It Probably would never happen

C

C-Val

Member
Hi Dear Friends
I hit a small log the other day that glanced off the front port side - fortunately no damage. It was enough, though, to get me thinking.

What if the hull were to be breached on the forward end from a log or shallow rock and water were to begin coming in. On most boats with a bilge, the water would flow into the bilge and flow to the pump.

In the case of my classic, the water would begin filling up the storage lockers lowering the front end and raising the back end so the pump would be completely useless.

Just wondering how would you prepare for a senario like this? (even though it would probably never happen)
 
An interesting question.

As I recall from looking in my CD22, there are 3 front compartments. These are separate from each other, so it is unlikely you would get a hole in more than one compartment.

If you have an older unmodified boat, there is foam in the bow compartments and they are not available for storage. The compartments are closed, so the amount of water that would come on board is probably limited.

If you have a later (or field modified) boat, then the front compartments are available for storage, but are still separated. If only one compartment is holed, it is possible that the remaining buoyancy of the boat will keep it afloat high enough that the incoming water will not overflow the compartment and flood the rest of the boat. This was the theory of the Titanic design, and we all know how that turned out.

Some people think that the closed hatches will prevent the compartment from flooding completely by stopping the water. However, there are cases of the hatches leaking on other parts of the boat so I doubt that they will do more than slow the influx of water to some degree.

You could get some idea about how low the bow of the boat would go by filling the most forward compartment (it is the biggest so it is the worst case) with water and seeing how low the bow settles. You could do a little at a time to ensure that things don't get out of hand if the bow gets too low. Getting several of your larger friends to stand on the bow of the boat would also give some idea of how easy it is to get the hull deeper into the water.
 
Ssobol

Thank you for your thoughts

On my particular boat, the whole front (under the bed) is one big storage locker. The whole front of the boat would fill until it began to spill out over the top and onto the cabin floor.

I know something like this is unlikely and not supposed to happen, but having lost immediate family from a boat the was not supposed to sink
makes me "think thru" different scenarios beforehand to imagine what I would do.

I wasn't supposed to hit a log either---but I did. Lucky for me it wasn't that big!

Thanks again
 
C-Val":1unvyds3 said:
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In the case of my classic, the water would begin filling up the storage lockers lowering the front end and raising the back end so the pump would be completely useless.
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C-Val:

I think you're 100% correct (unfortunately).

The "cure" would be to fill the bow chamber with foam and/or seal it off with a watertight bulkhead, as is done on ocean sailboat racers.

Alternately, a bilge pump could be added up front that might work for a small puncture.

Fortunately, this is such a rare occurence that I've never heard of it happening with a C-Dory, at least.

Probably not worth worrying about, but preparing a "ditch bag" and life raft certainly would give you some comfort as well as just being a good idea in general.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Back to 101 basics when I was in the navy. First thing you have to do when the hull is breached, is plug the breach. In case of a small hole, do you have wooden plugs and a hammer you can lay your hands on quickly? I do. If a bigger hole, will sleeping bags, duvet etc plug the hole? Got a bucket handy as a bailer? Of course there is no guarentee that any of these actions will work but it may buy you some time to get rescued or launch the inflatable. Also make sure your co-ordinates are set on the radio in case you have to hit the emergency distress button real quick, and that your flares are easy to access.

Martin.
 
A note on bilge pumps and holes. This isn't scientifically calculated, nor a C-Dory, but...

I was on a ~40 foot powerboat (not mine) that suddenly developed a ~3" diameter hole a foot or so below the waterline at the transom. It was noticed pretty quickly as the boat began to list and water began to fill the cockpit. It overwhelmed whatever bilge pumps were there (I don't know exactly what that setup was), then overwhelmed a portable gasoline pump, then nearly overwhelmed two 800 gph pumps the Coast Guard put aboard (granted, it took a few minutes for all these to be deployed).

