After motoring most of the way between Oceanside and Newport Beach, CA I was checking the oil the next morning (yesterday) before getting underway again to discover much seawater in the bilge of the engine compartment. Pumping it into buckets aboard (over-the-side bilge water discharge is prohibited inside Newport Beach Harbor), it measured 6 to 7 gallons! After wiping dry the compartment and starting the diesel I discovered a “pin-hole” tear in a hose leaving the seawater pump spewing out water like a lawn sprinkler on low. The hole was in a narrow space between two hose clamps. How to fix this in short order b/c check-out time for the slip was 1030?
The short version is that I wrapped the space between the clamps with Teflon thread seal, then black electrical tape over that. I had a narrow hose clamp (European style) that would fit in the space, so I put it on and tightened it down.This completely stopped the leak even with the diesel running at 3000 rpm—not a drop emerged!! The key is the Teflon thread seal which plugged the tear when under force of the hose clamp. We carry all this stuff aboard and for once a combination that actually fixed something!!
The even better news is that the wind got up (as it usually does) passing the Huntington Beach pier and platform “Emma”, so we finally sailed (diesel off) in 12-17 kt the last 8 n.mi. into Alamitos Bay. A little rugged over the infamous “Huntington Flats.” The recent discussion on SBO about reefing fractional rigs with swept-back spreaders had me evaluating the situation.
It was a close reach. Toward the end (nearer Long Beach) I saw 23.6 kt AWS, generally hovering around 20 kt AWS. Sailing on a 120% Genoa, traveler was down. The yacht was starting to feel a little over powered. If I was going far I would have elected to reef the mainsail although that could have been a bit “messy” in those conditions. (You just have to know the Huntington Flats in wind to appreciate.) Instead, we eased the main sheet some and lugged her the last mile or so into the harbor. The point, reducing the wind force on the mainsail is the proper step IMO.
PS: We dumped the buckets of bilge water once out of the harbor.
The short version is that I wrapped the space between the clamps with Teflon thread seal, then black electrical tape over that. I had a narrow hose clamp (European style) that would fit in the space, so I put it on and tightened it down.This completely stopped the leak even with the diesel running at 3000 rpm—not a drop emerged!! The key is the Teflon thread seal which plugged the tear when under force of the hose clamp. We carry all this stuff aboard and for once a combination that actually fixed something!!
The even better news is that the wind got up (as it usually does) passing the Huntington Beach pier and platform “Emma”, so we finally sailed (diesel off) in 12-17 kt the last 8 n.mi. into Alamitos Bay. A little rugged over the infamous “Huntington Flats.”
The recent discussion on SBO about reefing fractional rigs with swept-back spreaders had me evaluating the situation.It was a close reach. Toward the end (nearer Long Beach) I saw 23.6 kt AWS, generally hovering around 20 kt AWS. Sailing on a 120% Genoa, traveler was down. The yacht was starting to feel a little over powered. If I was going far I would have elected to reef the mainsail although that could have been a bit “messy” in those conditions. (You just have to know the Huntington Flats in wind to appreciate.) Instead, we eased the main sheet some and lugged her the last mile or so into the harbor. The point, reducing the wind force on the mainsail is the proper step IMO.
PS: We dumped the buckets of bilge water once out of the harbor.
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