Hands Up if.....

[Dave-Shafa]

Apologies to those who have heard this story before.

Many years ago SWMBO and I were racing in our Vivacity 20 (yes, I know) in the Forth. The coarse was from Pt. Edgar, leave Inchkeith to starboard, back to PE, and the NNE wind allowed us to lay Inchkeith close hauled on the port tack, reefed and well heeled. Approaching Inchkeith we were the last boat, but, through not having had to tack, much closer to the rest of the fleet than was normally the case at the windward mark. With our huge handicap, a corrected time win was looking a distinct possibility.

At this point SWMBO went below to check the chart and shouted "there's water down here!" "Yes, there's usually a bit of water" I replied, for it was rather a wet boat. "No, there's lots of water!" I looked, and the water was lapping the top of the starboard side berths. I hove to, then we plied buckets furiously, but we didn't seem to be gaining. I sent out a Pan Pan, but no reply. More bailing and still no signs of gaining - in fact we became convinced it was getting deeper. No obvious source could be found. I sent out a Mayday, again no reply. (The coax deck plug was later found to be disconnected for some never explained reason.) I spotted a yacht about half a mile away and let off an orange smoke. He came over to us at once and asked if we wanted a tow. I explained the situation and he agreed to stand by us while we headed for Port Edgar, in case we didn't make it.

On the journey back we continued to bail and soon we were definitely gaining. After about an hour all the water was out and none was coming in. Absolutely no trace of a leak. So we thanked and released our Good Samaritan and returned to PE very puzzled. The explanation turned out to be remarkably simple. The Vivacity's sink is mounted to starboard and covered with a board when not in use. When heeled on port tack it goes lower than the water line and water comes up the drain pipe, fills the sink and overflows behind the berths, all of this being hidden by the cover board. Once back on an even keel the sink drains. Needless to say, having found the problem, a sea cock was inserted into the drain and the boat from then on was significantly less wet!

Exactly the same on my Valiant 2 weeks ago - cept the sink and pipes had been removed
and the outlet had somehow come unbunged

From my blog....
Sailed with both sails up to the canal entrance where I noticed the floor was awash with water. Arrrrrrrrrggggggg!
Went below and found the old sink discharge pipe which I thought was adequately bunged up was pouring water into ma wee boaty.
The pipe is the size of my pinky finger.
Back to marina and bailed 15 large buckets.

 

[prv]

Dunno if this counts as a non-obvious place...

On a Day Skipper course out of Falmouth, having done various exercises in the Carrick Roads we were heading across to Helford for the night. Conditions a bit bouncy - nothing remotely worrying, but we had the companionway hatch closed to keep the spray out. Suddenly the gas alarm starts going off.

We were puzzled - as good little Dazed Kippers we had turned the bottle off in the locker, which was part of the cockpit moulding and clearly couldn't leak below decks. Open the locker and check - yep, the bottle is still turned off. Slide back the hatch to have a look below decks.

Ah. The saloon is full of water, about level with the settee berths.

Ray (I think that was his name) immediately launches himself down the companionway and heads forwards, ripping up sole boards as he goes. Within a few seconds he's found some kind of fitting near the forepeak door, with a jet of water coming through it. Fortunately there is a wooden bung ready and waiting on a string, which he jams into the hole.

We turn on the electric bilge pump (no float switch, I guess) and I steer and work the manual pump while everyone else makes a bucket chain. At some point in the process the instructor decides to start the engine, praising the sensible design of the Bukh that puts both starter motor and alternator as high up as possible. The bottom of the flywheel is still submerged, flinging spray around. We finish emptying the boat just as we arrive at the mouth of the Helford, and pick up a visitors' mooring. The course includes cooking all meals aboard, but the (freelance) instructor says bugger that, we're eating at the pub and he will pay and bill the charter company for it.

For the next couple of days we hang the bunk cushions in the rig whenever we stop, and they eventually dry out. Fortunately only Ray has had his clothes soaked with the oily water - the couple in the forepeak had his-and-hers waterproof yottie bags, I'd stowed all my stuff in the lockers up under the side-deck, and the instructor's quarter-berth had remained above the water. Ray lived nearby, and his wife met us with spare clothes and sleeping bag. All the instruments on board were knocked out by the flood - even the wind/speed/depth displays had a brain box under the chart table which was immersed. So we continue the week's course doing all the trad nav stuff for real - it didn't seem like that big a deal at the time.

