Sinking Feeling

? My wife and I were delivering our Cal 39 from Cambridge to Annapolis last week for the race to the Miles River and? had been motoring at basically full throttle for about 2 hours when I noticed water over the floorboards at the base of the companion way!!!??? $$@*&!!? I told Kristin to throttle down to idle while I went below and checked all the thru hulls.? I turned on the bilge?pump on my way down and checked them all and found?that and they were all fine.? Pulled the engine cover off and nothing was leaking around the engine.? Crap!!! Hmmmmm . . .?maybe because the boat squats so much under power the stern tube was leaking so I emptied the lazerette and crawled down there (in 3' waves . . . can you say green?)? I still could not see anything leaking?there either but by now the bilge pump was keeping up and had reduced the level of the water quite a bit?so I could breathe a little easier.? Since the bilge pump was keeping up we started on our way to the nearest marina at Knapps Narrows. As I was standing there thinking where the Hell is the water coming from, ?I remembered I could take the propane locker out and see inside the stern area?better, so after taking the propane tank off I pulled out the locker and there it was . . .? the drain for the propane locker had never been attached and the hose was laying on bottom of the boat.? Since the thru hull was only underwater when motoring at higher rpms? that is why I couldn't see the leak when we stopped to look for it.? I got out the 4200, filled the end of the hose, stuffed a plastic bag inside it and zip tied it.? I then zip tied the hose in an upright position to another hose so that the end stayed above the water line.? Crisis averted!!? Whew!! Paul West Adventure Kwest Cal 39?

On May 28, 2009, at 1:31 PM, pw… [at] aol.com wrote: > > > > My wife and I were delivering our Cal 39 from Cambridge to Annapolis > last week for the race to the Miles River and had been motoring at > basically full throttle for about 2 hours when I noticed water over > the floorboards at the base of the companion way!!! $$@*&!! > I had a similar experience when delivering a new boat I had just bought from San Diego to Dana Point, CA It was a three year old Yankee 38 and we were about three hours along in a 10 hour trip when I saw the same chilling sight; water over the cabin sole. It turned out to be the water-lift exhaust "ashcan" which had rusted through. I got it welded and it was fine for the five years I owned the boat. We had actually already had a preview because, as we were pulling out of SDYC, we stopped at the gas dock to fill up. I turned on the blower and black smoke issued from the vent. The PO had never used the blower as it was a diesel engine. It had rusted tight and caught fire when I turned it on. To make it more exciting, we had our three kids along on the trip. The oldest was 10. Mike Kennedy Conquest Cal 40 # 96

All the above waterline thru hulls on our 87 cal 33 were plastic or nylon. After 20 years of UV exposure some had cracked and all had become brittle. I had a few disintegrate when taking the hose off the fitting! Only a few, cockpit drain and locker drains, are under water only when motoring. I replaced them all with the Marlon fittings. It was a little more expensive, I don't want to have an Oh-$!*#@ moment. Our Bilge pump was also wired to the panel without a float switch. I remedied that as well. Added a switch and bypassed the panel switch with the power direct wired to a fuse at the battery. These are modifications that I was surprised I would have to make on a "new" old boat. TYMLL John From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of pw… [at] aol.com Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 4:31 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [Cal_Boats] Sinking Feeling My wife and I were delivering our Cal 39 from Cambridge to Annapolis last week for the race to the Miles River and had been motoring at basically full throttle for about 2 hours when I noticed water over the floorboards at the base of the companion way!!! $$@*&!! I told Kristin to throttle down to idle while I went below and checked all the thru hulls. I turned on the bilge pump on my way down and checked them all and found that and they were all fine. Pulled the engine cover off and nothing was leaking around the engine. Crap!!! Hmmmmm . . . maybe because the boat squats so much under power the stern tube was leaking so I emptied the lazerette and crawled down there (in 3' waves . . . can you say green?) I still could not see anything leaking there either but by now the bilge pump was keeping up and had reduced the level of the water quite a bit so I could breathe a little easier. Since the bilge pump was keeping up we started on our way to the nearest marina at Knapps Narrows. As I was standing there thinking where the Hell is the water coming from, I remembered I could take the propane locker out and see inside the stern area better, so after taking the propane tank off I pulled out the locker and there it was . . . the drain for the propane locker had never been attached and the hose was laying on bottom of the boat. Since the thru hull was only underwater when motoring at higher rpms that is why I couldn't see the leak when we stopped to look for it. I got out the 4200, filled the end of the hose, stuffed a plastic bag inside it and zip tied it. I then zip tied the hose in an upright position to another hose so that the end stayed above the water line. Crisis averted!! Whew!! Paul West Adventure Kwest Cal 39 _____ Wanna slim down for summer? Go to America <http://www.aolhealth.com/diet/weight-loss-program/?ncid=emlcntusheal0000000 1> Takes it Off to learn how.

No amount of diligence and planning can substitute for a little dumb luck! You clearly dodged a bullet. Next stop, buy lottery tickets. BTW - can you provide me some pictures of your propane locker set up. All the detail you can provide will be appreciated. My boat has CNG which is becoming slightly more difficult to get. I am investigating making the switchover but have not yet formulated a plan that I like (convenience, safety, asthetics). Thanks, Wayne Gillikin "Elusive" Cal39-3 From: "pw… [at] aol.com" <pw… [at] aol.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 4:31:08 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Sinking Feeling My wife and I were delivering our Cal 39 from Cambridge to Annapolis last week for the race to the Miles River and had been motoring at basically full throttle for about 2 hours when I noticed water over the floorboards at the base of the companion way!!! $$@*&!! I told Kristin to throttle down to idle while I went below and checked all the thru hulls. I turned on the bilge pump on my way down and checked them all and found that and they were all fine. Pulled the engine cover off and nothing was leaking around the engine. Crap!!! Hmmmmm . . . maybe because the boat squats so much under power the stern tube was leaking so I emptied the lazerette and crawled down there (in 3' waves . . . can you say green?) I still could not see anything leaking there either but by now the bilge pump was keeping up and had reduced the level of the water quite a bit so I could breathe a little easier. Since the bilge pump was keeping up we started on our way to the nearest marina at Knapps Narrows. As I was standing there thinking where the Hell is the water coming from, I remembered I could take the propane locker out and see inside the stern area better, so after taking the propane tank off I pulled out the locker and there it was . . . the drain for the propane locker had never been attached and the hose was laying on bottom of the boat. Since the thru hull was only underwater when motoring at higher rpms that is why I couldn't see the leak when we stopped to look for it. I got out the 4200, filled the end of the hose, stuffed a plastic bag inside it and zip tied it. I then zip tied the hose in an upright position to another hose so that the end stayed above the water line. Crisis averted!! Whew!! Paul West Adventure Kwest Cal 39 Wanna slim down for summer? Go to America Takes it Off to learn how.

On May 29, 2009, at 10:18 AM, Wayne Gillikin wrote: > > > > No amount of diligence and planning can substitute for a little dumb > luck! You clearly dodged a bullet. Next stop, buy lottery tickets. > > BTW - can you provide me some pictures of your propane locker set > up. All the detail you can provide will be appreciated. My boat > has CNG which is becoming slightly more difficult to get. I am > investigating making the switchover but have not yet formulated a > plan that I like (convenience, safety, asthetics). > > Thanks, > Wayne Gillikin > "Elusive" > Cal39-3 > > I cannot understand why CNG is fading as the preferred stove fuel. I have a local source but may have to change one day, too. Ironically, the only source for CNG equipment now is Corp Brothers, the company owned by my boat's former owner. Mike Kennedy Conquest Cal 40 # 96