Blocking up holes
Those of us who sail long distances always gather bits and pieces over time and many skippers have numerous plastic boxes full of those items which just cannot be thrown away because they may be useful in an emergency or for a simple repair. Reading through some magazine articles the other day, I was surprised to see an author in his list of “lessons learnt” say that he would, in future, carry some wooden bungs in case of another incident of holing from grounding on rock. This is basic safety equipment, and though maybe not rated as important as a lifejacket or harnesses, no yacht should go to sea without something to block up a hole quickly.
November 22, 2007 at 2:04 pm
This article just caught my eye & I fully agree with you Sticky. I carry a set of soft wood bungs of various sizes for such eventualities, but some advice I came across recently, which I will put in place before my boat goes back in the water, is to pre-select a suitably sized bung for all the thru-hull fittings/apertures on the boat, drill out and tie a length of cord on each bung and affix on or beside each fitting, so to hand immediately if there is a failure.
November 27, 2007 at 11:59 am
Hope you do not have to buy too many, but peace of mind and being well prepared are all important. I used to carry a piece of equipment called a Suberella which was rather line an umberella. If holed badly this device could be thrust through the hole and then pulled back against the hull like a brolly, and alledgedly stop the inflow of water. Luckily I never had to use it!