All bunged up

Dellquay13

Dellquay13

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Deep down in the bilges I've got a bag of wooden bungs. they came free with the Foxhound 24, along with a sackful of questions and a full manifest of lessons yet to be learned.
Never having had a boat with openings below the waterline before ( mobos with foam filled hulls only) I always thought that the likelihood of suffering a perfectly round underwater puncture a bit farcical, but now I've heard that the tapered bungs are for seacocks or other round pre installed holes, not accidental ones.

my question is how do you decide which size you diligently store next to each seacock/ hole in the boat? The one that would plug up the barbed hose fitting, or one that would plug some kind of unknown disintegrating fitting disaster? Or one that would involve going overboard and knocking it into the outside of the skin fitting?

TIA...
 
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Funny enough, I was musing on this the other day! Avocet is a single layer fibreglass layup. As you say, if we were holed below the waterline, it would almost certainly not be round. More like a split / tear in the laminate and the best thing, would be to "shore-up" with some sort of beam wedged against it and against something opposite it. In reality, we don't carry an "acrow prop" or similar (or range of bits of wood of various lengths. Re seacocks, the bungs I have, are tapered, so I tend to have them so that the narrowest end will fit inside the metal spout of the seacock, and I think, if the metal were to fracture, the wide end of the same bung would still just about do it.
 
Dellquay13 said:
... my question is how do you decide which size you diligently store next to each seacock/ hole in the boat? The one that would plug up the barbed hose fitting, or one that would plug some kind of unknown disintegrating fitting disaster?
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I have always wondered the same, which is why I keep my bag of assorted bungs in one place rather than allocating them individually to a particular through-hull.
 
scottie said:
are the bungs not a hangover from racing rules
yes they meant to be attached to applicable fitting
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That sounds plausible.
Sandy said:
I carry a putty like material that can be molded into any shape.
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I have daydreamed about the best way to deal with collision damage etc; the best I've come up with was heavyish gauge poly bags and a can of aerosol builders foam, nozzle into the bag, bag poked through hole and the foam squirted in and the bag neck held firmly until the foam starts to set. I have never even experimented with this however so it remains a daydream.
 
Yes they are part of requirements for safety when racing. Not that it is a bad idea to carry them for cruising. No they would not suit all leak problems. However the taper should be long enough to fit many sizes and be able to jamb in. Even from outside. I have a couple on the little boat to suit cockpit drains left there from times when I had to comply with Racing rules of sailing safety gear. ol'will
 
A set of softwood bungs is part of the safety equipment required of cruising boats by Finnish clubs' inspectors in annual safety checks ('katsastus'). It's recommended that a suitably-sized bung is attached by a short string to each through-hull fitting, but in most boats (mine too) they're still in the plastic bag they came in. This Finnish katsastus system seems to be unique in the world, and has its origin in the safety checks for boats participating in races.

I also have a pot of the putty, here's its web site (with references including an article from the Yachting Monthly crash test boat): Stay Afloat
 
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penfold said:
That sounds plausible.

I have daydreamed about the best way to deal with collision damage etc; the best I've come up with was heavyish gauge poly bags and a can of aerosol builders foam, nozzle into the bag, bag poked through hole and the foam squirted in and the bag neck held firmly until the foam starts to set. I have never even experimented with this however so it remains a daydream.
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Might not work because builder's foam needs air plus a bit of moisture. What you might end up with is a bag of sticky goo if you hold the bag shut. I tried to make a dan buoy with a fishing rod & a lemonade bottle & had the similar problem.
 
NormanS said:
Be aware, that in the unlikely event of having to use a wooden bung, you may well have to arrange a method of holding the bung in place. (Personal experience).
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Bash it in with something heavy ( it is tapered for a reason)& provided you have kept it reasonably dry & not let it float in the bilges the wood will swell a bit & it will grip
I cannot imagine what your "personal experience" was ( what were you doing playing with tapered bungs, the mind boggles!!) , but I am sure that the forum would appreciate a good laugh on this cold day, so come on - spill the beans :D
 
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I've just looked at the sites of the suggested retailers of "Stay Afloat" putty (which is seemingly produced in the US):

France - Bigship = 17,90€ = £15.15
Spain - Francobordo = 19,99€ = £16.92
UK - Force4 = £24.95
(Marine Chandlery no longer seem to sell it.)

So, only an additional ~47%-65% markup here then! :eek::rolleyes:
 
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Daydream believer said:
Might not work because builder's foam needs air plus a bit of moisture. What you might end up with is a bag of sticky goo if you hold the bag shut.
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That was certainly my experience. I tried squirting builder’s foam into a heavy-duty black bag to mould a complex-shaped packing block, and the foam didn‘t expand at all. It just left a messy brown smear inside the bag.

Pete
 
the bin bag and builders foam is a lovely idea, but i guess controlling the ratio of rapidly decreasing air and waaaay too much moisture while the water is gushing in through a jagged hole, and swmbo is screaming in terror because she never wanted anything to do with boats in the first place, and you are hearing that you are drifting back towards whatever tore the hole in the boat, is a bit fiddly...
 
the bin bag and builders foam is a lovely idea, but i guess controlling the ratio of rapidly decreasing air and waaaay too much moisture while the water is gushing in through a jagged hole, and swmbo is screaming in terror because she never wanted anything to do with boats in the first place, and you are hearing that you are drifting back towards whatever tore the hole in the boat, is a bit fiddly...
 
Dellquay13 said:
the bin bag and builders foam is a lovely idea, but i guess controlling the ratio of rapidly decreasing air and waaaay too much moisture while the water is gushing in through a jagged hole, and swmbo is screaming in terror because she never wanted anything to do with boats in the first place, and you are hearing that you are drifting back towards whatever tore the hole in the boat, is a bit fiddly...
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carefull-- dancrane suggested that & was nearly hung drawn & quartered
Dans posts
 
Not having ever actually tried to do it that's fair enough, but I'm sure the industrial chemists could rustle up an aerosol foam that didn't need air and moisture; in extremis it would be possible to have two part foam in a canister, although that would obviously have cost implications.
 
If you haven't already it's worth watching the Crash Test Boat video on hull damage. Their surprise conclusion was that for an initial "first aid" patch the best solution was to put a cushion over the hole and stand on it. They had a slight delay in filming, and to slow down the water one of the crew picked up a cushion that happened to be lying around - and it worked better than most of what they had planned.

Obviously this is a very temporary solution while you organise something that doesn't need constant effort from a dedicated crewmember, but it's worth having in mind.

Pete
 
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