The owner would hardly be the first owner to not know how to take care of his boat. There is a big industry built around fixing up abused and poorly maintained boats. Plenty of owners leave their boats without closing all underwater valves. Somewhere on that boat was an open BWL thru-hull full of fresh water, once that connection started leaking it was up to the bilge pump. When the bilge pump loop froze it clogged and quit bailing itself out. The rest was destiny. If the story about being assisted and not following up with a fix he may find himself with cancelled insurance and a record that puts him out of the boating scene.
- Close ALL through hulls.
- Remove bilge pump hose back-flow valves.
- Don’t winter a boat on a mooring.