Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 29-08-2010, 15:14   #1
Registered User
 
Stillraining's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Puget Sound
Boat: Irwin 41 CC Ketch
Posts: 2,878
Crash Blankets and Hull Damage

Just got done reading an article in 48* North about MacGyvering at sea.

In it there was talk of being prepared for just about any eventuality by caring odd bits of this or that which in turn can be used to Jerry rig some fashion of repair to get you by until a permanent fix is available.

Personally I have no questions or at least very, very few of my ability to do such things, some of you would probably shake your head at the amount of bits of stuff I pack on-board "just in-case" for our, so far inland sailing experience only...Katie bar the doors once we head off shore

All of this with one caveat....and that is for those things that go bump in the night compromising the hull directly not through hull or any of that lot... requiring quick action to not only locate the damaged area and source of water intrusion but effectively stopping such intrusion.

I know there is such a thing as a crash blanket and that also a spare sail will work as well...my question is How well do these work and does any one have first hand or second hand knowledge of there usage and how successful it was.

I have no experience with Marine-Tex either and was thinking of buying some for some underwater experimentation.. Not much concerns me regarding the ins and out of survival afloat....staying afloat concerns me a little....

Ya! Ya! buy a multi hull I can here it already...give it a rest or ill chain saw your hulls in half and prove you wrong..

All suggestions other then that one are welcome.
__________________
"Go simple, go large!".

Relationships are everything to me...everything else in life is just a tool to enhance them.
Stillraining is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2010, 22:07   #2
Registered User
 
bewitched's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: SE Asia
Boat: Swan 56
Posts: 891
Images: 3
expanding foam under a braced piece of board?
bewitched is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2010, 22:19   #3
Registered User
 
Minggat's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: South Pacific
Boat: Islander 36
Posts: 1,590
Crash blankets, otherwise known as collision mats. My search here brought up a lot of threads, but not the one I was looking for. I'm not a patient searcher.
__________________
Minggat
Minggat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-08-2010, 23:38   #4
Ram
Registered User
 
Ram's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: May 2005
Location: Cruising Greece
Boat: Cat in the med & Trawler in Florida
Posts: 2,323
Images: 27
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stillraining View Post

Ya! Ya! buy a multi hull I can here it already...give it a rest or ill chain saw your hulls in half and prove you wrong..

All suggestions other then that one are welcome.

 you can quarter most multihulls and they will still float!
Ram is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 01:13   #5
Registered User
 
LakeSuperior's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2008
Boat: Teak Yawl, 37'
Posts: 2,979
Images: 7
Cheap Insurance

We carry a fully rigged crash blanket we made from an old sail. The principle seems to make sense. That said, successfully deploying one at night in moderate conditions seems like it could be a challenge.

If the collision is low and aft on the hull the keel may interfere with the positioning of the blanket. That said it seems like it should work most of the time if holed ahead of the keel.

A crash blanket is inexpensive, low volume and light weight and therefore low burden insurance. I think it should be one of the arrows in the quiver.
LakeSuperior is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 05:02   #6
Registered User
 
fishwife's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: South coast of England, moving around a bit.
Boat: Long range motor cruiser
Posts: 750
I once saw a French yacht that had sailed about 400 miles with a crash collision mat in-situ covering a hole about 5 inches across. They didn't have anything to repair the hole so just had to make port as best they could. Ever since I witnessed that I've had one in my stores but with lots of underwater epoxy, timber and a really big pan that I'd brace in place and then epoxy.

P.
__________________
The message is the journey, we are sure the answer lies in the destination. But in reality, there is no station, no place to arrive at once and for all. The joy of life is the trip, and the station is a dream that constantly out distances us”. Robert Hastings, The Station
fishwife is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 07:17   #7
Registered User

Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Port Ludlow Wa
Boat: Makela,Ingrid38,Idora
Posts: 2,050
Interesting that you would bring the subject up. On my last trip I encountered a deadhead the size of a telephone pole. It was bobbing vertically, varying from submerged to a couple feet exposed. I keep a close watch for that stuff but if I had missed seeing that one it might have ruined my day.

Todd
IdoraKeeper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 07:22   #8
Registered User
 
Stillraining's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Puget Sound
Boat: Irwin 41 CC Ketch
Posts: 2,878
Good info so far...Love Fishwifes eye whitness story thats comforting to know!

yep! Idora thats exactly what Im talking about.
__________________
"Go simple, go large!".

Relationships are everything to me...everything else in life is just a tool to enhance them.
Stillraining is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 07:40   #9
Moderator Emeritus
 
capngeo's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Key West & Sarasota
Boat: Cal 28 "Happy Days"
Posts: 4,210
Images: 12
Send a message via Yahoo to capngeo Send a message via Skype™ to capngeo
Blue poly tarps, and a LOT of plastic shopping bags, duct tape, odd sized pieces of wood (including cones and wedges), ratchet straps, zip ties, a small hydraulic jack, some neoprene sheet, a hundred feet of 1/4" polypro line, and mask, snorkel, fins and wetsuit if in cold water.
__________________
Any fool with a big enough checkbook can BUY a boat; it takes a SPECIAL type of fool to build his own! -Capngeo
capngeo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 07:47   #10
Registered User
 
Stillraining's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Puget Sound
Boat: Irwin 41 CC Ketch
Posts: 2,878
Quote:
Originally Posted by capngeo View Post
Blue poly tarps, and a LOT of plastic shopping bags, duct tape, odd sized pieces of wood (including cones and wedges), ratchet straps, zip ties, a small hydraulic jack, some neoprene sheet, a hundred feet of 1/4" polypro line, and mask, snorkel, fins and wetsuit if in cold water.
Sounds like theres a story in there somewhere.....Come on cough it up..
__________________
"Go simple, go large!".