The fitting with the water coming through turned out to be the log transducer, which somebody before us had put back in without doing up the retaining collar. And the gas alarm went off when its sensor got wet, either detecting the substantial amount of spilled diesel / engine oil in the water, or more likely just shorting out. I don't know how full the boat would have had to get before we noticed the changed movement or reduced freeboard (all of us, instructor included, being new to the boat and most of us fairly inexperienced). We couldn't easily see into the cabin with the sliding hatch shut (washboards weren't in, but the angle wasn't good) so it's very lucky that the gas alarm went off when it did.

Pete

 

[BruceDanforth]

There is a lot to be said for having an hourly regime of giving the bilge pump a few rattles whilst underway to find out if you are shipping any water.

 

[jwilson]

There is a lot to be said for having an hourly regime of giving the bilge pump a few rattles whilst underway to find out if you are shipping any water.

Once stepped down into a saloon to make a hot drink to find the water was over my boot tops. Found out why the boat had two huge semi-rotary manual pumps in the cockpit, and it explained why she felt so sluggish despite 9 different sails set including topsails on main and mizzen. Got the tea and coffee about an hour's hard pumping later.

 

[prv]

9 different sails set including topsails on main and mizzen.

Sounds like an interesting old vessel - what were the nine sails?

Pete

 

[prv]

There is a lot to be said for having an hourly regime of giving the bilge pump a few rattles whilst underway to find out if you are shipping any water.

You'd know about it on Ariam, as the bilge is so shallow I think it would be over the floorboards before it activated the float switch.

Pete

 

[capnsensible]

Once did an emergency surface after one of the lads accidentally kicked the flood alarm whilst cleaning the torpedo compartment bilges.

Happiness is a false alarm!!

 

[TSB240]

Two years ago we did a shake down cruise in company around Anglesey.

Cruise set off motoring over Caernarfon Bar in with plenty of greenies over the boat.

Later on off South Stack we went through similar wind against tide with a steep chop. In the process of reefing down I sliced the top off a knuckle by accident and converted the cockpit into an abatoir. Beverley went below to fetch the First aid kit and came back up looking a little white and very calmly stemmed the flow.

Once patched up she calmly said right now you wont die from blood loss can you prevent us drowning?

Our chain locker drain was pretty small and had been blocked by a leaf from a tree in our Dock. This wouldn't have been so bad if the locker had been properly repaired. Unknown to me it had a large slot covered by a poorly sealed strip at the top which was allowing water to enter straight into the hull.

Our manual bilge pump soon had the water level draining so the carpets were no longer floating. When we arrived in Holyhead all of the underbunk lockers were still full to the top!

Since then our friends son still greets as the sub-mariners with reference to Das Boot
View attachment 43836

 

[DanTribe]

^^ about two sentences in, when you said the faster you went, the faster the water came in, I had realised it was engine cooling water.

With sufficient sea room, I would have stopped the engine to test that theory.

I had this at the start of the season. A big clue was that the bilge water was lovely and warm.

 

[jwilson]

Sounds like an interesting old vessel - what were the nine sails?

Pete

I miscounted, it was only 7 - 3 jibs and main and mizzen, each with topsails. Horrible old heavy clinker-built thing, with concrete in the bilges and a petrol-paraffin engine with no reverse - the clutch worked by many turns of a wheel conveniently located at the foot of the companionway.

 

[Uricanejack]

No. My hand has to stay down.

I have responded to a Mayday call, and stood by though. More than once. Was quite happy to.

 

[Woodlouse]

Worst I've had was an electric bilge pump syphoning back into the boat. It was on auto so the only clue I had to a problem was that the pump kept running. I turned it off, and then the bilge alarm went off, turned it back on and the pump started running intermittently again. A quick shufty for leaks turned up nothing so a process of elimination led me to closing the seacock of the pump outlet and the flood stopped. Got no credit for it though. The captain and engineer didn't seem to like their deckhand A: noticing a problem, B: diagnosing a problem and C: solving a problem whilst they sat looking confused.

 

[pathfinderstu]

^^ about two sentences in, when you said the faster you went, the faster the water came in, I had realised it was engine cooling water.

With sufficient sea room, I would have stopped the engine to test that theory.

Clever you. but it could have been many other things. stern tube problems. extra pressure on the hull when going faster for example.

