Dripless Shaft Seals...

[Don s/v Tellico]

This is just for interest, not to start a debate of a well debated topic here. There was a tragic sinking along the ICW in NC of a new 35' powerboat in it's way to the Miami Boat Show. Two men aboard drowned. The USCG has determined that it was a broken shaft seal (NOT the PSS brand) that caused the boat to go down. Link is to the most recent story at towndock.net (a great site if you're heading to eastern NC.)As an aside, the boat was new and did not have a fixed VHF installed. They were carrying handhelds. Anyone who's cruised the ICW knows there are many, many miles that are remote. Turns out handhelds don't reach far in those circumstances. I know, this is an isolated incident and the truth is that if it's not one thing that gets you, it's another; sooner or later something is gonna get you; when it's ur time, etc., etc. But thought some of you would be interested.

 

[Ross]

Among the many things

I get off on is damage control. We hear of many incidents where a boat is taking on water, the pumps can't keep up and everybody abandons ship. They never even look for the leak! We should be able to access every square foot of the hull below the waterline and have some means of slowing a leak. Stuffing bath towels into a hole will slow down the rate of flooding. Grounding the boat is far better than sinking, grounding half full of water will buy time and if you can control the flooding and pump out you may be able to float off without assistance and reach a marina where proper repairs can be done.

 

[Honeyman]

Yeah, kinda like Ross...

said, I mean come on, the ICW is NOT that deep. Just listen to the majority of people who run it year to year. I think it would have been very easy to run up onto some soft ground to stop the boat from sinking. If no one is paying attention...it's like we used to say "no brain, no headache"!!!

 

[Don s/v Tellico]

Point wasn't to attract monday quarterbacking...

Which both of you are doing a good job at....geez. Honeyman have you ever crossed the Pamlico Sound?!?! If so, you know it ain't no canal at that point - in fact it's huge and downright scary when the wind kicks up.Granted, it wasn't that deep. In fact the boat was spotted by another passing boat a few days later when they saw the outriggers and hardtop under the water.The thinking is that boat sank fast, real fast. Maybe there was no high water alarm, or they ignored it. But, I think the story goes that the engine hatch was up, one engine was in neutral, the other appeared to be running when it went down. Given that there was no radio contact and they were 10-15 miles off shore in the Pamilico Sound in stormy weather, what could they do? Like anyone else, don lifejackets, and hang on a long as you can. Then what? Tie yourself to the boat until you die or hope you float to shore before you die? I'm not saying they didn't make mistakes, I sure have in that same body of water. I think the moral is how fast a boat can sink underneath you.

 

[Ross]

I have a friend that

ruptured a raw water intake hose for a 6-71 diesel in the lower chesapeake bay. He was alone, realized the problem called for help, the coasties put a pump aboard and he got a tow from someone. It was a four inch line that failed on a forty + foot power cruiser. By the time he knew that there was a problem he couldn't gain access to the broken hose. He considered grounding the boat if he didn't get help in time.

 

[wayne willaims]

cape fear river ICW

For those that think ICW is just a walk in the park check out the Cape Fear River section between Southport and Wilmington, NC. A nasty section on any given day. I have been on Pamilico Sound when it looked worse than the ocean because of the shallower depth. It sounded unfortunate to me.