If you look in the coil sticky all this info is there. Every Sovereign coil I'm aware of is waterproof except the 8 and 11" Coinsearch coils and the old S-12 solid Sun Ray coil I think. Oh, and the new Ultimate 13" coil isn't waterproof either. All these coils are only rated water resistant. Which means you *might* get away with using them in the water but you are taking a huge risk. People usually put rubber cement or silicon on the coil's cable nut threads, and then under the rubber nut sleeve that slides down too so seal that to the coil cable. That's the spot (nut and where the coil cable enters the coil) that is at most risk for letting water in. However, if you've got one little pin hole leak anywhere on the coil it could be the end of it if water gets in somehow.
Some are using the Ultimate 13" coil in the water. I've seen a few Excal guys using it so far in the water on here, but I hear it tries to float a tad due to not being filled with epoxy.
The SEF coils, 10" Tornado, 8" Tornado, BBS coils, WOT, S-12 (the newer spiderweb version), Excelerators, and so on...All are waterproof because they are filled with epoxy. I guess Ralph says the S-5 is also epoxy filled so I'd assume it's waterproof too? Don't know about the 5" Excelerator coils.
Even with the above coils I think it's still a good idea to remove the coil cable nut and put some kind of sealer like rubber cement or silicon on the threads, as well as under the rubber nut sleeve to that seals to the coil cable. I prefer Shoe Goo for doing this and use it on all my coils. It can be found at most stores like walmart, usualy in the Shoe repair section or the glue isle too. This stuff is super thick to it stays where you put it, dries clear, and stays very flexible so it won't crack on you down the road from movement/stress. I plan to use the stuff to seal my heaphone and coil cables to a waterproof box when I ever get around to getting one to throw my GT into during water hunts. A cheap way to avoid getting the box wet. The headphones and coil (stock 10") will stay on that box permanently, so I don't need connectors to swap them all the time.
Of special note, the SEF coils usually come with the coil nut either off or very loose, so for sure make sure it's tightened down and sealed even if you don't plan to water hunt. Even though coils filled with epoxy shouldn't allow water to get to the windings if there is a breach in the coil case, I suspect there is a slight chance water can wick down the coil cable wires and to the pre-amp circuit. I've seen that circuit exposed on some coils and it was incased in epoxy too, but I still think there is a slight risk that water can wick down the wires to it, so I say seal under the nut and rubber nut sleeve for added insurance.
Yep, your Sovereign is meant to be amphibious. One of the few machines on the market that is. That's why the coil and meter cables or so long, so you can chest mount the box while water hunting. Not only is the coil cable usually not long enough on other machines to chest mount, but many machines don't allow you to remove the control box to chest mount, so the Sovereign is special in that way. A true land/water machine, to where you can wade about belly button deep so long as there isn't any wave action. I stick the control box in a ziplock bag and seal the hole that the coil cable goes through with rubber bands. The headphone plug I just poke through the bag to plug in. Once all the controls are set I ziplock the bag closed. Now even if I fell in or got splashed by a rouge wave I think the only place water can get in is right where I poked the headphone through the bag, so I bet I bet it will survive a quick dunk with no water damage.
As he said, with your Etrac be careful about turning the machine upside down because water can run up the shaft and into the control box. I've seen a lot of different machines get destroyed that way on the net over the years. Almost did it myself a few times. Best to drill two holes in the lower shaft right about the plastic oil mount insert. Stick a measuring tape down the lower shaft until you hit the top of the coil mount insert to measure where it ends. Then mark and drill two small holes on the shaft so it just clears the top of that insert, so that all water will drain as you work your way out of the water. I did that to the stock GT shaft because that's my water rig. I drilled one right at the front and back side of the shaft so with the normal hunting angle the water should all at least drain out of the back hole due to the angle. Keep an eye on it as seaweed can plug them here and there. You don't want to drill them real big or that might weaken the shaft.
