Pulled the boat out of my shop to do some cleaning, and discovered that a Rat(s) have been at work chewing through EVER FRIGGIN WIRE YOU CAN FIND in the boat !!!!!

They got up under the deck .... into my rod box .... ate part of the cork handles off of most of my rods ..... trolling motor doesn't work .... on-boat battery charger wires chewed through ..... built in fuel tank wires eaten through.

Big job ahead. Is there any way to separate the cap from the hull, so I can get after this stuff easier?

1986 Charger 18.5'

Dang Hopper that sucks! I had the same thing happen to my dads old boat when I took it over after he passed. Had a big nest under the deck. Had to do a total rewire. Good luck buddy

dam, do you have insurance or was it in a garage and possibly homeowners coverage?

you can pull the cap, take off rub rail, drill out all rivets and look for any glassed together areas. you may have to run a sawzall down the joint if there is any tape on it, doubt it tho.

pull engine first and watch the controls and cables when you pull the cap.

good luck.

Thanks Hop.

I looked up some Youtube, and it looks like one hell of a job.

But I know that the rats have nested up under there and taken all sorts of [censored] with them for nesting. I spread out about 15 of the little packets of Rat Bait that I had, and two days later it was all gone. That means that they are picking it up and packing it away for Winter. They HAD to have eaten some of it.

Might just have to re-wire what I can from above. But I wanted to get under there anyway, because the sending unit on the built-in fuel tank is bad, and I can't find a way to cut through decking, to get to it to replace.

This sucks.

yep, it is not a job for the faint hearted.

time consuming is most of it.

when you get ready to rewire holler at me and I can give you some good sources for marine wire.

Use sticky traps to catch rats. It's no fun working on a boat with stench of dead rats. My

Side note: tractor supply sells a product called fresh cab. Throw a few bags of it under the deck and it will keep rats from coming back. I also have a bag under the cowling of my motor as rats were building nest in there.
Tractor supply also sells one called grandpas mouse pouches. Don't buy them the rats eat it.

Follow Hops advice and make sure you use Marine Wire!

I'm going nuclear on the rats/mice. Now they have made it into my attached garage, then soon to be into the house.

I had some Rat Bait from Tractor Supply that was a bucket of pouches that each contained about 2 oz. of pellets. I threw them all over the shop, placed 5 or 6 in the boat, near the door to the shop and every corner.

Two days later ... they are all gone.Somewhere in that shop, they have a nest where they are stockpiling that stuff for Winter. Is this a sign of a rough Winter ahead?

So yesterday I went back to TSC and bought some rat bait in a bucket, that are green logs of deliciousness. The one by the back door is gone this morning.

I'll go back to TSC and try to get that product recommended above.

No use repairing wire until the eaters are dead.

Please school me on "Marine Wire" vs. automotive wire????

marine wire is tinned the entire length, no corrosion or turning green.

this is the type I use, makes dedicated circuits easy.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Tin...1-1-f6b8d51f-2c55-4dc3-89ad-0c3639671b2d

comes in all gauges, 14 will run from back to front for graphs and hold voltage, works excellent for under console and other places.

this is for single wire,
https://www.amazon.com/AWG-Marine-W...rine+wire&qid=1601037047&sr=8-16

del city wire is a great source, they have good product.

https://www.delcity.net/store/Wire-&-Cable/?mkwid=s&crid=431417731412&mp_kw=%2Bdel%20%2Bcity%20%2Bwire&mp_mt=b&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqrb7BRDlARIsACwGad5fE8WGXDliJT2bkXuF8WXUkUaCvr8huue8xrd7HZ37GfuHtqV5LSMaAm5SEALw_wcB

https://www.delcity.net/store/Marine-Grade-Tinned-Wire/p_365

as for the rats, go to wal mart and buy moth balls (the moths don't care), they come in bags, 2 to a box, I use 2 boxes, 3 bags under deck and one in bilge on top of fuel tank taped down.

it works.

Moth Balls do work...

But them the boat smells like Grandma;s Closet.

Fresh cab smells like a mix between cinnamon and mint so it has a good smell to it

Side note: how do you go about smelling moth balls without hurting their tiny legs?

Big Hopper, If you get the bait blocks with the hole in the middle, nail them down to some boards in the garage. that way the rats cant just carry them off.

Great idea.

They're piling them up somewhere.