What now skipper?

[benjenbav]

At the risk of stealing tcm's thunder, let's kick this one off:

[ QUOTE ]
You and your son have crossed to France for a long weekend in your twin-screw flybridge boat. It is a great day for making the return trip across the Channel from St Vaast. The sky is blue and cloudless, and the forecast is for a Force 2, so even though there is a low swell you are making good progress. It has been a great late spring bank holiday weekend, and you're returning with a very special cargo - 20-odd cases of wine and beer stowed carefully on board.
You're an hour into the passage home when you make a wide, sweeping turn to clear a sailing yacht and as you return to your south-westerly course you feel Warrior is handling somewhat differently and somewhat sluggishly. You're son pops up top to say he can hear a weird noise below. You throttle back, hand over the helm to him, and head down to investigate. Soon you can hear the sound that has given mariners through the ages nightmares - the unaccounted for sloshing of liquid.
On checking, your worst fears are confirmed: the bilges are awash and you can't immediately find the cause of the problem. Leaking? Sinking? So what now, skipper?


[/ QUOTE ]

The first thing to check would be whether the little fecker smells of booze. Pound to a penny he's had the tops off all the bottles and left the beer and wine to flood into the bilges after drinking his fill. Get back on the flybridge quick before he planes up the beach.

 

[Questor]

We're on a South Westerly Course from Saint Vaast??? That's probably the problem.

 

[AIDY]

yup...... we are on the autoroute on passage to brittany.

 

[benjenbav]

Maybe they've both been on the wines and spirits before setting the course?

 

[Sammo]

Bend down and taste the water

If it`s oily…..reduce to one engine

If it`s fresh…..switch your bilge pumps to auto.

If it`s salty…..wave your arms in the air and run about.

……..

 

[hlb]

So everything is quite normal really. No major problems, just the every day sort of stuff.

 

[Questor]

Was it you in Chi Marina a few weekends back practising a few manoeuvres. Portofino 31 with the ybw burgee?

 

[benjenbav]

Yes, that would have been me.

 

[fireball]

Yup - I noticed that one too ... then thought well - if we're resuming our SW course then we've either got other things to worry about or we've just overtaken another transport lorry with a yacht on the back .... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Major Catastrophe]

[ QUOTE ]

Bend down and taste the water

If it`s oily…..reduce to one engine

If it`s fresh…..switch your bilge pumps to auto.

If it`s salty…..wave your arms in the air and run about.

[/ QUOTE ]

If it's alcohol, make mental note to visit off licence on return to home.

 

[Coupe]

Immediately secure lifejackets, fenders and seat cushions to the crates of plonk. Now, that's what I call raft /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Norman_E]

Did no one think of calling up the yacht, and transferring the valuable booze so that the yachtsmen can share it? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Coupe]

Naw, by the time the yacht gets there, all the booze will be gone /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[tcm]

Aha, i have obviously been expelled from the uk after the last few escapades and now live in er Gibraltar or St Malo and hence "homewards" is SW? Not sure why i would go to St Vaast for booze but i think after the recent monthly disasters we've already established that i'm a raving idiot, so fair enough.

Anyway, it's potentially something to do with that bast*rd raggie - one minute all ok, next minute AFTER going past the raggie the bilges are awash! Git! So, i wd definitely get their details for the insurance claim.

Otherwise I don't think i'd bother doing too much - after all it was suposedly a massive panic last month in the North Sea eh? But it all worked out fine. And the same happy ending every month before that too! So it'll all be alright, definitely. Until next month.

However, I notice the wife has left me this month, and daughter with fiancé too after the anchoring cockup.

Actually, seeing as how i am such a total twit on a monthly basis, i think it wd be best to let the boat sink, collect the insurance, again, and buy yet another boat in time for next month's disaster.

 

[tcm]

probably don\'t do bother doing that that, skipper? uncle albert?

Hm, the bilges are "awash" and you're going to bend down and start TASTING it?! Just how much water/fuel do you carry on that boat?

If your bilges are audiably "awash" and affecting boat speed it is 100% certain that it's seawater. NOT a leaky tap, nor even 20 cases of booze.

