SAILING TIPS Mike Huston Pay Attention to Details


A lot of hassle for the want of a few screwed down wire ties!


Last fall a friend of mine asked


me to help move a boat from Everett to Tacoma. He had recently purchased an older boat and was in the process of refurbishing it. Most of the prior two months had been spent getting the boat cleaned up and seaworthy. This included checking and replacing much of the safety equipment, wiring and plumbing. It was Saturday morning and the


sun was out so this looked to be a pleasant trip. We got underway and headed out past the Navy base where we were met by a nice breeze. We set sail and headed south. As we passed Edmonds a couple hours later, the wind died, so we motor sailed for awhile. This lull in the wind did not last long, about twenty minutes later wind came back and was surprisingly fresh. The boat heeled over almost putting the rail in the water. I was about to say something about


the great sailing when we heard a bang followed by a thump-thump-thump. The noise was coming from the area of the engine. I took the wheel and shutdown the engine as the owner ran below to check things out. A few moments later he yelled up to us that we were taking on water. I asked if the bilge pump was running, the answer was a distinct “No!” in terms we cannot publish. He explained that the thumping was the float switch which had become wrapped around the shaft and in doing so had ripped the wires out of the bilge pump. So, we had no serviceable electric pump. We shifted into high gear as a crew.


His wife and son were onboard with us so we had them put on life jackets. My friend and I already had our Type V’s on. We put his wife to work on the manual bilge pump. The report from below decks was not good – the water was rising and was now covering the


transmission. This had not taken very long so the water was coming in pretty fast.


I called the Coast Guard and


reported our situation. I told them we were not in immediate danger but we were going to need a pump and the faster the better. We had a dinghy and we were less than a mile off shore so our lives were not in danger; but I can tell you the feeling of helplessness was still very tangible. So, when the Coast Guard reported back that they were dispatching a boat and a bird, it was very reassuring. While those of us topside were


pumping and talking to the Coast Guard, my friend was looking for the leak. In the process he unwrapped the switch and wire from the shaft. He had been at it a while so I yelled down asking what he was seeing. He reported he could not find the source of the leak. When I got down to the bilge I could see the transmission, which surprised me, and I could see no water flowing. As I looked around I noticed the water level was actually dropping, not going up. I looked under some other floorboards and checked the through-hulls but found nothing. In fact, by the time I got back to the bilge area it was dry. We started the engine thinking it


may have been pumping in the water, but even with it running the bilge remained dry. So we tried shifting into gear but nothing happened. I went below and tried to manually shift at the transmission but could not get it to shift into forward – reverse was no problem but it would not go into forward. We called the Coast Guard back and reported the change in our status. Even so, a few minutes later the helicopter showed up. We thanked them profusely for coming to our aide and informed them we were no longer in danger. It was actually a bit


embarrassing since we had gone from sinking, to not sinking so quickly and could not explain why. The Coast Guard was kind


enough to broadcast a PAN PAN (pronounced PAHNN PAHNN, a non- life threatening situation, about our needing a tow and another sailboat in the area quickly responded. We turned around and sailed up to Edmonds where the other boat rafted with us and skillfully guided us onto the guest dock. To all those who helped us and to the Coast Guard, thank you – we are very grateful. By this point you may be wondering


what all this has to do with the title of this article – that details matter. Here is the connection: One of my friend’s projects was replacing the bilge pump and float switch. In doing so he had not adequately secured the wire running from the panel to the pump to the side of the bilge. In his boat the engine is forward of the main bilge sump so the pump was under the shaft. When we heeled over in that fresh gust, the wire got hooked by the set screw on the shaft. It then pulled the wiring out of the pump and wrapped its way down the shaft to the shaft seal. As near as we can tell, the wire got wedged between the boot of the seal and its backing block on the shaft. The wire then acted like a pump, pulling water into the boat. When he unwrapped the wire from the shaft it allowed the seal to re-seat and thus stopped the leak. But at the time he did this it was under water so it was hard to see any change. All that hassle for the want of a few screwed down wire ties! I could go on with many more


examples; fortunately, most of them are not as poignant as the one above. When on a boat, underway or doing maintenance, paying attention to the details is important. If you hear a new noise, if you see a loose fitting, if you smell something – check it out. And if needed, make proper repairs. Think about chafe, about how things might shift when underway, etc. Also, setup a routine of scheduled preventative maintenance; because all these details do matter.


48°N 48° NORTH, MAY 2011 PAGE 35


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