Use of oil in heavy weather - have you ever tried it?

[Adios]

An entertaining experiment, but would I use the technique 'for real'? Almost certainly not, on a small lightly crewed yacht, you'd be too busy doing more important things, but on something with a large crew, perhaps: Even if it didn't achieve much, the task would keep a couple of the crew members occupied and in my experience, people worry less when they've got something to do/think about.

I remember reading books where the boat lay ahull and the exhausted crew lashed themselves into their bunks. (That always seemed a sound tactic when most hulls survive while left alone after crews have been airlifted off, thinking Sydney Hobart races.) In that situation the boat would just drift downwind and there wasn't much else for the crew to do so chucking some oil in first no great effort. That said I think the storm lasted days in that account.

 

[Hydrozoan]

This1886 article by USN Lieutenant A B Wyckhoff gives examples of oil being deployed from ships but in addition to recommending that oil be carried for the purpose, it also contains this suggestion:

'A bottle of oil, with a quill in the cork, should always be attached to every life buoy. When a man falls overboard and reaches the life buoy, the oil will prevent the waves breaking over him, and enable the rescuing boat to find him, by the "slick" on the water.'

One might think that the oil would make it more difficult to get the casualty aboard the rescuing boat, but the idea of oil reducing his very local exposure to waves in that situation is historically interesting.

'The Use of Oil in Storms at Sea', Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Vol. 23, No. 123 (Jul., 1886), pp. 383-388; The Use of Oil in Storms at Sea on JSTOR (open access).

 

[Frank Holden]

I sailed on several ships built in the 50's that had wave oil tanks in the focsle - I assume that the other hundred or so ships in that company's fleet also had them. Maybe 50 gallons each - open valves and the oil would flow into the hawse pipes and then into the sea. Shipowners - being miserable creatures - must have thought they had merit.
Lifeboats would have a wave oil bag attached to the sea anchor. Maybe 1 litre capacity - hessian or similar that the oil would seep out of.. A lot like the old water coolers you would hang on the front bumper of your car in the Australian bush except filled with oakum. The water coolers worked on the cooling effect of the evaporating water . https://www.aussiedisposals.com.au/5lt-water-bag.html
Not sure if the Colza oil in the boats was lamp oil or wave oil or both.
Mineral oil considered better for environment than vegetable oil as it evaporates which vege oil does not.

 

[Frank Holden]

Just found this Storm Oil
Seems that colza is what we now call canola and that fish oil is also good.

 

[Juan Twothree]

Some of the old types of lifeboat, including some that were in service up till the 1980s, had a brass oil tank fitted, for use in rough seas.

I don't know if or how often it was used, it was a bit before my time.

 

[Biggles Wader]

View attachment 161010

Back row forth from left...
1960 Pre sea training, Boat Handling, the lessons prepared us for later when we had our sea time in and would take the Board of Trade Lifeboat examination as described by Poignard and Biggles Wader.

Eight boys and an officer Instructor in a big old clinker built 54 man lifeboat. Each in turn took command of the boat. " Toss oars," "out oars" " Give way together" " Hold water port, give way Starboard" and so on. It was blowing about 3 off the Harbour entrance, not rough but a sharp chop in the disturbed seas off the breakwater.
Rig the Dipping Lug...sailed like a Thames Barge with her Lee Boards up...sideways!!

Part of the test was to know the rations and gear in the boat including Sea anchor and one gallon of "Whale Oil" in a metal Jerry can.
Rig the sea anchor and oil bag. Canvas bag stuffed with old cotton waste. Give it a good soaking, stab the bag with the spike on your knife and run the bag out to the sea anchor on it's line.
Stinks but it seems to flatten the sea a bit...
That Belgian Cross Channel Ferry is on a strange course, he should be going in the other Harbour entrance remarks the Instructor.. recover the Sea anchor quick!
Fred Karno's Army episode begins, boys hauling on a slippery smelly sea anchor warp covered in oil, the oil bag comes aboard still leaking oil over our number 8 working Denims, oar handles are almost impossible to grip with oily hands as we out oars and pull clear...only to find the Ferry is altering in plenty of time anyway.
Spent the rest of the day cleaning the boat and ourselves...

The actual Life Boat Examination a few years later when I had got my sea time in was dead easy in comparison and not at all smelly..
Only in a dire emergency would I ever use oil in stormy conditions to save my skin...and I'd make sure it smelled nice and was pimped out through the heads, and not from an oil bag....

POWSTS?. Id recognise that castle anywhere.

 

[veshengro]

POWSTS?. Id recognise that castle anywhere.

