waterproofing the hull

piercewv

New Member
My father and I were out sailing a while ago and I managed to flip our boat over. It was almost impossible to right it and, once we did, it was too swamped to sail back to shore. Luckily someone saw us capsize and sped out to tow us back to shore. After making it back to the beach and unplugging the drainage plug, it took about 30-45 minutes to drain all of the water out of the hull of the boat. During some point of this ordeal, the very tip of the bow was cracked and the two layers of the hull can be forced apart with enough muscle. The boat is still sailable, but I am worried about what might happen if I capsize again and am not lucky enough to have someone nearby to tow me in... Any advice about what I should do to patch it up and ensure that it wont sink?
 
It sounds like the act of towing your swamped boat was what separated the deck and hull at the bow. It's hard to recommend an exact fix without pictures but more importantly, you need to avoid turtling the boat again. Your hull might not survive another towing without major damage.

We've discussed turtling prevention rather extensively. Basically you attach a flotation device to the top of your mast or the top of your main sail. This prevents the boat from flipping upside down and filling with water, and makes righting the boat much easier. I personally use a Baby Bob but there are many products designed for this purpose and that's where I would start if I were in your boat.

Hope this helps,
Jim

PS. Your boat will never sink. Although I have never looked at mine, from what I understand, the undersides of the seats are filled with flotation bags.
 

Back
Top