In my early days I worked in
commercial salvage.
In all the excitement about utilizing
emergency bilge pumps don’t forget the most effective solution is to find and
plug the hole as quickly as you can.
I have 2 large nylon bags full of different sized wooden cones that can be hammered into any sized hole to reduce the
water flow. Also ready made up pudding blankets and assorted ¾” ply cuts and wedges with hardwood timber to fabricate a quick
repair
Once you know you are taking on large amounts of
water:
Stop the
boat
Feel around in the bilge for where you find the most
current and temperature difference, size and
plug it!
If it is a
Thru hull that has let go, then the hole should be fairly round and uniform so the cone plugs
work great to reduce the initial flow.
While I have a large main
engine driven crash
pump I am not a big fan of running the main
engine when water is pouring into the engine room. I prefer to quietly and quickly
work on stemming the flow without
danger to crew or engine.
Once the hole is plugged from the inside, and the bilges are emptied. I would then consider re-plugging from the outside if it would make a more secure fit, before slowly heading to a safe anchorage to do a permanent
repair.