TWL: Near Disaster / Lesson Learned
I've just learned a very valuable lesson. I had my boat hauled and the
bottom painted. While it was out I had the yard (I won't mention the yard name)
repack the stuffing boxes. As they were putting the boat back in the water the
yard mechanic was making last minute adjustments to the stuffing boxes. We got
the boat back to the slip late after filling the fuel tanks. Tied her down
and everything seemed fine. The next day (yesterday) I thought maybe I should
stop by and check on her since I'd never filled the tanks full before and I'm
always concerned about fuel leaks. She looked like she was sitting low. I
pulled up the floor and found water up to the top of my engine oil pans (about
18" of water). A neighbor helped me set up extra bilge pumps. One of mine had
given up and the other was pumping as hard as it could go. I shut off all
the raw water intakes and I finally located the source of the water. The yard
had not secured the lock nuts on the stuffing box clamps and water was pouring
in. I tightend the clamps and stopped the water. Late last night we finished
the pump out and installed new bilge pump this morning. If I hadn't decided
to check on her she would have been on the bottom by morning. I didn't have a
single indication when we tied her up the night before that there was a
problem. So here's some of the lessons I learned:
- Always check any yard work yourself before leaving the yard. Don't
assume that any work you had done was done correctly. Even the best mechanics and
yard people can make mistakes. - After returning from any trip, particularly if work was done, pull up the
floors and do a fifteen minute check of everything. Allow time for engines
to cool some, check for water and fuel leaks, etc. - Two bilge pumps is not enough. Three should be minimum and always have a
spare on board for emergencies. (I'm going to look into externally powered
emergency pumps). - When you leave your boat, even if its just for overnight, take the time
to do a thorough check of the engine room. - When you're sure everything is fine on your boat and there's no need to
go to the trouble of pulling the floor to check, that's when you really NEED to
do a check.
Most of you probably already know these things. As a newcomer to the trawler
world this was my first near disaster and it was a real awakening for me.
Mike & Dana Coble
"Twocan"
I've just learned a very valuable lesson.
. I pulled up the floor and found water up to the top of my engine oil
pans (about
18" of water
I didn't have a
single indication when we tied her up the night before that there was a
problem
Mike,
Every point you made is well taken.
The following is my ans to someone with abt the same question. My pump set
up saved a lot of damage in hurricane Andrew.
I also have an indicator lamp on the working bilge pump so that when it is
on I know it. should the lamp come on when it should not -- there is a
problem!!!
CCC
M/V CC RIDER
CHARLES and PAT CULOTTA, Jr.
Patterson, La.
is it important to have a high water alarm. If not, why?
If important what becomes the critical criteria. Does it matter at what
height the high alarm is mounted.
How do you determine such a significant height; if there is one?
This is the way I solved your query:
First, I have used the " inexpensive" Rule switches for over 25 yrs and have
had 2 fail in that time. Most of those years I have had more than one or
two in service at a time.
Two, a high water alarm is , in my opinion, a necessity on a boat that I
am going to sleep on!
Wiring it is very simple. Even with a lamp and a bell. You don't have to
purchase a kit all of the parts are off the shelf.
Three: I mounted a large Rule plastic pump, I think 3200 gph , along with
its float switch , just above the top of the working bilge pump as it ( the
working pump) sits in a well that holds abt 5 gallons .
This keeps the emergency pump just out of normal bilge water .
It came on one time only in Hurricane Andrew.
This pump requires a 20 amp fuse and has an 1.5 inch discharge.
I DO NOT have an on/off switch on the pump, so that it is worm
proof!!!!
I do have a switch on the BELL . If I am not there it need not ring
continuously running down the battery. My boat was not in a marina for the
first 15 yrs that I have had it so there was no one around to hear a bell.
It is now at my home. But-- even it it rings I doubt that we would hear it.
I would see water being pumped--- If we are at home.
By the way use a buzzer and not a bell as a bell will overheat and blow the
fuse. Don't ask just how I know this. Even with a buzzer it might be better
to have a low amp fuse to it so that after a few minutes that fuse burns and
cuts off ONLY the buzzer. I do have a separate low amp fuse on my bell
that burns in abt 30 seconds and silences the alarm
For what it is worth this is my experience.
When we splashed Anastasia II after 5 months on the hard, the shaft packing
leaked pretty good until I tightened it. This was probably because we had
slid the shaft back and forth removing and reinstalling the transmission.
It's always a good idea to look at EVERYTHING before you even take the boat
out of the slings, and periodically thereafter until you're happy with
everything.
This is also a case for an emergency high water bilge pump. I've always
installed a big one with it's own float switch about 4-6" higher than the
water EVER should get normally. There is also an alarm outside the boat
wired so that if this pump ever kicks on, it'll let everybody know for a
mile or so. If you do this, wire it into your start battery, NOT your house
batteries. This assumes all your other bilge pumps are wired to the house
batteries. This way, if your other bilge pumps conk out because the house
batteries are empty, the emergency one will still work.
Keith
__
The smoothness of your docking varies inversely with the number of people
watching.
----- Original Message -----
<snip>
-----Original Message-----
I pulled up the floor and found water up to the top of my engine oil pans
(about
18" of water). A neighbor helped me set up extra bilge pumps. One of mine had
given up and the other was pumping as hard as it could go.
REPLY
That story definitely puts a fresh perspective on high water alarms.
It also show how important those timers are; that alarm if the water level
doesn't immediately drop when the normal pump comes on.
Thanks for the reminder.
Arild
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I have 2 bilge pumps and two shower sump pumps that will act as bilge
pumps when the water comes over the side. I also have easy access to
the engine raw water hoses to use the Lehmans as pumps and stuck a high
water alarm float switch on top of one of the high capacity bilge pumps
with 5200.
Regards.....
Phil Rosch
Old Harbor Consulting
M/V "Curmudgeon" Marine Trader 44 TC
Currently Moored in Block Island, RI
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't
do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away
from
the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover." - Mark Twain
Regarding:
I also have an indicator lamp on the working bilge pump so that when it is
on I know it. should the lamp come on when it should not -- there is a
problem!!!
The other day after dropping the anchor, stopping the engine and adjusting
the DC circuit breakers, I noticed the LED for the bilge pump was lit.
Panic! I open the hatch and spot water flowing on the boards above the sump
area. A closer look showed that the fitting (double hose clamps) for the
hose attached to the input side of the hot water heater had slipped loose
and the water pump was trying faithfully to move the fresh water from its
tank into the bilge.
Fortunately this would not have sunk the boat since water was simply being
moved from one part of the boat to another before being pumped overboard.
I suspect that even though the engine temperature remained no more than 182
degrees during the eight hour trip down Delaware Bay, the engine coolant,
which heats up the water in the water heater, was hot enough to either
expand air trapped in the heater, or perhaps boil the water in the heater.
-- Jim
Jim & Rita Ague
M/V Derreen, Monk 36
at anchor in Atlantic City
ague@usa.net
Other than refuge from a nasty day on the Atlantic, the only other good
reason to anchor in Atlantic City is the beautiful light show put on by
Harrah's casino.
The northern face of this 20 story hotel has some sort of animated, gaudy,
neon colored lighting affair (not unlike stadium scoreboards) that changes
color all night long (I'm interpolating here), including waves of color
moving across the side of the hotel, bursting suns, USA flag.
And it is all paid for by those who toss quarters into one-armed machines
that don't do laundry.
-- Jim
Jim & Rita Ague
M/V Derreen, Monk 36
at anchor in Atlantic City
ague@usa.net