Well, what we did today was to save the boat!
At 06:40 the Base Marina Manager called, saying Cat O’ Mine was listing badly and “taking on water.”
Last night a series of severe thunderstorms moved through, with over 14 to 16 inches of rain on base and winds exceeding 70-75 MPH. One guy nearby in our county was killed when a tornado touched down and downed a tree that went through his roof. A boat on A dock sank with the engine somehow ending up under the floating dock.
My only excuse for not having the boat on the trailer when Severe Weather is predicted is that the trailer has been in the shop for over three weeks awaiting new 7,000# torsion axles that are the victims of ‘supply chain issues.’ Imagine that.
The aft port scupper drain is well under water, as seen in the pic. I’m amazed that the rubber ‘flapper valve’ kept water from entering the cockpit with the aft drain so far under water that they are completely submerged, and then some. I never thought they would be effective in these conditions.
We jumped on the ‘up’ side and took turns bailing like hell. Your ‘bailing like hell’ tool of choice should be chosen well in advance of your actually needing it when the boat is sinking. Ours is this, due to the flat section which allows ‘scraping’ along the sponson and a ‘hand grip’ for one-handed use that can dodge between the wire bundles leading to the Float Switch and the Bilge Pump.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/165526990966?c ... 1eaf9a65ca
We also like a vinyl collapsible four gallon bucket which we used today.
I have long advocated (for over ten years) having a high capacity bilge pump on your C-Dory. The factory installs a pump suitable for wash-down and nuisance rain water, but never for a wave in your boat or over 16 inches of rain overnight. This one remains my favorite, a 2,000 gallon per hour Rule Gold bilge pump with a SS shaft and five year warranty (which just indicates quality).
https://www.ebay.com/itm/165526990966?c ... 1eaf9a65ca
My last warranty experience was when the float switch somehow got kicked over while on the trailer, and the bilge pump ran dry for at least over three weeks before dying. Xylem (which bought Rule) sent me a brand new pump when I faxed them an invoice…no sending back the pump for ‘forensic examination.’
Yes, $550 for two sounds expensive, but our mentor Bob Austin advises not just two, but FOUR with ‘backups’ mounted at higher levels.
One gallon of water weighs eight pounds, so 2,000g in one hour weighs 16,000 pounds. I really like to think that this pump sent over the side about 2,000 x 6 hours = 12,000g of water weighing over 96,000 pounds before it died in valor trying to save our boat.
You should at least think about your options here! If one C-Dory is saved, we’ll be happy!
John