Need Help: Cracked hull at Faraulep in Carolinas

[wfraser]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I'm posting from Japan so time differences make for a delay in my replies. Apologies for the spelling error. Bommies are not common in Canada.

David has a sat phone and I'm working on passing on your suggestions (great work-arounds!) and offers to him. He has made contact with Guam and Yap but circumstances and timing are working against him. His (my) real hope was for a cruiser in the area to divert with the repair supplies.


Warren Fraser

[atoll]

Originally Posted by wfraser

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I'm posting from Japan so time differences make for a delay in my replies. Apologies for the spelling error. Bommies are not common in Canada.

David has a sat phone and I'm working on passing on your suggestions (great work-arounds!) and offers to him. He has made contact with Guam and Yap but circumstances and timing are working against him. His (my) real hope was for a cruiser in the area to divert with the repair supplies.


Warren Fraser

give it time,though the last time i stopped in yap,only 4 yachts had visited that year.
you might try contacting cf member "daddle" who is currently in palau and very knowlegeable about boats and the area.

[foolishsailor]

Impressed with the advice and offers of help.

@minaret and atoll especially you. Very generous. Nice to be part of an online community that mirrors my experience of the real life cruising community!

[minaret]

Originally Posted by foolishsailor

Impressed with the advice and offers of help.

@minaret and atoll especially you. Very generous. Nice to be part of an online community that mirrors my experience of the real life cruising community!

You too Foolish. Your clear desire to help out is also commendable. Don't hesitate to contact me if you feel something similar would help any cruiser anywhere. I would be willing to lay out some material and shipping expenses if there is real need, materials are essentially free for me since we use about a 50 gallon drum of resin a week on average. Of course I think helping out in that way is unlikely, since most people who can't get materials at their location are going to be very hard to ship to, but I'm always willing to try if it will help a cruiser in distress.
Atoll, your recommendation for melting foam with gas to make a resin-like material is a real hoot. Only scads of real-life experience could cause you to come up with such a solution for a temporary scab. Might even work, sounds like you probably know from experience. Personally I have a pretty full shop aboard, wouldn't go anywhere without lots of tools and materials. Even built an air compressor into the engine room in the hopes that I can pull up next to a fellow cruisers boat and get to work grinding, glassing, and painting. All for beer of course, not trying to make a living off my fellow cruisers (and I don't actually drink so their beer is really for the audience).

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by minaret

Even built an air compressor into the engine room in the hopes that I can pull up next to a fellow cruisers boat and get to work grinding, glassing, and painting. All for beer of course, not trying to make a living off my fellow cruisers (and I don't actually drink so their beer is really for the audience).

As a carpenter I have a full portable workshop stowed on the boat. I did so on the premise that I would make a couple of bob to help with the cruising kitty and to keep my hand in the game, but I found I preferred doing small projects for other cruisers and couldn't seem to charge them for it...

...nice to see others out there that want to help

[atoll]

Originally Posted by minaret

You too Foolish. Your clear desire to help out is also commendable. Don't hesitate to contact me if you feel something similar would help any cruiser anywhere. I would be willing to lay out some material and shipping expenses if there is real need, materials are essentially free for me since we use about a 50 gallon drum of resin a week on average. Of course I think helping out in that way is unlikely, since most people who can't get materials at their location are going to be very hard to ship to, but I'm always willing to try if it will help a cruiser in distress.
Atoll, your recommendation for melting foam with gas to make a resin-like material is a real hoot. Only scads of real-life experience could cause you to come up with such a solution for a temporary scab. Might even work, sounds like you probably know from experience. Personally I have a pretty full shop aboard, wouldn't go anywhere without lots of tools and materials. Even built an air compressor into the engine room in the hopes that I can pull up next to a fellow cruisers boat and get to work grinding, glassing, and painting. All for beer of course, not trying to make a living off my fellow cruisers (and I don't actually drink so their beer is really for the audience).

haha! the gas and polystyrene trick is actually more common than you would think!
the west indian fishermen do it all the time for fixing their boats!

the west africans use a simmilar technique for caulking their wooden pirogues,mixing in crushed up baobab seed shells to make a flexible paste.

portland cement mixed with lard to form a putty that can be applied underwater,and cures once in contact with salt water is a very old, wooden sailing ship/fishermans trick.

[David_Old_Jersey]

My eyesight not quite up to spotting the actual crack! - but from his website:-



I am guessing that is a puddle of water at the bottom.

My first thought was (in the absence of Epoxy etc) was to drop some concrete in - if the locals have any, might not seal the seepage entirely but should slow it down a tad / stabilise that part of the hull.

My second thought was to box in the cracked area usuing wood and screws so that if (when?) things get worse as the hull flexes under way then all you will get into the boat is some seepage around the joints rather than a flood! - if the boxed in area is tall enough (and doesn't have to be a small box either....3' x 3' of water (in a box) inside a boat ain't gonna sink her...got more than that in the water tanks!).

My main concern would howver be the skeg falling off, partly because of the hole that would leave - but also because would mean losing rudder, if not entirely at least enough so it no longer worked (and in many respects that worse than having none - hole in boat bottom aside!).

Obviously am not familiar with the area - but anything closer than Guam?, not for a proper fix - but for stuff that might make a better temporary fix that what is presently available locally?