 

[seumask]

On a boys weekend in October Chichester to Lyminton (Solent) in F6 SW wind against tide Hunter Delta 25, entertained by the Seaking Helicopter, who wanted to see if he could get a man on board, as we sailed up wind ( the engine was not an option, outboard in well in F6!) decided that he couldnt, in the end. ( its very hard to hear anything on a hand held when a Helicopter is hovering around above you!)
As we entered the river at Lymington one of us went down below for the first time in 4 hours to discover rather a lot of water in the cabin, approx 3" above sole, still 18" to go to the keel case! Transpired that the anchor well vent had been left open and as we went through rather a lot of waves on the way up this had poured into the boat.

Note to self to close anchor locker vent at Sea! and dont tell your co-owner (aka SHWBO) when on a boys trip that you at your destination bailing out with a bucket! ( advantage of keel case , can easlily be bailed into if still above the water line!)

 

[LadyInBed]

^^ about two sentences in, when you said the faster you went, the faster the water came in, I had realised it was engine cooling water.

With sufficient sea room, I would have stopped the engine to test that theory.

I had exactly that problem last year. I spent two days with my head buried under the aft sole patching the exhaust hose.
Luckily I had plenty of sea room crossing Biscay

 

[Talulah]

I had a small leak that took ages to place. Water coming in but only when the engine was running.
I had the leak for a few weeks but it was getting worse over time so had to be found.
Turned out to be the plastic silencer box. With the engine running it would vibrate away and had worn a hole in one corner.

Another more serious leak was crossing the Channel after a YBW forum meet in Cherbourg.
Water above the cabin sole and getting worse.
I traced the source to the gas locker. The gas locker was in the cockpit locker. You had to get in the cockpit locker to change gas bottles. The water was coming up through the gas locker drain and in to the cockpit locker. This in turn drained into the bilges. We had several issues on that trip including an injured crew member, a detached baby stay, a broken autopilot and an engine that kept stopping due to air in the diesel. Finally got back sailing in to the berth in Gosport Marina.

 

[LadyInBed]

>>Turned out to be the plastic silencer box. With the engine running it would vibrate away and had worn a hole in one corner.<<
You saying that has reminded me that I had that problem many years ago on my previous boat.
Chemical metal did a job plus a soft pad under the box to stop it happening again.

 

[dom]

This thread is truly fantastic stuff.
Each of the above posts left me with an, "OMG yes, that could so easily happen!" feeling.
I'd think of many many more obscure things in an emergency now
Might even print it off and shove it in the chart table!

 

[Zen Zero]

Motoring round from Plataria to Sivota after being slipped in after a winter and rainy spring ashore ... found the bilge half full of water and diesel. The water was coming from the stuffing box header tube that had fallen down (note to self: find a better way of holding it up), the diesel, on the other hand, was pishing out from a tiny wee hole in the fuel filter; oh and the engine had stopped and wouldn't restart.

On arriving in Sivota (with unfiltered diesel straight from the tank), I hand pumped the contents of the bilge into a bucket and thence via a funnel into 3 x 2l mineral water bottles which I offered as salad dressing to the German crew of the 46' charter boat that had blocked me in ("when are you leaving?").

 

[bikedaft]

Sailing on stbd tack mid sound of jura boat seemed sluggish halcyon clipper 27. Water over cabin floor. All seacocks seemed fine etc? Pumped out. Then remembered gas locker within port cockpit locker with 2" drain hose that drain over side, usually above w/l. Shoved hose back on, fine

Dark, motoring N from rathlin island, with tide, but against f5 gusting 6 from N. Worried crew below "we're full of water" 6" over floor boards. Pumped out fine, then realised fwd hatch had popped open (forward opening still, will change it one day...) we had been taking green ones in the cockpit, all the way from the bow. Glad it wasn't my sleeping bag up the bow hustler 35

Off ardnamurchan in tidal chop, water over cabin floor, turned out that the old manual hand pump on galley sink could also be used as a bilge pump with changeover valve beneath sink. Pipe had been removed and left there, not plugged... 2" plugged, and dried off the boat again. Pipe leads to seacock mostly above w/l at stern, tho not in tidal chop.

Good points above. When we are going upwind get fair bit down hawse pipe, so have a habit of checking bilge pump hourly or so. Keeps me warm

I have turned off the auto switched elec bilge pump as i like to know if we are making water. That's how i noticed the third episode above. Wonder how many years that pipe had been like that?