The boat was saved with a combination of all these pumps and a side tie to the CG vessel (plus as I remember it we finally figured out where the hole was and were able to stuff something into it). The CG limped us over to a nearby Travelift where the boat was hauled and proceeded to "drain" overnight.

Anyway, all that just to say that with any "real sized" hole beneath the waterline, I would guess that most folks' installed bilge pump setups would not keep up with it.

On the other hand, as Martin says, access to the hull and a plug can work wonders. On another boat (also not mine, and I swear it's not me!) we were sailing along 150 miles or so from shore, and noticed a thin line of water seeping out from under the sink cabinet in the head. Opened the cabinet and ... "hmm, seems to be coming from that tranducer through-hull..." Reach over to touch through hull and.... it comes off in the skipper's hand! Now we have a ~1.5" hole leading to azure blue water that's around 2' below the waterline (interestingly, water did not "geyser" in, but just flowed in quickly. Run for the wooden plugs and hammer (located in specific, dry locker), pound one in, and along we went. Barely took on any water.

It was over a month before we were able to get to a facility to haul, and during that time no water came in at all around the plug. In fact, we had some work to get the darned thing out once we were on the hard! (A dry softwood plug swells when you install it.)

Naturally, that transducer through hull was the one job the boat owner had "outsourced" because it was early on and he wasn't confident he could do as well as the professionals (turns out it failed due to installation issues).

Of course all "holes" would not be tidy and round.... there are just so many variables.

A watertight bow compartment could be one measure; on the other hand, access to the hull is a good thing too. Seems like each choice has its plusses and minusses. My bow compartment is "stock" at the moment, but I think I'm probably going to install access lids and then leave the area accessible (and use it for light/bulky stowage). Just one way to go about it.

Sunbeam
 
We carry a nerf football that can be cut to a size for the hole or stuffed in a hole. We also carry an underwater epoxy stick that can be mixed and applied wet to a small hole. Thirdly, we have one or two of the rollup type cutting boards that can be cut to the appropriate size and attached to the outside of the hull with that epoxy. Once that is done we'd brace the repair from the inside to help prevent the sea pressure from pushing the repair through the hull and reopening the hole. On the theory that if you are prepared nothing bad will ever happen we're pretty well guaranteed that we'll carry the weight around for years and never have to use it. :lol:
 
Water leakage rates for various hole sizes, and depth below water surface, plus a good discussion of bilge pump capacity: http://www.whsyc.org/Flooding/Flooding.html

Aside from the many excellent suggestions listed so far on methods to quickly plug a sizeable hole, also consider an eight inch by eight inch piece of 3/8ths marine plywood, preset with 3/4 inch square drive drywall screws on 2 inch centers. Two guys with two screwdrivers can close up a hole pretty fast. A cordless driver would be a real asset ... if you had access to one. A quarter inch thick layer of minicell foam or similar preglued to the plywood will help fill gaps and reduce water leakage to a minimum. Probably want one inch screws if you have the foam on the plywood.
 
Thanks everyone for your excellent tips and suggestions!

I will set myself up accordingly. I am making myself a "to do" list from your suggestions.

I am proud to be apart of this community. My wife teases me and says that the C-Brats are my "facebook" page since she is a "facebook person" and I am not. Maybe she is right, but anyway I enjoy so much learning about the C-Dory values and issues and learning to be safe on the water!

C-Val
 
First--pretty unlikely to happen, with the solid glass forward--and when you are on a plane, you may not hit the obstruction with that area. Good ideas with the Wax, and Nerf ball etc. I have seen Hurricane damaged boats saved with the plywood and screws--one addition is "great stuff" the foam used for sealing cracks to fill the area where it is leaking when the plywood is put on. Also "splash zone" compound--an under water epoxy we carried when world cruising.

A traditional way to help stop large leaks is a triangle of canvas or waterproof material, with ropes and grommets in the corners to be lowered from the outside incase of a large hull breach. We also carried this--but fortunately never have had to use it.
 
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