, etc.

Blue_Runner · #3 10-09-2015, 08:54 AM

I sunk a 70 rude in fresh. Soon as I got it out, engine down pulled plugs, see if water comes out?, tilted motor up filled all 3 cylinders with marvel mystery oil, turned flywheel by hand to work it in, tilt down to drail oil - again turning flywheel by hand. Tilt up & repeat process several times until you run out of marvel mystery oil. I did it maybe 5 - 7 times? Drained as much mm oil as possible then hit starter (still worked) to blow out the rest. Replaced plugs and fired up. You are gonna want to spray the powerhead down really good too. I like CRC 656.

Like smoke said, time is of the essence - it can't wait. Especially in salt. Youtube it, there's some good tips there.

bradford · #4 10-09-2015, 09:25 AM

Sorry to hear, not the end of the world though. Do what they said, rinse everything really well and apply lubricant to all electrical connections. Would get rid of all the fuel and flush the tank. Run the engine off a small auxillary tank to get it going again. If you can get to the gash from the inside I'd go that route, regular epoxy resin with some mat and cloth. Some glass on the outside as well to fill in, or some marine tex, sand and touch up paint.

dizzyspots · #5 10-09-2015, 05:22 PM

Thanks for all the replies, unfortunately, being in Baja, I didnt have access to most of that...and an early AM departure to return to the US for work resulted in me leaving it in a friends 2 car garage...in Baja. I wont get back there for 3 or 4 weeks.
1) The motor was tilted up..tried to start motor after re-floating off the beach the next morning...batteries weak..no joy...as I was being towed back to the estuary to put the boat on the trailer, I tried several times and got a start twice..on high idle...but nothing continuous. Ill pull the plugs and do the MM routine and drain carbs when I get it back
2) No running water for flushing anything before we left. I did open the bow hatch and the console flaps so it could air out
3) One saddle tank was near empty, the other near full...I plan on draining both upon return
4) There is NO access to back side of the sponson...I did use auto grade POLYESTER resin , not epoxy for initial repair was that wrong?
5) Nothing is happening until Oct 30-31 or Nov 7
6) Any concerns about the understructure (stringers. foam. transom) being flooded over night??

phatdaddy · #6 10-09-2015, 07:03 PM

did your powerhead go under water?

smokeonthewater · #7 10-09-2015, 07:45 PM

The hull is nothing to worry about... The issues will be with anything metal

If you removed the gelcoat before doing the repair it MIGHT be ok but I suspect that you likely simply put a bandaid over the leak... To repair it you need to fair it at at least a 5-1 scope and layer in new glass... I/E if the glass to be repaired was 1/2" thick you would need to grind back at least 2 1/2" in all directions.

I would not use anything automotive grade anything and would much prefer epoxy.

dizzyspots · #8 10-09-2015, 09:28 PM

The boat was not sunk..it took on a lot of water because of a gash in the outer sponson. The water was below the gunwales. the batteries and battery switch were submerged.
The engine was tilted fully up, the engine cover was touching the water, not sure if the carbs/powerhead got water or not.
The initial repair last season was 60gt prep to some raw glass but probably some 60gt gel. it was 3 layers: 1" wider all around, followed by 2" wider and 3" wider. Hardware store polyester resin and mat

bradford · #9 10-12-2015, 09:06 AM

Having saddle tanks your fuel is probably ok as long as no fittings or the fill or sending unit was submerged. One advantage of saddle tanks.

dizzyspots · #10 10-12-2015, 09:40 AM

the vent and necks were above the water line...i'll suck a sample and take a peek....