Hole in the Hull Emergency Procedure

[ekps1388]

Originally Posted by capngeo

Once on a 80' wooden shrimp boat delivery we took a hole (more like lost a plank) from a collision with....... a green coconut! Well at least we saw a green coconut floating nearby while we were swimming towards the life raft! The boat was GONE in under 60 seconds.

About 60 days later we found the wreck and were able to dive it; there was not much left but the metal parts by then.

Capngeo,
It is amazing that a green coconut can cause so much damage. Also that a boat can sink that fast! Glad you were saved. Thanks for your reply.
ekps1388

[dochueb]

Originally Posted by ekps1388

Sushirama,
Huh? Are you serious about the coconut Nd dental floss, or am I just too naively stupid or gullible? Thanks for your reply.
ekps1388

Gilligan's Island reference, I believe...

[ekps1388]

Originally Posted by dochueb

Gilligan's Island reference, I believe...

Dochueb,
Thanks for the enlightenment.
ekps1388

[Capt Phil]

It was not unusual back in the 50's and 60's in the PNW for wooden planked commercial towboats and fishboats to hit deadheads (widowmakers), usually at night and be holed or spring a plank. Never happened to me personally but most of us carried a couple of heavy canvas tarps to keep the sun off on the occasional day it would be sunny. I recall two boats that used their tarps to slow the water coming in. The tarps all came with strong grommets sewn in the corners and around the edges. Seems it worked well enough to keep them afloat with pumps running until the boat could be beached or reach a dock where repairs could be completed. As for the history of fothering, I believe it goes back to the Phoenecians who were plying the Med long before Hornblower. Of course, they probably used egyptian cotton or some equally valuable material that they used for sails. I believe it was a Wilber Smith novel where I first read about it years ago. Phil

[ekps1388]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

It was not unusual back in the 50's and 60's in the PNW for wooden planked commercial towboats and fishboats to hit deadheads (widowmakers), usually at night and be holed or spring a plank. Never happened to me personally but most of us carried a couple of heavy canvas tarps to keep the sun off on the occasional day it would be sunny. I recall two boats that used their tarps to slow the water coming in. The tarps all came with strong grommets sewn in the corners and around the edges. Seems it worked well enough to keep them afloat with pumps running until the boat could be beached or reach a dock where repairs could be completed. As for the history of fothering, I believe it goes back to the Phoenecians who were plying the Med long before Hornblower. Of course, they probably used egyptian cotton or some equally valuable material that they used for sails. I believe it was a Wilber Smith novel where I first read about it years ago. Phil

Capt Phil,
How fascinating. Thank you for filling me in on some history.
ekps1388

[Steve Bean]

More history, from Wikipedia: Captain Cook's ship HMS Endeavour was fothered successfully after grounding on what is now known as Endeavour Reef in Australia, on Cook's first voyage.

[ekps1388]

Originally Posted by Steve Bean

More history, from Wikipedia: Captain Cook's ship HMS Endeavour was fothered successfully after grounding on what is now known as Endeavour Reef in Australia, on Cook's first voyage.

Thank you for your most welcome contributions. Very interesting.
ekps1388

[Normanby]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Yachting Monthly took a perfectly good sailboat, bashed a pretty good hole in the side and tested various methods of stopping the water. Fothering actually did a pretty good job. You can see the whole video here. Very interesting.

Crash Test Boat: Sinking! | Yachting Monthly

After they finished with this they step by step destroyed the boat with various tests, finishing up with a demo of what happens when you get a propane leak.

Great and informative video, thanks.

Watching how much trouble they had actually making the hole in the hull made me think that the most likely "hole" you'll get in a GRP hull would be more of a crack than a distinct hole.

If that's true then remedies that have to be poked through the 'hole' like umbrellas or life jackets could mean the problem is made worse before it's made better, if you know what I mean.

For example, a PFD poked into a crack or split in the hull, then inflated, could make a split bigger or longer.

This reasoning, for what it's worth, would lend weight to the crash mat lobby, over the 'poke-something-through-the-hole' faction.

N'est pas?

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Normanby

Watching how much trouble they had actually making the hole in the hull made me think that the most likely "hole" you'll get in a GRP hull would be more of a crack than a distinct hole.

That part impressed me as well. Does make you wonder how hard you have to hit something to make a really big hole. If it was just a crack yes the poke it through technique wouldn't work but then I would expect much less water pouring in through a crack than a gaping hole.

Originally Posted by Normanby

This reasoning, for what it's worth, would lend weight to the crash mat lobby, over the 'poke-something-through-the-hole' faction.

N'est pas?

I think I came away thinking you might need to use different techniques in different situations. The video mentioned the problems with some techniques if the hole happened to be across a bulkhead so a mat or other external device would be best. Large holes, if accessible I would first try to slow the flow with towel, life jacket or something from the inside and then consider an external option.

I was very impressed with how well the board with foam backing worked in stemming the flow. I would be tempted to go with that as a best option even if the damage was just a crack. Enlarge the crack just enough to fit a line through to attach to the board.

[ekps1388]

Normanby,
Thanks a so much for your thoughts on the video and the degree of damage needed for a boat to incur a large hole in its hull. I greatly appreciate the depth of your analysis.
ekps1388

[ekps1388]

Skipmac,
Thank you for your thoughts on the video and Normanby's comments regarding the kind of hole that would most likely confront a skipper and the methods to use in various scenarios.
I greatly appreciate your thoughtful opinions.
ekps1388

[barnakiel]

Gr8, the videos. THX for sharing!

Barnakiel

[Steve Bean]

We are all learning more as we pursue this topic. It seems to me that the forces used in the video are a lot smaller than those involved in a collision at 5 or 7 knots between a vessel weighing 5 or 10 tons and a log (hundreds of pounds) or the corner of a mostly submerged shipping container (several tons). I think it's pretty hard to predict what kind of collision will make what kind of hole. The video is much appreciated. I would like to see more video of the water coming in and some measure of the amount of it and less of the narrator.

[ekps1388]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Gr8, the videos. THX for sharing!

Barnakiel

Thank you so much for your contribution, barnakiel.
ekps1388

[ekps1388]

Originally Posted by Steve Bean

We are all learning more as we pursue this topic. It seems to me that the forces used in the video are a lot smaller than those involved in a collision at 5 or 7 knots between a vessel weighing 5 or 10 tons and a log (hundreds of pounds) or the corner of a mostly submerged shipping container (several tons). I think it's pretty hard to predict what kind of collision will make what kind of hole. The video is much appreciated. I would like to see more video of the water coming in and some measure of the amount of it and less of the narrator.

I do so appreciate the thought that you have given to your your interesting reply. Thanks, Steve Bean.
ekps1388