Leak in hull, sinking

[SV Liberty]

Originally Posted by YachtBroker

1) who has a grinder on a boat?
2) who would use a grinder inside a boat?

Notwithstanding the great wisdom of the broker who sold me my first (and only) boat, and the knowledge he imparted to me, 1) I carried a grinder on Liberty, and 2) I did (although when it slipped one time and bumped up against the hull, it was way above the waterline; nevertheless, a fact I'll forget when it comes time for you to pass Liberty on the next owner).

Dave
SV Liberty

[buzzstar]

Since you are attempting to make the situation realistic, just where in Mexico is the vessel Med moored?

[Divevac]

Great ideas all...thank you for the sharing of wisdom. This is one thread I will never forget!

Provided the grinder cut is near the waterline, my first thought was to heal the boat to stop the flow and find a temporary or permanent fix for the cut. But I see that the suggestions provided are infinitely more timely and practical-often with materials already available (nerf footballs rule!!).

How about the grinder wheel (exact same size as the cut) inside a heavy plastic bag inserted from the outside. If the grinder wheel remains attached to the grinder, it would be highly unlikely that one could use that grinder again inside the hull-thus avoiding a repeat!

[Wulf]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Toilet bowl wax.

x2

[barnakiel]

100% depends on what is at hand.

Sika and rag from the outside. Rag and screwdriver from the inside. Epoxystick from inside.

Neoprene foam and pressure from the inside locks and small hole immediately.

A pillow and your foot (from the inside ;-) lock any small hole too.

Etc.

Good luck and bubble us how it all ended up for you!
b.

[VirginiaBoy]

Hello All, The cedar shingle idea or a variation of that with a piece of wood and shaped to fit and then tapped in. Probably be good for a long time. kevin

[rosatte]

rope soaked in tar or the sap from a eculipse tree will work if no tar available. .

[Rivatar]

Hammer the grinder blade into the hole

[AKA-None]

A rag inside a plastic bag is what I used when the prop walked itself out. Otherwise almost anything that you can fit into the whole world slow it down so you can think

[Ken Z]

when i was sailing a wood sloop in the bahamas and south, i carried a large truck tire innertube split and cut to a rectangle. I put grommets evenly spaced about 10" o.c. , tied a big knot at the corners. tied 1/4 nylon to the corners and had ample line for the grommets, grommets on the corners could pull outTheory being ,... hole in hull, lower the "patch" over the bow or stern, depending on leak, hole, and tighten lines over hole, make fast, grommet lines to fine tune the " patch". the inner tube will not be flat, it will be curved so the option can be placed curve in or out. Never had to use it , but gave me false hope....🤢

[JPA Cate]

Hi, everyone, apologies for arriving late. Splash Zone was an underwater epoxy available in the 80's, and would set up in salt water. We used it for a temporary repair, once.

Who would use a grinder with a cut off wheel inside their boat? while in the slip? Well, Jim did, once. It made him nervous, and he was VERYcareful. Old, rotten stringers needed to be removed before the proper internal fix could be made to our first Insatiable.

Basically, wedge anything in the cut, even towels. Plan to be using the bilge pump. You can buy a lot of time that way, and if you're near land (wouldn't start a project like that in the middle of the ocean), almost any travelift will lift you in an emergency, even if they have to make room in the yard for you first.

Ann

[atoll]

if nothing else is to hand in far flung places, portland cement is generally available everywhere.

mix up the cement powder with lard and fresh water to make a putty,apply to the hole. this will quickly cure underwater.

for bigger breaches hammer in coconut fibers ,cottonwool or rope fibers(hemp or sizal work best,but synthetic wil do if nothing else) then apply cement putty inside and out to the protruding fibers which will hold the patch in place once cured and allow you to move the boat without the risk of the patch falling off.

we saved a ferrocement yacht in chagos using pumps and plastic bags when it hit a bommie,then towed it to the beach at high water and beached it with the hole on the high side,the owners then spent 18 months repairing the yacht with materials brought by visiting yachts and the BIOT fisheries vessel,they eventually sailed it to sri lanka for proper repairs,then onto south africa!

[cal40john]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRhcXBtmPQs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUg3TUmnQBs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5PDuXvqL7c

There's also capsize, dismasting, propane leak and more in this series.

[Stilllooking]

Originally Posted by SVRocinante

Depends on what you have on hand... several epoxies will stick and harden under water (JB is a brand I've used) preferably do it from the outside, where the cut is actually smallest and the physical putty will actually be held in place by water pressure rather than being pushed out by it. Likewise, if you have Butyl tape, that too will stick underwater... again, do it from the outside.

If nothing like that is available, then my next thought would be to cut a wedge shaped (tapered) piece of material that will fit the gap... again, from underneath the hull.

Hope these ideas help...

Apologies, didn't realize which area this was in and thought it was an actual issue you were having...

Stuff the hole with rags.

[motion30]

I have enough real problems without manufacturing one.