EMERGENCIES 12 FLOODING
Unless your boat has suffered catastrophic damage through collision or grounding, the most common cause of flooding is a split or burst hose – often part of the engine cooling water system. Other causes could be a leaking stern gland (where the prop shaft exits the hull) or failure of a seacock or through-hull fitting. Either way, the source of your troubles should be quite easy to trace.
An important check is to taste the water. If it’s fresh or only a little salty you can breathe a sigh of relief because it’s probable that the water tank or its hoses have let go. You may have to go without your afternoon cuppa but there’s clearly no danger. But if it’s seawater the situation is more serious. Your actions at this point depend on the severity of the problem. It’s been said that the most efficient bilge pump is a frightened man with a bucket, but obviously, if the water is gaining on you and there’s no immediate help around, a MAYDAY call is justified. However, if you believe you can fix it but the boat is disabled then a PAN PAN will suffice to obtain a tow. While considering your options you should remember that electric bilge pumps draw power from the batteries and these in turn depend on the engine to keep them charged. No engine means limited life for the batteries.
A useful item to have on board is a roll of self-amalgamating tape, which can often be used to make temporary repairs to hoses.
A ft b
FIRE
There are few experiences more terrifying than a fire at sea. Although not very common, when they occur there’s almost always a potential threat to life. Unfortunately, motor boats tend to be stuffed with inflammable substances: fuel for the engine, oils or paints, perhaps gas for the cooker and so on. Subjected to enough heat, even the resin in glassfibre mouldings will burn – down to the waterline in many instances. In such circumstances, remaining on board becomes impossible. The only course is to abandon ship. For a fire to exist, it needs three things: fuel, oxygen and a heat source. This dangerous trio is known as the ‘fire triangle’ and if you take away any one of those elements
FUEL
the fire will go out. Since it’s not always practical to remove the fuel, most fire fighting methods concentrate on quenching the heat and starving the fire of oxygen, sometimes both at once. A fire can be triggered by a number of means, but electrical malfunctions top the list. It’s a sad fact that boat electrical systems are not always as sound as they should be, with many having been adapted or extended by well-meaning owners over the years. A widespread belief is that 12V systems are inherently safe, but it’s not always appreciated that, for any given electrical load, low voltage means high amperage – and it’s amps that cause wires to overheat.
RYA Seamanship for Sea Anglers 89
TIP
HEAT
AIR
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