Oops someone put his foot in it


jhl.verona

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My brother in law and father in law went to put the boat to winter last weekend. Unfortunately BIL slipped and managed to put his foot through the hull... Three minutes later and I now own a submarine...

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Well, I suppose that after 40 years (20 in my possession) I can't complain too much, plus it was in port - out on the lake there's 350m of water!

So any tips on scarfing plywood? :rolleyes: I suppose I'll need a waterproof glue, too :P

John

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ok i saw a info comercial on tv at 2 in the morning for some spray on rubber stuff for the house so you can keep your leaking roof from well........ leaking. they showed how well it works by take a screen door and mounting it in bottom of boat then covering screen with the spray on sealent......wonder if that would work :)

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I see epoxy in your future. Go to West Systems website (Gougeon). They have some free pdfs of boat repair.

So do I unfortunately. Sigh. And marine plywood...

ok i saw a info comercial on tv at 2 in the morning for some spray on rubber stuff for the house so you can keep your leaking roof from well........ leaking. they showed how well it works by take a screen door and mounting it in bottom of boat then covering screen with the spray on sealent......wonder if that would work :)

:D

Yikes!

To quote my wife...."how the h*** dos someone put their foot through a hull?". Had to explain that boats were built very differently 40 years ago.

Good luck on the repairs.

Actually it is a very well built boat. However, it hasn't received a great deal of attention over the last 20 years, so any small infiltration will seep into the plywood. The rotten area (otherwise a foot won't go through 10mm plywood) is at the lowest area of the bilge, normally under the flooring - which had been removed for storage. My brother in law said that it felt like paper mache, so I'll have to poke around with an awl - something I really hate doing.

The "Mithbusters" used duct tape to patch a boat hull.................It didn't last too long.........But, then they built an entire boat, including the sail, out of heavy wire and duct tape that worked quite well. :D

Rog :lol: :lol:

That would be the solution my brother in law would choose. He broke the mast of a Flying Dutchman, and repaired it with white glue bound with string. Lasted nearly 4 hours before the mast fell apart again.

The real question is how is your brother in law going to fix it? ;)

White glue and string, see above.

He can only sail on calm days...

Actually he is a much better sailor than me - but his woodworking leaves much to be desired...

Anyway, as you've probably guessed from the last photo, he called a diver, who patched up the hole, filled a few bags with air, and towed the boat 3 nm to the boat club which had a crane. Now high and dry, so I have till spring to fix things.

The funny thing is - I have a degree in ... Naval Architecture. Sigh.

John

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WOW! You're lucky it happened where/when it did! Could have made for a REALLY bad day :angry: . When would you be diving into the repairs?

Too cold for diving! The problem is financial. The boat is worth about €4000 (without extra holes), and the repairs are estimated at around €3000. If I do it myself, I'll only know when I begin, not when it's done. I did repair the boat myself once (no, not where the hole is), and I spent every weekend all summer long on it. Each time I poked with the awl I found a new problem, so towards autumn I threw the awl away!

Wow, that sucks.

Here's my advice: Tell your brother-in-law to start buying you beer and to stop when you break even.

If it had to happen I'm soooo glad it happened in port. Out on the lake it could easily have been tragic.

That would be quite a lot of beer, methinks...

Actually I am very fortunate in the BIL arena - he paid for the diver and recovery, and he's helping me find a potential buyer, so I can't complain...

Reminds me of a quote from Michael Caine (which not a lot of people know) - when asked why he didn't own a yacht he replied "Each time I think of it, I tear up bank notes under a cold shower until the thought passes" - wise man, that.

John

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can you leave it there for the winter and let the ice and cold water preserve it till spring :) i say buy a new boat for a price difference of 1000 its not worth saving if it only cost 1000 to fix then i would fix it. but its up to you how much do you love scoobadiving.

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can you leave it there for the winter and let the ice and cold water preserve it till spring :) i say buy a new boat for a price difference of 1000 its not worth saving if it only cost 1000 to fix then i would fix it. but its up to you how much do you love scoobadiving.

Sadly that seems to be the plan right now. A fibreglass boat can be found for around €6000, so the Muscadet may very well be pensioned off.

I have heard the old saying "A boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money." And I heard another on on TV the other day, "BOAT means Break Out Another Thousand" that seems to apply to your situation. :(:rolleyes: Sorry! :o

Rog

Roger, you know how to cheer a man up! :blink::D (OK, OK, so I started it with the Michael Caine quote) :rolleyes:

John

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