Boat Sinking Prevention

[Queequeg QuintParticipant @queequegquint38270]

Since I have lost a nice 35 inch lobster boat to a sinking disaster, I was wondering if you all could share your ideas on sink-prevention.  In the always-possible event of too much water getting into your boat, what do you use to keep it from going down?  For example, bilge pumps, flotation material, etc.

 

[Queequeg QuintParticipant @queequegquint38270]

[Rick DevonshireParticipant @rickdevonshire]

Have you thought of filling every available space inside with cut blocks of foam?

My father once sugested reject ping-pong balls!

Alternately how about empty plastic bottles with the lids tightly screwed down?

Rick.

 

 

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I try to ensure no water can get in, in the first place by having the superstructure sitting on combings etc, and trying not to have flat type deck hatches or at least having them sit on tight fitting plugs.

 

Where this is not possible I would advocate subdivision, bit more tricky this..I applied this to the lads Aircraft carrier, the aft flat of which was very low and flooded thus letting in water everywhere, This was sealed off from the rest of the ship and the control wire to the rudder was led through a thin plastic tube. Works a treat.

 

I would also not have the throttle on a ratchet.. for obvious reasons.. eye off the ball for a minute…throttle inadvertantly set full astern…?

 Foam filled spaces….I wonder how much volume would need to be filled to keep the boat afloat? i suppose actually just having the bow sticking up would be sufficient to attempt a rescue.

 

A free floating lifebelt on string may be the easy answer !!!

 

Ashley

[tonytunaParticipant @tonytuna]

i always fill all the space in the hull with polystyrene the packaging kind ie from tv or other electrical appliances before i fit the deck up to now i haven’t lost a boat yet they always stay afloat no mater how much water they take on.

cheers tony 

[TelstarParticipant @telstar]

Hi   Like Tony I fill as much of the hull as possable with a waterproof foam, leaving nowhere for the water to go.  I use a two part mix that froths up after mixing, it is the type of foam used to fill plastic bouys and floats (thin plastic shell foam filled). It’s a little messy to use, but does a good job. Obviously I don’t encase servos, motors, etc. just fill the ’empty’ bits

cheers Tom

[B BParticipant @bb42502]

Sometimes the space available for some sort of floatation material is still to little to give the boat positive bouyancy in case she takes on water. this means the boat sinks. I add a little extra detail where I make a crate with a little bouy on top of it. underneath is a stainless steel or plastic cotton bobbin from a sewing machine mounted on a frame secured strongly to the hull or deck of the boat. Should the boat sink the bouy stays on the surface marking the spot she went down. This makes salvage a breeze. Upohlstery cotton is very flexible and is at the same time very strong.

 I hope this helps you.

Bernhard (BB)

[Rick DevonshireParticipant @rickdevonshire]

WRT my previous suggestion using plastic bottles I noticed that boots health products, such as Cod Liver Oil capsules come in very light weight, silver coloured bottles with screw tops, in various sizes. It would probably be possible to fill the empty spaces with such containers in some craft.

Rick. 

 

[Rick DevonshireParticipant @rickdevonshire]

A life belt on a string could be secured to the deck with soap which would dissolve and release it to float to the surface. (I think I have seen this idea in an old book on model boat making probably by Vic Smeed).

Rick.

[B BParticipant @bb42502]

The problem with the soap method is that it takes time to disolve and it could be days before you see anything on the whereabouts of your boat. The nice thing about the bouy method is that you immediately see where the boat has gone down. If retrieval is quick damage to electronics can sometimes be limited.

Each method has pros and cons. I can only speak from experience at our club where one paticular tug has sunk a few times being pulled broadside whilst towing. the bouy method has worked every single time without a hitch.

 

[nathan barrowParticipant @nathanbarrow90374]

i wwas told that expanding foam, though hard to use without damaging the ship will make the ship just about unsinkable

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

You still need to have sufficient foam to ensure that its buoyancy offsets the weight of the boat and often there is only one way to check that….

 

Colin

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