Hole in the boat at sea..What do I do?

[Brettoh]

After a couple of Gordons Gin and tonics Im sitting here wishing I was out at the reef but the blasted wind at 15 to 30kn saw that get knocked on the head..

Reflecting again on the distances we are likely to travel up here in CQ/NQ where the run out to the reef can be in excess of 130km with the nearest landmass at least 60km away I wondered what I would do if I hit a submerged object and started to take on more water than the pumps could handle.

After ensuring the epirb was right there, out essentials, life jackets etc etc and of course a call to VMR advising of the situation , what would or could I do?

Ive seen, on late night television, a guy, with some sort of black tape or adhesive sheet that can fix leaks in tanks and pipes even if they are wet or have water running out of them. I wonder if this stuff would be good to have squirreled away somewhere on the boat, just in case.?
Anyone know the name of that stuff? Used it?

I would also need to have an underwater mask and snorkel or some way to breath.

What about the risk of getting separated from the boat while in the water. Do I use a lanyard to tie me off ? how long is too long or how short is too short?

Its way easy to think it will never happen to me, but it could and its human nature to automatically think about positive outcomes rather than negative ones....but....

What other idea or measures do you have in place if the unexpected ever happens.

[NAGG]

I guess it would boil down to the level of flotation you have in the boat & the nature of the damage ..... wouldn't it ?

If you've ripped a big hole in the hull - you aint going to patch it .

back in the early days of my boating - I left the bungs out ......... we were miles out before we stopped & the boat flooded . There was no way we were going to get the bungs in .......... do we drove flat stick back to the boat ramp - It was then that I saw just how much water can be removed when underway . would the same happen if it was a breached hull ? - pull the bungs & drive .

Chris

[Dignity]

I guess it would boil down to the level of flotation you have in the boat & the nature of the damage ..... wouldn't it ?

If you've ripped a big hole in the hull - you aint going to patch it .

back in the early days of my boating - I left the bungs out ......... we were miles out before we stopped & the boat flooded . There was no way we were going to get the bungs in .......... do we drove flat stick back to the boat ramp - It was then that I saw just how much water can be removed when underway . would the same happen if it was a breached hull ? - pull the bungs & drive .

Chris

Getting underway is another issue, tried it the first time I left the plugs out on a 15 ft half cabin glass boat. Could not get it on the plain or move it anywhere and those small bung holes had more water pressure in than out.
Offshore, I don't know what I'd do but my deckies are always on watch when I'm travelling, just something I ask them to do, I tell them I'm a geriatric and need them to steer for me. Honestly seen some shit way offshore at times and if you ever want a scare just google the number of shipping containers lost every year, and they sit just below the surface for quite a while.

Maybe I need to buy some of that magic tape/spray, 'cause if you've got it you'll never need it.

[ranmar850]

If you are holed forward, which you normally are if you strike an object at speed, pulling the bungs won't help. In fact, it will help you sink sooner, shortening the suspense . Pulling the bungs only works if your hull is intact--the bungs start draining if you can get moving, and the surface of the water inside the boat is higher than the bungs, this is why it sometimes can't work if you left the bungs out, the boat is just now too heavy to get moving .
Serious offshore hull damage is why we have a radio good enough to stay in contact with a shore station, good PFD's, a working EPIRB, and flares.

In my previous career as a professional fisherman, I've seen some major hull damage patched until the boat could be recovered. A 50ft aluminium boat collided with a dredge, a glancing blow from a corner of the steel barge which punched a hole about 2 foot square on the water line. It was plugged with lifejackets and bedding, until it was down to a level that all the pumps could keep up with, and the vessel was beached where a crane could get to it. Another one was a snapped propshaft, and the shaft slid back until the prop hit the rudder, which meant there was effectively a 2 1/4" hole through the hull as it was back past the stuffing box. The skipper dived over and forced it forward until it was through the gland again, secured it all with rope.

The sort of pumps you will normally have on an outboard-powered boat have no hope of keeping up with a serious hull breach, unless you can plug it somehow. Yachties tend to carry a set of tapered wooden plugs, which can be hammered into something like a broken seacock, only useful on a roughly circular hole, of course. I have the usual 1100gph compact pump, biggest I can fit in the very limited space the Reefrunner has between the rear of the tank and the transom. But I also carry a 2000 (3000?) gph job with 2m of hose attached and 2 metres of cable with an Andersen plug on it--at least four places i can plug it into, kept under the seat as an emergency backup. Many boats have no way of getting to a hole from the inide of a hull, as it will be under a sealed floor, fuel tank, etc. So you need to be trying to plug from the outside. There are some pretty clever water-activated epoxies out there nowadays, perhaps something exists in a sheet form? That Knead-it Aqua works underwater, sets like a rock, but the hole wouldn't want to be too big?

