The Boat: Beneteau 39
Conditions: Winds steady at around 13 knots, seas 3-4 feet.

While sitting at anchor, off a small desserted island, you hear a loud
CRUNCH!!! You look to starboard and spot a 18 foot Great White shark moving off
slowly. You glance below and are horrified to see that there is a 9 inch hole
at the waterliine with water rushing in. The shark has rammed your boat! You
run below and begin to stuff the hole, but water is still coming through fast.
You'll need to rig an external patch. You radio your situation, but help is two
hours away. Back on deck, you quickly spot the large shark fin circling the
boat. You remember reading that the Great White is the smartest shark and
shudder. He's waiting for his meal!!!

What do you do???

RB

Same thing you'd always do if holed.
After your last effort, your answer to this one will be interesting.


This one actually happened, Ozzy.


RB

Bobsprit wrote:
The Boat: Beneteau 39
Conditions: Winds steady at around 13 knots, seas 3-4 feet.

While sitting at anchor, off a small desserted island, you hear a loud
CRUNCH!!! You look to starboard and spot a 18 foot Great White shark
moving off slowly. You glance below and are horrified to see that
there is a 9 inch hole at the waterliine with water rushing in. The
shark has rammed your boat! You run below and begin to stuff the
hole, but water is still coming through fast. You'll need to rig an
external patch. You radio your situation, but help is two hours away.
Back on deck, you quickly spot the large shark fin circling the boat.
You remember reading that the Great White is the smartest shark and
shudder. He's waiting for his meal!!!

What do you do???

Get the pumps going and try to block the hole with whatever is to hand -
cushions, lifejackets, whatever will help to stem the flow.

Get a hold of a spare sail (storm jib, say) and tie some lines to it.

Pass the bight of a line over the end of the boat and work backwards so that
the bight hangs down one side, passes over the hole, and comes up the other
side. Draw the line up the other side, keeping tension on the other lines,
such that the sail is pulled down over the hole, and secure.

Keep the shark talking until the feds arrive.


--
Wally
www.artbywally.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk

Keep the shark talking until the feds arrive.


Good answer, Wally...but in this case the sailor was unable to rig such a
patch. He took another course of action.
The conditions are the key.

RB

OK: this is quite intriguing in relation to the design of Lady
Kate. FIrst, forget the shark. Second, don't worry too much
about the water rushing in yet because all its doing is filling
the lockers under the lee berth. It has to be the lee side
because the weather hull side is not in the water--you did say
waterline. Switch the electirc pump on just in case.

Tack the boat and then heave to with the main set to _really_
heel the boat and clear the hole.

Get out a piece of ply and the boatnails, a hammer, and a heavy
line. Attacvh the heavy line to your tether so that you can hang
head first down the weather side and boatnail the ply patch over
the hole. OK, now you're vaguely waterproof again. Down below.
Another patch, the hand drill, a couple of light screws. Lotsa
sikaflex, light scewws to hold in place, drill a couple of
boltholes (1/4") through both patches and preferablly the hull.
On deck again with a couple of coachbolts; dangle over side and
push through pilot holes. Back below and nuts n washers on, with
a bit of loctite.

Now clean up the flooded locker.

Underway again. Throw the spoilt food you forgot to put back in
its watertight bucket overboard to placate the shark.

Why no radio call? unlikely anyone would reach in less than a
couple of hours. Now if it were a BIG hole, or a whale attack, a
whole different story.


--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Faint echoes, sometimes inaudible, of the newsgroup's glorious
past are downloadable at http://music.download.com/internetopera

Bobsprit wrote:
Keep the shark talking until the feds arrive.

Good answer, Wally...but in this case the sailor was unable to rig
such a patch. He took another course of action.
The conditions are the key.

Set anchors at bow and stern, such that the boat is held with the beam to
the wind.

Get enough sail up to create sufficient heel to get the hole clear of the
water.


--
Wally
www.artbywally.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk

Geez. I'm anchored! OK, still much the same except the boat gets
hove to with its anchor down! (The mizzen is always up as a
riding sail, usually set hard fore and aft. The kedge sits next
to the mizzen. Over with the kedge and reset the mizzen to heel
the boat enough (only needs to be a few inches!) etc etc.


--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Faint echoes, sometimes inaudible, of the newsgroup's glorious
past are downloadable at http://music.download.com/internetopera

Set anchors at bow and stern, such that the boat is held with the beam to
the wind.

Get enough sail up to create sufficient heel to get the hole clear of the
water.


Wally and Taddy are essentially correct. The boat set sail and kept at a angle
of heel capable of keeping the hole above sea level. A better repair was made
and help soon arrived. One interesting note: The shark followed for some time.

Very good, gentlemen!

Interesting tales at:

http://www.mcallen.lib.tx.us/books/c...a/ci_41mob.htm

RB

Bobsprit wrote:
The shark followed for some time.



Well what did you expect! you fed it the spoilt food, remember?

--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Faint echoes, sometimes inaudible, of the newsgroup's glorious
past are downloadable at http://music.download.com/internetopera

Bobsprit wrote:

Interesting tales at:

http://www.mcallen.lib.tx.us/books/c...a/ci_41mob.htm

He later wrote a book about this - read it years ago.


--
Wally
www.artbywally.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk