Living on a Sailboat: Fixing a Submerged Electric Motor

Our electric motor spent a few hours submerged when our boat flooded with tap water due to a broken hose fitting. Such a small issue led to a massive amount of repairs. Luckily, the water that flooded the boat was clean tap water and not salt water, so the damage to the electronic components was kept to a minimum. One of the casualties was the electric motor.

Immediately after the water was drained from the bilge, I sprayed the entire motor with WD40, but the motor still wouldn’t turn on. I was afraid that some of the connections and wires in the motor may have corroded and damaged the entire unit. As it turns out, the problem was actually that there was a smidge of water still in the plugs of the motors which caused a fault so the motor would not turn on to protect itself.

Drying out the plugs and filling them with lanocote to prevent any corrosion while also displacing any remaining water proved to be a saving grace. The plugs were all filled and reconnected, then when the motor was activated, the solenoids clicked and the motor began to spin!

Success! The motor survived the flooding and made oily mess in the boat like a diesel motor would have.
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