Think I destroyed my boat

[speedtoburn]

Hey guys, first time poster here and pretty damn depressed right now as I think I may have basically destroyed my boat but wanted to get some opinions before making any rash decisions.

I have a '97 Chaparral Sunesta (7.4 L Bravo 3).

Long story short, due to the birth of my child (at the time) and everything else that goes along with having 5 children, I forgot to winterize the damn boat. Unfortunately for me, we had a brutal winter in the Atlanta area and now I am paying the price. Last week I took the boat to my mechanic to get its yearly tune up in preparation for the boating season (replace impeller, oil change, etc.). Mechanic calls me several days later and says "uh...we have a problem here buddy".

He was not able to get the engine to crank and after some more investigation he found water in the cylinder, he may have actually said multiple cylinders but I just can't recall right now with everything running through my head. He also found that one of the core plugs (refuse to call it freeze plug at this point) was blown out. The boat ran fine last season up until late July which was the last time I used it as my son was born shortly thereafter.

After some research I now see that my engine is exhibiting classic signs indicative of catastrophic freeze damage which just leaves me numb. Anyhow the mechanic is telling me that he is not sure that he can get to the other core plug without pulling the engine...he said he might be able to but it's doubtful. He said I'm looking at about $1,000 to pull the engine, does that seem like a fair estimate? Regardless at this point I guess I'm left wondering what is the point of pulling the engine anyhow...seems to me like it is a moot point. It' sure seems pretty clear to me that everything is basically destroyed (cracked block, head gasket, manifold and whatever else).

If the mechanic comes back and says that he would have to pull the engine to get to the other plug; in your guys opinion is there even any point in doing this? I'm a middle class working stiff and don't have a ton of disposable income it would be difficult for me to afford that much money to pull the engine only to discover thousands upon thousands worth of more damage (which I certainly couldn't afford to fix) which would make the thousand I spent to pull the engine a complete and utter waste.

My kids are pretty bummed at the moment...we saved up for a few years to get this boat always made it a point to maintain it and due to my distracted carelessness it appears that I'v basically screwed my family.

I would be grateful for any advice the community could offer me as to what my next steps should be. Do I just junk it? Do I have them check for water in oil or pressure test the cylinders? Or is there even no point in doing either of those tests/evaluations given the symptoms?

I should add that once he cleared the water out of the cylinders he was able to get the engine to turn over and run as usual with the ignition but I know that doesn't really mean anything.

Thanks in advance.

 

[kghost]

Typically once the core plug (s) (freeze plugs pop out it is too late......

The fact that water is in the cyclinders means a cracked something that allowed the water in.........not like a blown head gasket that may have occurred while in use.........

The fact that it runs is not eveidence that all is ok. It needs to be under load and fully up to operating temperature.

Lets hope that all is well but dont hold your breath......Us from the north are all to familiar with this senerio........

you are most likely looking at least $5000.00 + for a marine shop to do the work. If a remanufactured long block is used that alone will cost ~$3000 +

If you go factory replacement it could raise the cost over $10,000.00 maybe even just for the motor alone


This is a very expensive lesson........15 to 30 minutes of time just draining the block and nothing else vs ~$5000 to $7000 or more.

Sh!t happens.............sorry to hear..........

 

[guyjg]

Look around for a donor boat in bad shape w/a good engine. You may find a decent used engine at a reliable marina.

 

[bspeth]

don't beat yourself up. It is what it is.When you are solely in charge of household maintenance,you make mistakes sometimes.Just assess the options and pick the best one,its all you can do.

 

[DaveG55]

Ok, FWIW, I have a few thoughts.
First, I think a grand is high for engine removal, if that's all it is, is high. Now if that's pull, replace the plug and reinstall it's not as bad. A friend of mine had to replace his engine this spring for the same reasons. Except his block was obviously cracked on both sides. He ordered a 5.7l and found a mechanic who did the complete swap for a flat $900. The long block cost him close to $5k.
Since the engine has been run I'd ask if there was water in the oil? If not then your chances of dodging a bullet are better.
If it were me, I would have a serious talk with your mechanic and get an honest, realistic assessment of your engine and your concerns about cost.
Where in Atlanta are you? I'm on the south side but my boat lives on Lake Sinclair.
I have gotten lucky and am just having to replace the exhaust manifolds, no I didn't winterize either, we just don't normally get freezing temps like we had last winter and it bit a LOT of people in the butts. I personally know 5 people with freeze damage of some sort.