[stevej]

I did the math once and put a post up but can’t seem to find it
A 500 gph bilge pump will not keep up with a 20mm hole that’s 20cm under water

Then you have the issue of how long that pump or pumps can run for as some draw more then the alternator output can put back into the battery.
that’s even if the motor still runs.


can recall someone on here taking the piss out of me for having a manual pump on my last big boat
1100 auto with manual override pump
2000 we are stuffed pump
and a hand pump for if the electronics are dead or batteries are flat.

100ah house battery
100ah hybrid start battery

as above
working radios
epirbs
plbs
flares
Proper life jackets not self inflators
do a radio course so you can be precise with your location and issues without panicking

[ranmar850]

The hand-operated diaphragm pumps shift a lot of water, I'd never mock anyone for having one fitted to a boat large enough to actually fit it to. IMO, the only brand to have is the Whale, nothing else seems to last. If I had any platey over 6 m I'd certainly fit one. They are normally very high in the deck, for the self-draining deck facility, giving plenty of room underdeck to fit.

[disorderly]

This might get you out of trouble Brett..

leaky boat.jpg

[tunaticer]

Disorderly is disorderly again....should this be tolerated??

[Volvo]

The Joys of reef Fishing and the worry the night prior which plays on your mind "What If??".. Way it was with me back in the out wide Fishing days , i would lay awake fer a tad too long worrying or thinking what if this or that should happen and i guess in a way it wasnt so bad thing as it would bring to mind whether yourve panned your trip safetywise etc , enough safety gear onboard ?? , what to do if this or that happens which brought to fruit a plan of some sort for each scenerio.
And payed off on several occasions where we were caught in an afternoon or night storm which we could see brewing fer miles off which gave us time to get onthe right side of the Reef incase the anchor let go.
At other times we layed out two anchors which turned out to be a "Just as Well ". Personally i got a kick out of being caught in a Storm then , the lightning , electricity sparking through the water the wind was another thing mindyou though never lasted more than an hour which made good thinking for being on the right side of the reef when caught incase the anchor let go ..
Made good thinking for two plotters/Sounders , Good radio , Epirb /safety gear all in order.. Check in with VMR prior to Storm paying you a Visit and let them know where you are and whats about to unfold..
Have you enough of everything you may need ??..
Know which direction to head if you need to Move..
The list goes on ey,
I know the post was titled if the Boat was Holed ?? and that is another scenerio to think out whichmakes good for underfloor Floatation if the Boat has any or should one add if possible..
And if Murphy was unkind enough thats where Epirb and worthy Life vests come into play..
How much is your Life and Fishing passtime worth to you??..
Can happen to anyone pray not but it is something to think of if Safety is Big on your Agenda ey..

[disorderly]

Disorderly is disorderly again....should this be tolerated??

If you go to my profile and click on the little red button as seen below then you dont have to tolerate it at all and you can sleep easy...

I certainly wouldnt want to create any mental scars for you...

ignore button.jpg

[Iron Maiden]

That's the most polite "go #### yourself" I think I've ever read.. good work

[Ah Me Ting]

It's topics like this that remind me how deficient boat license courses are at preparing would be skippers.

It's a shame that the younger, less experienced, new to offshore boating types are more inclined to use social media 'groups' instead of these 'old skool' forums. Good knowledge sharing and constructive ideas (well, maybe except the disorderly graphical contribution).

[Dignity]

It's topics like this that remind me how deficient boat license courses are at preparing would be skippers.

It's a shame that the younger, less experienced, new to offshore boating types are more inclined to use social media 'groups' instead of these 'old skool' forums. Good knowledge sharing and constructive ideas (well, maybe except the disorderly graphical contribution).

I agree, that cartoon is getting to be old hat, showing up Disord's age

[Volvo]

Maybe there should be a tad more effort being put into Boating licencing also ??.
Car Licence now 100 hrs with a certain amount of night time driving also.
Might pay for newcommers to offshore Fishing put some time with VMR groups get a wee bit of Safety experience under the belt also.
Might not accomodate the hole in the hull scenerio but might give o e things to think about.
Planing along on the Briney n you run over a Container or Reef !! Ide say have am Epirb handy as well as life Vest ss well as hopefully some floatation within the hull.

[chris69]

There’s no better bilge pump than a scared decky with a bucket, so don’t worry just take an extra decky if you travelling out wide .