Am I going to sink?

[normalfornorfolk]

Went for my first very ginger trip on my nice new (used) Mac the other day, and found that the boarding ladder had been pulled out of its fitting on the side nearest the engine. No idea how it happened - maybe I left it down when I first put the boat on the mooring, and the boat grounded out - maybe it got hit by something. Anyway, there seems to be a hole where the bolt went. It's above the water-line, but should I be worried about some cavity somewhere gently filling up with the old briney?
Should I be putting my affairs in order before I next go out?

[March]

It depends how far above the waterline the ladder was mounted. If it's well above it, the only problem would be some water in the bilge from the occasional wake or rain, that you can easily manage. It's more a matter of convenience and aesthetics, I guess. You need the boarding ladder.

Sounds like you forgot to tie up the ladder when you backed the boat off the trailer (in case of a foward movement, the ladder would have just swung backwards) Also sounds like the bolts had no reinforcement on the other side (which might be a blessing in disguise, since you would have still lost the bolt at the cost of a bigger hole)

You can easily fix the hole with Marine Tex. Last week, the cross winds bumped us against the dock that was covered with a sheet of steel sporting an ugly, sharp corner. Before I realized what was going on, the sharp edge sliced through the hull 15 inches above the waterline: the result was a ten inch gash all the way through. It took two three hour sessions to fix it with Marine Tex. Now it looks as good as new: the area is slightly cleaner from fine sanding.

Guess I will have to clean off the rest of the boat, too.

[normalfornorfolk]

Thanks for the reassuring words!

[tangentair]

You do want to seal the hole not only because of the leaks but because water over time degrades the resin bonding the fiberglass and the area will "soften". Any marine epoxy or marine sealer can be used, you might want to determine the extent of damage, cut out the broken area and repair the entire thing, it shouldn't be that extensive.

Now I have to ask - what is a ginger trip?

[Kelly Hanson East]

Echoing Tan here - a 2 inch hole will let water in much faster than you can pump or bail out, so if it goes underwater for any reason - you will sink (as defined by the floatation Mac of course).

It needs to be fixed before your next trip imho.

[normalfornorfolk]

Trip (n.): A journey or voyage.
Ginger (adj.): Careful, cautious, nervous or generally a bit big-girl's-blousish.
Of course, in cockney rhyming slang, "ginger" has a different meaning entirely (deriving from "ginger beer"), relating more to sexual preference than to the perfectly natural and manly desire not to break one's boat [said in deep voice while slapping the nearest person heartily on the back].

[tangentair]

... in cockney rhyming slang, "ginger" has a different meaning entirely ...said in deep voice while slapping the nearest person heartily on the back].

Thanks - my grandfather's sister was married to a cockney fellow and everytime we visited them, he would take me out to see the town, never understood a thing he said, but always had a great time and yeah got slapped on the back of me shoulders a lot.

[c130king]

I thought maybe it was a rescue mission to Gilligan's Island...





Jim

[delevi]

Just reinstall the ladder. Get some 3M 5200 marine sealant. Put some around the holes and on the bolts which secure the ladder. Get the 24 hour cure type, otherwise, the 7-day cure shouldn't get wet for 7 days. It's great stuff but really messy. Wear gloves. If you're not planning on reinstalling the ladder, fill the holes with epoxy. After it cures, apply some gel coat over the epoxied holes. Good as new

[normalfornorfolk]

Thanks, all. Went out this morning (beautiful, silent, calm as a mill-pond) and fixed it: Great big washers inside and out, and generous application of silicone sealant seem to have done the job for now. A more professional repair can wait!
No water at all in the bilges, thank goodness.

[normalfornorfolk]

By the way, had an interesting problem of how to screw the nut onto the end of the bolt (inside the boat), whilst holding the other end of the bolt still with a screw-driver (outside the boat). Tried various useless methods first, before settling on attaching an adjustable wrench to the (inside) nut, which could not turn a whole turn because of hitting against the top of the outboard well, then leaning over the back and screwing the (outside) bolt in with a screwdriver. You live and learn!

[tangentair]

..... You live and learn!

You will find that many of us do not use silicon because it leaves a residue that is dam# near impossible to remove without sanding down the entire area, eventually it fails and must be replaced, doesn't drill well and you can not epoxy or glue to it. Others use it and just keep sailing. Something to consider when you do the next repair, because with epoxy coming in various fashions and densitys, the 3M 5200 and 4200 glues, etc. you do have other equally easy to use options.