Your Boat Could Sink -- Really!

 

April 20, 2013

     Or, What hoses? What hose clamps?

     “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”

Murphy’s Law

     “Murphy was an optimist.”

Murphy’s cat

About a month ago I heard about something that happened to a friend’s boat. Tied up in the marina, someone noticed that his boat seemed to be sitting low in the water, and stepped aboard to check. That person found that the man’s boat was filling up with salt water. He went back up to the club, got a pump, started pumping the man’s boat out, and gave him a call.

Most sailboats have “thru-holes” that go through the hull for all sorts of reasons. They let in water to help cool the engine. They let the galley sink drain. Three miles out, you can pump your head’s holding tank overboard, and that requires a thru-hole. There can be others as well.

These holes have hoses held on by clamps. On this unlucky man’s boat, one of the hoses had cracked, causing the leak.

Well, I didn’t want gallons and gallons of salt water in my cabin. No, sir! So, being a newer sailor, I had someone go through my boat with me to check all of this and show me what to look for.

Happily, all my hoses are in good shape. The one bringing water into the engine, is, in fact, very new. That’s the good news.
   

The bad news is that the engine hose was installed improperly. The wrong hose clamps were used –- probably automotive, not marine -- and in 18 months they had rusted so badly that they broke into pieces when taken off. While the fellow who installed my engine was very good, he must have slipped up. Those were not marine-grade hose clamps.

Automotive product used for a marine application,

almost always, a bad idea.

LESSON LEARNED:  As you can see from the next picture, the actual hose is new and in very good shape. However, it really doesn’t matter if the hose itself is in great shape if the clamps break and it falls off. Your boat is going to fill up with saltwater, and if not stopped, sink right in its slip. Or at anchor. Or wherever she happens to be when Murphy strikes. The clamps are as important as the section of hose and the state of the thru-hole valve.

Thing is, if you check these things, this is one time you can force Murphy to tip-toe away from you and go bother someone less vigilant than you were. Good job!

The picture below shows one end of the hose with new, marine-grade stainless clamps on it. As you can see, two were used. One goes around the hose clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. Of course, this was done on both ends of the hose. This is a place to not go cheap on your boat: get your hose clamps at a real marine supply store.

ANOTHER LESSON LEARNED: Think you don’t need to know about these things? You’ve got someone really good to work on your boat? The fellow who put in my engine is probably the best marine diesel engine installer for 100 miles in any direction, but I’m pretty sure he made a mistake and put the wrong hose clamps on a very important section of hose.

And while you’re at it, check all your thru-holes. Make sure all the shut-off valves work smoothly. Check all the hoses connected to them and make sure they’re not brittle and cracked or about to crack.

Anyone can make a mistake, and everyone is human. You may not know how to fix all the problems you find, but do yourself a favor and learn as much as you can about how things ought to be. When your boat doesn’t sink, you’ll be glad you did!