water/ice damage

Hi guys. This is my first post, but have been reading some good posts from you all, and I have gotten alot of info about fishing from yinz. I am new to boating, and fishing for that matter. I used to only go the first day trout and maybe another day or two throught the year. But, I went to pymie last year in the spring for my first time ever, and I have been "hooked" since. I went and bought my own 16ft alumacraft with a 9.9 shortly after. I've been to Pymie a few times now, along with Wilhelm and Moraine, and once to erie appx 6-7 miles out( so I was told...had no navs at the time. haha) Anyways...to get to the point, I stored my covered boat at my friends house over this winter and was saddened to see that them heavy snow days crushed my cover and ripped it, letting in snow and water. Being i'm new to this boating, I didn't pull the drain plug. Now my boat has appx 1' of water in it, with and inch or so of hard ice on the floor. I'm hoping this warm weather were getting will melt it all soon! My question is, outside of the obvious damage i have to my electronics, radio and ff, etc. Do any of you think that my floor will rot, or warp from this water/ice? I have it tilted and draining, and will check on it wednesday. I have it fully insured btw with a little 100 dollar deductable. Funny thing, I just bought a 35hp and a new ff/gps for it too before I knew this happened. Any comments would be appreciated.

You need to hope that the water didnt swell and screw the seams up on your boat.  The weight is not good for the frame nor tires and springs you need to immediately pull the plug.  It is suppose to be in the 40's and 50's this week.  Hope all turns out ok.  If your friend has a garage and you can slowly get the boat in it and heat the garage and melt all you'll be better off.  You cant tow it far due to the weight.  I built a rib cage that fits inside my boat out of 2 inch PVC that tents the tarp a bit to prevent what you've shown.  Worked for me.
 
Sorry
 
Jim

Thats a terrible shame! Wow....hopefully everything is OK...I'd think the hull should be fine since the ice had room to expand...lesson learned though I guess huh? I'd invest in a quality cover...I recommend Conneautville Canvas....and removing everything from your boat for winter storage, especially electronics/batteries...I do it every year that I stored any boats outdoors until I got my on board battery charger/tender. I wish you the best! Keep us posted.

marliezx7 If you can get your boat in a heated garage Do it right away and don't drain the water just yet. Use a turbo heater and run under the boat. That way the outside will dry off. Then the ice will melt and then you can climb under the boat and IF IT DID IN FACT LOOSEN any of the rivets you will see moisture around them or any seals . Then drain as much as you can and then run dehumidifier under a trap or cover. Good Luck Dave

$100 deductible, call the insurance company. You may be able to buy it back, but you've been paying premiums for a reason, use it.

Consider this a lesson learned, you can't forget about your boat in the winter time. I have stored boats outside in the past and you have to check on them pretty much every day, especially if it's snowing or windy.

Good tips guys. Thanks, I will put into use tomorrow! Will keep an update on what becomes of this.

you got lucky