Anyway, hope it all goes well - even if all I can provide is a thread bump .

[atoll]

@ doj the atoll is resupplied by ship every 4-6 weeks,otherwise locally they are still living as they have done for the past 1000 years,think topless women in grass skirts,and men in dug out canoes.

apart from guam,yap is the next closest island,where there may be a mobile crane capable of lifting the boat about 6 days sail away.
the next closest landmass is papua new guinea or the phillipines.

i would think unless they can do a substantial epoxy repair,and brace the skeg with steel/alloy flatbar before leaving the lagoon the boat will be a total loss.

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by atoll

i would think unless they can do a substantial epoxy repair,and brace the skeg with steel/alloy flatbar before leaving the lagoon the boat will be a total loss.

I would sadly agree. The only real chance is to apply long flat bars with holes to the outside and drill through the hull to bolt the plate on with possibly backing plates inside the hull to ensure the skeg hangs on. After alot of thought i am not sure the boat is fully reparable even on a full yard? I cant see how they can secure the skeg with epoxy and glass applied to the surface without bolting on extra structure whether steel or mahoghany strips as he mentions in his blog.

Either way i would make sure my sat phone, life raft and epirb were all working before the passage to guam...

Would the skeg ever be at full strength again without a massive rebule and relay of glass?

[atoll]

latest up dates are here

The solution to our dry dock found | Towards Sydney

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by atoll

once propped up,as a tempory solution find polystyrene on the beach and mix with gasoline, this forms a paste similar to polyester resin that will stick to the hull,use some material or polypropelene sacking to reinforce.

Polystyrene and Gasoline makes a very nasty flammable substance, called napalm.

(edit) I see it does both... it does make the gelatin like substance of napalm. But when left out in the air to dry (no idea for how long) it becomes a hard plastic.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

Polystyrene and Gasoline makes a very nasty flammable substance, called napalm.

i thought it was gasoline and sugar in naplam.

breaking down polystyrene with gas returns the material back to its un catalysed state, a styrene monomer,one of the ingredients in polyester resin.

it is the gasoline fumes that are inflamable,and should be used with extreme caution,inside of a boat hull.

but if the choice is your boat sinking or making a tempory repair with what is at hand, hey any port in a storm

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by atoll

i thought it was gasoline and sugar in naplam.

breaking down polystyrene with gas returns the material back to its un catalysed state, a styrene monomer,one of the ingredients in polyester resin.

it is the gasoline fumes that are inflamable,and should be used with extreme caution,inside of a boat hull.

but if the choice is your boat sinking or making a tempory repair with what is at hand, hey any port in a storm

Just to be clear (for the sake of casual readers), the liquid of gasoline is indeed inflammable, it's the fumes that are explosive.

Anyway, this repair does make sense. Break down the Polystyrene into it's basic form. The gasoline will eventually evaporate off and leave behind a hard plastic.

The purpose of the gelatin-like state (in napalm) is so it sticks to anything it touches, as it burns... this also makes sense for the repair process. It'll stick to, and probably bond with, other plastics. I'd just be sure to use as much ventilation as possible to speed up the evaporation process, make sure you don't get any on your skin, and NO SMOKING!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Just an idea, but if the skeg is only cracked on one side, how about drilling a hole through at the tip (or 3/4's the way down) and then attaching a line (onto a steel backing plate?) and then winching that line bar tight to hold the skeg in compression against the crack? Probably need to add a block at deck level for running onto a sheet winch to get the tension - and I am guessing that wire cable would work best or failing that constant tensioning up.

Obviously a risk of yanking the skeg off! but at least that would be done near shore - and if that weak anyway then likely will be coming off on it's own accord sooner rather than later.

But might be the best option for boat to stay where it is (or careened on the shoreline?) and then simply keep fingers crossed she survives the weather / Hurricane Season - and in the meantime get self (or a crew member) on whatever boat is arriving and next heading to somewhere that either has the supplies to fix, or could have them delivered to (with things lined up in advance) - even if all that does take a month or more....and involves even more island hopping.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Just an idea, but if the skeg is only cracked on one side, how about drilling a hole through at the tip (or 3/4's the way down) and then attaching a line (onto a steel backing plate?) and then winching that line bar tight to hold the skeg in compression against the crack? Probably need to add a block at deck level for running onto a sheet winch to get the tension - and I am guessing that wire cable would work best or failing that constant tensioning up.

Obviously a risk of yanking the skeg off! but at least that would be done near shore - and if that weak anyway then likely will be coming off on it's own accord sooner rather than later.

But might be the best option for boat to stay where it is (or careened on the shoreline?) and then simply keep fingers crossed she survives the weather / Hurricane Season - and in the meantime get self (or a crew member) on whatever boat is arriving and next heading to somewhere that either has the supplies to fix, or could have them delivered to (with things lined up in advance) - even if all that does take a month or more....and involves even more island hopping.

looking at the photos ,and knowing the limitations of what is available,also the in ability to properly dry out the vessel.

an option would be to wait for the supply ship to arrive,and use their workshop to fabricate a"STEEL SHOE" that can be bolted to the underside of the hull,and skeg covering the damaged area.

fiberglass is relatively easy to drill through by hand and bolts easy to seal.
thus creating a strong exteriour"patch",that can be applied under water and provide structural strenth to the skeg.