head on collision with boat in tow

[Mike Love]

recently in a auto accident head on with my 16 ft open bow in tow boat slid two feet forward on trailer bending the winch mast and stretching all the tiedowns to limit trailer bounced two feet off the ground it is an older boat with a 140 horse merc io when i went to put in water leaked into bilge area right away. never had a problem with the boat taking on water before the accident what do i look for as far as damage caused by the accident as there is no obvios damage to hull thanks for you responses

[chawk_man]

Check water hose connections with stern drive by removing them and re-attaching. Check and thru-hulls like for raw water wash-down pump, etc. Check the hull again. With boat level on trailer, and frame blocked, fill the bilge with water as far as you dare without flooding any electrical components on the engine.

[papyson]

to check the transom for leaking have the boat dry and plug in and boat tied down..then back it into the water until transom is in the water and check it...preferably with you in the boat and someone backing it in....another place to look if you have center rollers on trailer is where the boat(fiberglass) first hits the rollers when you drive the boat on the trailer...this is a weak spot on some older boats...i had one crack there when the boat was lifted to have some welding done on a trailer....could not see it but thats where it was...

[bondo]

to check the transom for leaking have the boat dry and plug in and boat tied down..then back it into the water until transom is in the water and check it...preferably with you in the boat and someone backing it in....another place to look if you have center rollers on trailer is where the boat(fiberglass) first hits the rollers when you drive the boat on the trailer...this is a weak spot on some older boats...i had one crack there when the boat was lifted to have some welding done on a trailer....could not see it but thats where it was...

Ayuh,.... This is a Much Better way to check for leaks,....

Fillin' the hull with water is a Bad idea,...
Water weighs 8 pounds per gallon, 'n yer talkin' some serious weight,...

[chawk_man]

I have a very rare disagreement with Bondo on this one. I've done the fill-the-hull-with-water quite a few times, even on my old 25 ft C-hawk cabin boat. Just block the trailer frame well at the load points on both sides of each axle and the front V position of the frame. It does find the leaks if they are in the hull. Typically they occur at or near the keel or near the bottom of the transom, so a huge amount of water is normally not necessary. Eight lbs. of water per gallon for 100 gallons = 800 lbs. of additional weight, which is not excessive..