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Whales and Diverter Valves
"Vic Smith" wrote in message ... On Mon, 5 Oct 2009 11:48:53 -0400, "mmc" wrote: Vic, I met a guy that had holed the hull on a 22' fishing boat (rebar on new county ramps), drove the boat out to thier (Central Florida, Atlantic side) bottom fishing spot on plane (hull hole above water). It was a calm, flat day. Once at the fishing spot, boat drops off plane and water starts coming in. They (owner +2) had time to get and write down a position fix from the Loran (this was late 80s), call the Coasties on VHF, disconnect and pack electronics and fishing gear in a big cooler and don life jackets before the boat sank. 2 of the 3 were sport scuba divers. I'd have jumped in and plugged the hole with t-shirts/extra life jacket/neighbors cat/whatever, bailed and kept bailing while motoring home. But then, I'd hope common sense would have led me to putting the boat back on the trailer to see what the heck all the noise was from when launching and hitting the rebar. He didn't admit it, but I suspect copius amounts of beer was involoved. I hoped there was an excuse for this dumbassedness. I don't think it was for insurance, the owner wanted my shop to recover the boat, old hull with a new motor and all the bolt on gear. He offered the hull in exchange for the offshore salvage. I told him to go find the boat and mark it with a bouy and then we'd talk about what it was going to cost but we weren't going to do it for an old hull with a hole in it. He never came back. Don't know if he found it or even tried to. Interesting. Were/are you a diver? Seems most boaters don't think much about hole patch kits. Common in the Navy and Merchant Marine. Reminds me of the captain of the Rocket, an old Cleveland Tankers oiler I did a few trips on as a watertender. Think we were in Lake Huron when the captain put us dead in the water, donned his scuba gear and went overboard with oakum and a fid. Apparently somebody had spotted some leakage from the hull plates, so he sealed them up with oakum. A patch kit for a small boat shouldn't be hard to put together. Maybe a sheet of visqueen and some glue/gunk that will hold it on under water. If I had a boat I'd look into it. Nice being prepared. Of course when the **** really hits the fan it's a new ball game. "What?!!" "What do you mean the patch kit is in the garage?!" --Vic I was a Navy EOD Diver and an on and off inshore commercial diver for a few years afterwards. Too many spoiled - college drop out - dope smoking punks in that business for me. I decided I needed to do something else when I came up the ladder one night and found the dive supe and standby diver smoking pot. Me and another diver were relying on those idiots to help us if we got into trouble. I knew they'd eventually get someone killed but it wasn't going to be me. The commercial schools used to turn out good divers, now they're just like too many things, as long as daddys check clears, junior is going to get a certificate. In 2nd class diving school, we were trained to use tooker patches, and use soft patches, cut and weld . A friend told me of an instance where he mixed up a bunch (2-3 cups) of epoxy glue and put it in a paper plate which was then folded in half. The target was a 4-5 inch hole in a hull caused by rubbing on a piling. He dove down, unfolded the plate and jammed it against the hole, holding there for the 10 minutes or so until the epoxy kicked. Afterwards, they raised the hull to the gunnels by crane and pumped the water out. I agree that a simple patch kit would be a darn good idea: a piece of 3/8" plywood could be stowed under a cushion, the cushion itself, a scrap of sail cloth and line bundled, tapered wooden plugs and a mallet, and some sort of plan that the skipper has shared with the crew. Tapered plugs and a mallet are a definite must have. I believe more boats are sunk by fixture failures than running into things. So, why not have a boat Vic? Even just looking at boats is theraputic. |
#2
posted to rec.boats,rec.boats.cruising
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Whales and Diverter Valves
On Tue, 6 Oct 2009 08:36:10 -0400, "mmc" wrote:
I was a Navy EOD Diver and an on and off inshore commercial diver for a few years afterwards. Too many spoiled - college drop out - dope smoking punks in that business for me. I decided I needed to do something else when I came up the ladder one night and found the dive supe and standby diver smoking pot. Me and another diver were relying on those idiots to help us if we got into trouble. I knew they'd eventually get someone killed but it wasn't going to be me. Whoa. Not too confidence inspiring. I was working for a plumber back during the Reagan admin after I got laid off from my first IT job. We're laying sewer pipe in a 5 foot ditch in an apartment building basement when him and a friend of his who dropped by light up joints and offered me one. I was never really into that, and certainly not when working, so I passed. Maybe my 6th or 7th job with him. Didn't bother me that Roy lit up, though it surprised me a bit. Hardest working guy I ever saw, and a real good plumber. Besides, unlike your situation, I could keep an eye on him. And I already had 4 kids to feed. Funny thing is he never called me back after I turned down that joint. HE didn't trust ME. The tokers I've run across were either stupid or paranoid. Just my experience. Haven't known many. Roy wasn't stupid. When I was washing trucks at UPS a trailer sweeper kid who had totaled his car was asking for a ride to work until he replaced it. Same start time as me, so I told him I'd pick him up. Cost me maybe 10 minutes. Not even enough to ask for him to kick in for gas. First day I stop in front of his house, he keeps me waiting 5 minutes, then gets in my car with a lit joint. I laid down the law about that real quick, and told him to be ready when I pulled up. Reading a clock ain't exactly rocket science. Next day he still keeps me waiting, and just reeks up the car with the pot smell on his clothes. Told him not to keep me waiting. Couldn't even talk to this guy during the 20 minute ride. He was too pot-befuddled. Third day same thing, and I told him to find another ride. He was stupid. Too bad. But his folks probably loved him. The commercial schools used to turn out good divers, now they're just like too many things, as long as daddys check clears, junior is going to get a certificate. In 2nd class diving school, we were trained to use tooker patches, and use soft patches, cut and weld . A friend told me of an instance where he mixed up a bunch (2-3 cups) of epoxy glue and put it in a paper plate which was then folded in half. The target was a 4-5 inch hole in a hull caused by rubbing on a piling. He dove down, unfolded the plate and jammed it against the hole, holding there for the 10 minutes or so until the epoxy kicked. Afterwards, they raised the hull to the gunnels by crane and pumped the water out. I looked around for underwater glues and only found 2-part epoxies. Was looking for a quick stickum to outline a hole, then slap a piece of heavy visqueen on it. Just an idea. No scuba gear. A tube of roof tar might work if water action isn't too bad. Needs experimentation. Just talking about small FRP boats. Another thought comes to mind. Stick an inflatable PFD in the hole and pull the cord. Might be useful to carry some for that purpose. Could be "armored" with something flexible and tough to prevent holing the PFD. Here's another idea. An open plexi box maybe a foot square and 2 inches deep. Open edges lined with thick soft foam to conform to hull. Hole in middle of plexi to take nozzle from can of expanding foam. Slap it against any hole not too big for the box, insert can and inject foam. Foam displaces water in the box and mushrooms inside hull, leaving a 2 inch foam plate on the outside held by the mushroom inside. Now you've got time to mix some epoxy and glue a sheet of something stronger over the patch, and even pop open a bottle of beer if you dare. Just an idea. Details like what kind of expanding foam, force needed to hold plexi box against hull, etc., to be determined. I'll leave that to Froggy. I agree that a simple patch kit would be a darn good idea: a piece of 3/8" plywood could be stowed under a cushion, the cushion itself, a scrap of sail cloth and line bundled, tapered wooden plugs and a mallet, and some sort of plan that the skipper has shared with the crew. Tapered plugs and a mallet are a definite must have. I believe more boats are sunk by fixture failures than running into things. So, why not have a boat Vic? Even just looking at boats is theraputic. Can't keep a boat here. Have to wait until I move. Florida. --Vic |
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