Last week one of my oil pumps went out. Mechanic couldn't make it over to the house until today. In the meantime, we had the storm deluge of T.S. Debbie pounding Florida.

Mechanic arrives today and noticed I have water almost up to the seats (well above the floorboard). Trim pumps, oil reserviors, fuel tanks, etc were all under water.

Drained the boat. I know the oil tanks need to be flushed and fuel tanks need to be rested for water intrusion. Question is whether things like my power trip pumps need to be replaced or simply sprayed down. They did work once the water subsided.

Thoughts?

Your fuel tanks should be sealed and fine unless water went down the vent or the fill.
It should all be fresh water (rain) so I wouldn't panic. As long as it didn't get inside these things, dry it out and maybe spray a little WD-40 on few things and get it going.

...you can't over engineer or over preventive maintenance anything!

F is right, chance of the fuel tanks having an issue are slim. I think I would drain and replace trim hydraulics and spray the motors down well.

Not a bad idea to get a fan or three in there and blow it out as best you can so that water has less of a chance to creep up wires... not a bad idea to spray connections too.

Check all fluid levels and condition, even if there is minimal chance it has had water intrusion. I lost a transmission once because the vent tube had a bad spot and I failed to follow my own rule!

It is much better it is fresh water than salt, but it is still water. Water is one of the best natural lubricants there is, but for some reason metal has never read that fact! Maybe it is the close tolerances...

Anything that has been underwater deserves your inspection, even if you think it is air tight.

Starters are gonna be an issue unless you have reverse tops.

What you can do is remove them, pour denatured alcohol in them (literally submerge) and let dry.....by pressurized air if possible.

Step 2 is to liberally spray crc non-chlorinated parts cleaner (green can) and let dry.

Step 3 is to spray boshield in them.....and reinstall.

While out, I would replace the solenoid for the bendix.

Everything else in the bilge that is electrical, spray with the crc, then boshield.

Pay attention to the contact relays on your trim pumps....work today, tomorrow they go on vacation.

Everything else, drown in WD-40. Best is gallon cans and a spray pump from Lowes/HD.

Little know facts about WD....

It is NOT flamable. In the spray can, it is the propellant that is flamable.
"WD" stands for water dispersant
The "40" is the 40th concoction that finally worked to the expected level.
It is fish oil.

Damnit i like making flame throwers with WD40!

Guys, thanks for the information. For clarity, I have twin outboards which are fine. The boat basically 'sank" on the lift. But actually, fresh water rose above my batteries, trim tab motors, oil reserviors and the rear fuel tank.

Rear fuel tank was sealed (took care of that last Summer after a small leak was found)
Trim motors and all fittings have been coated with Water Dispersant-40
Oil reserviors were pulled, emptiers and flushed. Still ahve to flush all lines to make sure no water intrusion.
Both oil pumps are being replaced.

Will them reconnect all with new water separators, etc and see how she goes.

This is maintenance I wasn't planning on just 3 days before we close on our new waterfront house, but that's boating for ya.

I really do appreciate your input. Should have everything done next week, then move boat from behind my father's house to my new house.

Good thing is my new lift has platforms behind the boat. Will be pulling the plug after each use instead of relying float switch (which has now failed me more than 3 times but never filled the boat before.)

I installed a ball valve on my rig. I use a pvc pipe with wire hook on the end to sag the handle of the valve and close it when the boat is high on the lift, then open it when I put the boat away. So far in 8 years have only once started to lower the boat with the valve open. Since I lower with the hatch open, I saw the water starting to come in, and then raised the boat let it drain, and then closed the valve. I would try the new ball valve drain for bass boats, but don't like the idea that you could get debris in the valve that would let it leak into the bilge when it was supposed to be closed. Is it a risk over a screwed in plug? Sure, but it does simplify keeping a dry bilge when the boat is up and the back is NOT accessible due to dock design (without struggling to move floating platform around to the back of boat, tying it off and then installing/removing plug.) Since the valve is above the bottom of the boat, nothing is going to knock it off, and if I am hard aground in rocks that could damage the valve, I got worse problems than the stinking valve ( I carry wooden plugs for thru hull fittings Just in case also).

...a ball valve! Can you post a picture or send it to me PM?

As for the wooden plugs, I carry styrofoam cones as used in flower arranging. If the hole is not round the styrofoam will take the shape when forced through from the inside and then you turn it a little and it locks in. The cones come in various sizes and slightly different shapes. DO NOT use the oasis type! They do not have enough "body" to them and break easily.

Cat... if the batteries were not the sealed type and they were underwater, be sure to flush the area and use a good cleaner to get any acid out. Even well diluted the residual effect of the acid on gelcoat, hoses, metal and wires is amazing.

Hey boatshow......

Because you are from bokeelia, did you happen across any of the boacgrandebull**** from Easter?

It is a small island.