So having sent unlce albert to get the liferaft ready on deck, start packing passports and praps launch tender instead of running about waving arms in the air, I wd switch on bilge pumps continuous and wd first try and make the bilges a bit less "awash" noting carefuly the water level now and the water level in a minute or so. I will soon get the swing of whether it is stil rising fast (big hole in boat, get ready to abandon) or manageable - we can save the boat.

Actually this has happened to me (including the son coming up saying er dad...)

A very possible cause (which was the case for us) is that an exhaust has let go - so we're exhausting water into the bilges instead of outdoors. We should see this pretty clearly. Turn that engine off, clear bilges, then fix exhaust if poss, perhaps using Kollision Kit from Force4 for fixing wet things, else home on one engine.

Else, damn and blast, it's another hole. Like perhaps the generator inlet or whatever else holes there are in engineroom.

It's *possible* tho less likely that the leak is in the raw water inlet - altho if that had happened we wd've seen rising temperature as impellor fails to suck. So probly not that.

If water still rising v fast, something horrid like propellor has fallen out so bollx, there's a yotie nearby, vhf call ch 16 to yottie and grab bags, liferaft. Have a thinkabout softwood plugs, then reaise softwood plus are for teensy holes in teeny boats, and there isn't one for plugging a hole like the prop,is there? No.

Launching tender also quite possible even with sinking boat so we have an engine instead of urgh bobbing about, and that yottie might not be listening to ch 16 hence tender will allow us to cadge a lift.

Once safe, taking pix of sinking boat is quite nice for insurance people, to prove you haven't sold it for cash to some russians who plan to truck it to the Black Sea.

Incidentally, if you have a Force 4 Kollision Kit then you can make ready with big lunks of holefixing gobbo gear and with snorkel gear could get outside the boat (in clearish water) to fix hole from outside hull instead of pawing around inside, if you really need to fix boat asap instead of letting it sink (ehg you have no insurance, or not in nice english channel with lots of SAR services sitting about hoping to do superman missions in helicopters. You need more than one kit imho.

 

[Divemaster1]

Personally I would have two themes running, but difficult to have a Yes/No thread here on forum without showing it as a graphic:

1. Crew to prepare for the worst.
a. Lifejackets
b. Liferaft Prep for deployment (alt tender)
c. Issue Pan Pan Pan to announce situation & contact sailing yacht on ch 16 for same reason and as if they could stand by whilst investigating
d. Grab Bag on ready with relevant kit

2. Stem the flow of water / reduce volume
a. Start bilge pumps and monitor levels (set high volume emergency bilge pump on standby, or use as appropriate…..of course, as a prudent skipper you have had one of these fitted ?? … well, at lease I do… and it can shift more water than a 2.5” water intake can let in.. )
b. Mental note of all possible sources
i. Exhaust
ii. Raw water intake
iii. Raw water system on engine(s)
iv. Any other seawater intakes
v. Shaft and Rudders
vi. Tanks (diesel & water)
vii. Hull damage
c. Start engines (ensure healthy battery voltage with pumps running and check exhaust/raw water intake and systems)
i. If all OK set course for shore/other boats and let coastguard know.
ii. If one engine’s system is faulty, identify, shut down and isolate problem. Stem flow if still flowing. Monitor bilges
d. Start checking other seawater intakes
i. If any leaks, shut off valves or use the wooden plugs any conscientious skipper would carry
e. Check Shaft & rudder seals.
i. If simple leaks, the bilge pumps should keep the level down, and re-tighten glands if possible.
ii. If lost shaft or rudder, then use wooden plugs PDQ, as 2d above.
f. Tank checks.
i. If freshwater, then no problem as the flow will cease (unless a watermaker is running and if so, shut it down)
ii. If diesel it is easily discovered and stem if possible. Locate leak (tank or fuel system). Isolate and repair if possible. Inform all relevant parties and seek assistance as required.
g. Hull damage
i. Find water entry point
ii. Deploy canvass (as any conscientious skipper would carry), over the side and tie underneath, letting the water pressure keep it in to the hull and leak. (It is a still day so could be done), and one could make way to shore under own power.
iii. If hole too big, then prepare to abandon craft.

Of course one would monitor the situation all the time, and if at any time things get out of control, you’d abandon craft, which should be rapid, as crew are already standing by with all ready for abandonment (Point 1 above).

Have I forgotten anything ??