Relationships are everything to me...everything else in life is just a tool to enhance them.
Stillraining is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 08:30   #11
Registered User

Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Hervey Bay Australia
Boat: Building a Schionning Wilderness 44ft
Posts: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by capngeo View Post
Blue poly tarps, and a LOT of plastic shopping bags, duct tape, odd sized pieces of wood (including cones and wedges), ratchet straps, zip ties, a small hydraulic jack, some neoprene sheet, a hundred feet of 1/4" polypro line, and mask, snorkel, fins and wetsuit if in cold water.
Good advice. From my damage control training in the navy the first priority is to stem the water flow from inside the vessel to a point that the pumps can control the leak. Once that is achieved an external fix can be carried out if warranted. External fixes are normally carried out on larger hull damages which cannot be contained by splinter boxes. Methods of stemming the flows can be achieved by using softwood wedges which come in a variety of shapes and sizes. For larger holes use a mattress or cushion braced (held in place) in position by wooden shoring. A handy item would be to have a fibreglass splinter box (military name) which is used after restricting the flow with wedges. The box is held in place with wooden shoring. Carry some neoprene/rubber sheets to seal the edges of the splinter boxes if you have curved hulls. The splinter boxes normally come with neoprene/rubber around the edges to achieve a seal on relatively flat surfaces. You could quite easily build these yourself. If you cannot be bothered with wooden shoring which needs to be cut to length to suit the situation you could lash out and buy telescopic shoring which would be a lot quicker to erect. Did a google search on damage control equipment and could not find the splinter boxes but did find a kit that has the wedges etc. Obviously the items in the kits are for larger vessels with exposed pipes etc but it gives you an idea of what a good damage control kit might contain.

SeaKits Damage Control Kit - Fourwinds Enterprises
phillw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 09:43   #12
Registered User
 
rebel heart's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,185
Images: 3
Anyone who's been in the Navy went through damage control training, including putting you in the "dc trainer" where they start flooding the compartment and you have to use everything at your disposal to keep afloat. The real stories of guys who've made it work like on the USS Cole did exactly that: everything at their disposal. There's nothing you can buy in advance that will exactly fit a big hole or cracked hull, so you need enough materials to fabricate quickly and know how to use your hands (quickly).

There's a small locker where we keep all the DC gear; it doesn't seem a common way to do it on a yacht but it's a hold over for me from the Navy.

- bung plugs
- thru hull plugs
- hose clamps
- low clearance hack saw
- low clearance wrecking bar
- deadblow ballet
- collision mat
- two part underwater putty-epoxy
- zip ties
- various zip lock bag sized
- headlamp
rebel heart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 12:10   #13
Moderator Emeritus
 
capngeo's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Key West & Sarasota
Boat: Cal 28 "Happy Days"
Posts: 4,210
Images: 12
Send a message via Yahoo to capngeo Send a message via Skype™ to capngeo
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stillraining View Post
Sounds like theres a story in there somewhere.....Come on cough it up..
Not one story I'm afraid... but a compilation of stories from 30 years of moving floating things around that inherently want to sink! I actually carry all that stuff in a big orange Pelican Box bungee corded to the deck whenever making a blue water passage (or not so blue water delivery on an unfamiliar vessel)

That same box has fresh water, inflatable vests, sunblock, mirror, compass, flares, sea dye, Knife, flashlights, a SPOT locater, waterproof VHF handheld, copies of passports/licenses/ID, First aid kit, and probably some other crap I'm forgetting. Everyone onboard is required to be familiar with the "OH S**T BOX".

The idea is to bungee it down in a central location... tight enough not to go over, but not enough to overcome the buoyancy of the box if the boat goes down.

I've been into it many times just for convenience, twice for emergencies, and once I got to watch it bob to the surface while I was swimming for the dink.
__________________
Any fool with a big enough checkbook can BUY a boat; it takes a SPECIAL type of fool to build his own! -Capngeo
capngeo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 17:49   #14
Registered User
 
Minggat's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: South Pacific
Boat: Islander 36
Posts: 1,590
Quote:
Originally Posted by rebel heart View Post


- deadblow ballet

I gotta get me one of those, whatever it is.

deadblow- something to do with bad breath?
ballet? Something to do while wearing a tutu?
__________________
Minggat
Minggat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-08-2010, 18:09   #15
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 45
Base on my personal experience with crack fiberglass hull. It was 19feet fishing boat. As long as the boat was moving, the water got suck up from hull. In the case of sailboat. When you discover a crack, crank the engine and go for a beach.
dupek is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Boat Crash Testing Stillraining General Sailing Forum 3 08-11-2009 20:56
Electric Blankets michaelmrc Liveaboard's Forum 23 22-08-2009 18:23
Ericson 35 Damage to Deck/Hull DriftingNowhere Construction, Maintenance & Refit 6 19-11-2008 06:14
Blankets cruising... Jack Long General Sailing Forum 2 03-08-2008 03:01
Vacuum pack bags for clothes/blankets Jack Long General Sailing Forum 2 01-08-2008 23:08

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 21:20.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.