Yes, happy days.

 

[westernman]

My boat heaves to very well. The effect the small side ways drift has on calming the seas on the upwind side of the boat is really very noticeable. I did not believe it until I saw it with my own eyes.

I think oil would probalby have a very noticeable effect. And probably the best way would be to let it seep out of a hessian bag attached just above the waterline on the leeward side of the hove to boat. I am sure there is some old text book somewhere which says something like that.

 

[veshengro]

My boat heaves to very well. The effect the small side ways drift has on calming the seas on the upwind side of the boat is really very noticeable. I did not believe it until I saw it with my own eyes.

I think oil would probalby have a very noticeable effect. And probably the best way would be to let it seep out of a hessian bag attached just above the waterline on the leeward side of the hove to boat. I am sure there is some old text book somewhere which says something like that.

The Hessian bag would work but another method which avoids having to go on deck, is to pour small amounts of oil into the heads. a few occasional pumps of the heads discharges the oil below the water line and the boat drifts over it to Leeward as the oil rises to the surface.

 

[westernman]

The Hessian bag would work but another method which avoids having to go on deck, is to pour small amounts of oil into the heads. a few occasional pumps of the heads discharges the oil below the water line and the boat drifts over it to Leeward as the oil rises to the surface.

My boat was remarkably stable in the rough confused seas when I heaved to. No problem in those particular circumstances going on deck.

 

[bill bligh]

Years ago I was reading about pouring oil on troubled waters. I cannot remember where found the article. From what I recall it was whale oil in a bag with a hole in it that dripped out.

 

[Minerva]

Never used oil over the side, but have been in lumpy bumpy weather.

In those conditions I never once, not even for one iota, thought about going head down into the depths of the bilges / cockpit locker, to pull out a heavy canister of oil, to them humpff a few 10's of Kgs up the windward side decks then empty a substance into the water that was almost 100% certain to make the decks treacherously slippy.

It just sounds like an incredibly stupid thing to try and do, and that's before the ecological damage

 

[veshengro]

Never used oil over the side, but have been in lumpy bumpy weather.

In those conditions I never once, not even for one iota, thought about going head down into the depths of the bilges / cockpit locker, to pull out a heavy canister of oil, to them humpff a few 10's of Kgs up the windward side decks then empty a substance into the water that was almost 100% certain to make the decks treacherously slippy.

It just sounds like an incredibly stupid thing to try and do, and that's before the ecological damage

You are braver than me then. If weather/circumstances were dire enough, I'd wear a Ballerina's Tutu and sing Hallelujah if I thought it would prevent me from being dismasted and rolled...

 

[capnsensible]

Never used oil over the side, but have been in lumpy bumpy weather.

In those conditions I never once, not even for one iota, thought about going head down into the depths of the bilges / cockpit locker, to pull out a heavy canister of oil, to them humpff a few 10's of Kgs up the windward side decks then empty a substance into the water that was almost 100% certain to make the decks treacherously slippy.

It just sounds like an incredibly stupid thing to try and do, and that's before the ecological damage

Pump it through the heads.

Eco damage? Infintesimally small. There's more plastic across oceans causing real damage than a couple of pints of oil ever would.

In my opinion......

 

[BobnLesley]

...an incredibly stupid thing to try and do, and that's before the ecological damage

Surely the ecological damage is a moot concern, if that boat sinks then the can of oil will sink with it and go into the sea anyway.

 

[MisterBaxter]

Veg oil won't cause eco damage, it will disperse pretty fast in storm conditions and degrades naturally.
Flushing it down the toilet would be a lot easier, safer and more effective than dumping it over the side, I think.
But it feels like a pretty niche activity.

 

[mjcoon]

https://escholarship.org/content/qt...77eb7950f658f80a3832c00935a667ea.pdf?t=nrjg16

Fish oil was successful in the incident described in this report.

Maybe so many seagulls would collect it would have an effect...

 

[Poignard]

I don't know where you would buy fish oil in bulk these days.

I am very fond of tinned sardines and usually have a lot of tins on board but I can't see myself, seasick, standing over the Lavac pouring them into it before pumping them overboard.

 

[Stemar]

I don't know where you would buy fish oil in bulk these days.

I am very fond of tinned sardines and usually have a lot of tins on board but I can't see myself, seasick, standing over the Lavac pouring them into it before pumping them overboard.

If you're that seasick, that might be exactly what you do

 

[Poignard]

If you're that seasick, that might be exactly what you do

Abiding by the rule "Don't put anything down here that you haven't eaten first"?