On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:14:09 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:49:26 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

I suspect most holings in glass are jagged and take odd shapes.
And there's probably no time to whittle.

That's all true but the vast majority of boat sinkings, large and
small, are caused by other things.

http://www.boattest.com/Resources/vi...spx?NewsID=609

On larger boats raw water hoses and hose clamps are a common problem.
Other than good preventive maintenance, the best defenses are high
water alarms and large bilge pumps.

Yeah, think I posted that before. Low-hanging fruit.
I'm looking to patch holes in glass from the outside.
Are all your thruhulls and cooling system hoses easily accessed?
I'll probably end up with a bare hull boat with no thruhulls.
Ala Carolina Skiff.
But I get the impression that many thruhulls and other failure points
aren't easily accessed on some boats.
And sometimes lots of concealment of the actual source by various
accoutrements.
That's reason enough right there for a bilge alarm.
BTW, a buddy with a Wauquiez Hood 38, a supposedly high quality
ocean-goer, found that the thruhulls had no backing plates - just
heavily glassed in.
Came from the factory that way during that time-period.
He fixed that right quick.
Anyway, I like the idea of going over the side with a patch kit.
When it is the only solution, of course.
My motto: Be Prepared to Be a Hero Should the Chance Present Itself.
Backup Motto: Sometimes You Can Just Run Like Hell.

--Vic