MARCO.... STOP YELLING!!! :lol: (Please turn off your caps lock - it's hard to read).
To the problem at hand... water can definitely cause electrical (and other) problems, particularly if it gets mixed in with battery acid and other stuff and left sitting for extended period of time. You don't want all that extra weight pushing down inside of your hull (40 gallons is a lot). I don't think it will cause structural problems, but if you have any holes left in the bilge area from previous screw heads that you didn't seal (or current holes with screws in them that aren't also sealed), water can seep into your hull and cause damage.
Best thing to do is have a clean, dry bilge - but that's difficult to do - especially if yours is partially sealed up with some kind of access plate like so many modern boats are.
Water and cold weather definitely bad in your bilge area. You're looking for cracked pipes, hoses, bilge pump housing, aerator housings, etc... If you're in freezing weather, keep that bilge as water free as possible. I used to leave my plug out, and I would run RV potable water tank anti-freeze in my aerator pumps and the livewell until I knew it was sitting in there. Then I'd drain the remainder, leaving that small amount still in the housings instead of plain water. If the weather dropped below freezing, I never had to worry because I knew their was potable water anti-freeze in there protecting my pump housings and hoses from cracking. Do NOT use regular anti-freeze in there - only the RV potable water tank anti-freeze. It's a pink color, and most auto-supply stores carry it. It's non-toxic, as you put it in the RV potable water tanks... therefore it won't harm your fish at the beginning of the season. Just rinse it out and go fishing.
All the best,
Glenn
