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Terra Nova: Flooding

supersailor

Contributing Partner
Well Guys, I almost lost Terra Nova Thursday. I got a call from the Harbormaster at about 4 pm that she was taking on water fast. By the time I reached the boat ten minutes later, the anchor was resting on the dock. Upon opening her up, the water was up to the bottom of the chart table. I tossed my shoes and the wallet on the deck and went for a quick swim. I found the tops of the sink drains floating loose and the seacock open for the sink drain. I shut the seacock and between two large pumps supplied by the harbor, someone on the manual bilge pump and three of us on a bucket brigade, we had her empty in about twenty minutes. The rest of Thursday was spent washing down the interior with fresh water and taking soggy manuals etc., home to save. Yesterday, the cushions and all savable items were piled into the cargo trailer and serious work was started to save the engine. The crankcase was emptied (lots of water in the crankcase and the oil replaced. All water was removed from the intake manifold and it was thoroughly dried with a heat gun and air compressor. The glow plugs were removed (they needed replacing anyway). The engine was turned over by hand for about a dozen turns and then the starter was tried. No spin. Troubleshooting showed a blown fuse for the starter to relay line ( I have everything fused). Hitting the starter again gave instant spin. We ran the starter for about two minutes with the glow plugs out. Very messy but highly effective for cleaning the cylinders. The new glow plugs were installed. The plugs were activated for 10 seconds then the starter activated. The engine started on the first spin of the starter, thak goodness! We ran the engine for 1/2 hour and shut it down. I The only problem noted so far is the alternator is dead. After the oil is changed again and the transmission fluid is changed, I will bring it home, soak it in a bucket of fresh water and thoroughly dry it and see if it works. It also could be the three stage regulator which also was underwater. If it still doesn't work, I will have it tested to see if it is bad. Today, I will replace the oil and filter and change the tranny oil. then take it out for a little run around the harbor. I need to pump the holding tank. It filled up during the submersion.

I still have not tested the stove. The engine was more important. Hope all is well with it as parts are no longer available for it.

The batteries were dead when underwater. They came back after they surfaced and are at full charge. All systems seem to be working (except the alternator). The settee cushions were all underwater. They are now at home and will be thoroughly washed in fresh water. The weather is supposed to be beautiful over the next few days so they should dry out nicely on the driveway.

Looking at what happened, I had been working under the sink over the last week removing the old fridge lines, wires, etc. and blowing out the water tank vent lines. I'm sure I jostled the sink line as there is not much room under there. I probably broke the seal at the top of the line where the lines connect to the tailpieces and they worked their way loose from the tailpieces and the drain line sagged over until it was below the waterline. The seacock was open so the rest is history. If the seacock was closed or if the drain line had been stiff, this would not have happened. Working under the sink for hours had been punishing so I missed closing the seacock this time. Recognizing this possibility, I'm replacing the flexible drain hose with a length of Trident 101 so it can't flop over again.

A moment's inattention to details can be punishing. Thank God Terra Nova is still above the surface.
 
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Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Glad you were able to respond quickly and rescue her. She's much too lovely a boat to lose!
Good luck getting everything dried out and back to normal.
Hopefully you can still make it to the rendezvous.
Frank
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Wow!

Much to talk about off-list. I will be in touch.

Saving the expensive engine was a darned good move.
That sink drain seacock is about 1 1/4" on our boat, and like you normally do, I keep it valved off when off the boat.
Sounds like the ("auto" switch operated) electric bilge pump was totally overwhelmed -- given that it's a 3/4" hose, no way it could cope with a major inflow.

Close call. Real close. Scary close.

You probably will want a larger dehumidifier running for a while. Need to get moisture out of the wood pronto.

Cushions. Yup, they will need new foam altho the covers might be savable with laundering, or not.

Other than sailing over it, Salt water is pretty much bad for everything, unfortunately.

Hope you have your insurance agent on speed dial. This is exactly why we all pay those $500 to $700 annual premiums.
Everything electrical, whether 12 volt or 110 volt will likely need replacing.
Fuel tank top was under water. Ouch.

**Come to think of it, this is exactly when a surveyor should appear on scene. His/her writeup will be the road map for the repairs and will satisfy any question that your insurer might have.

:0

Loren

ps: Bob, I do admire your positive approach to life. You put this thread under Lifestyle and Living !! :)
 
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Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Wow Bob!

So glad you have an attentive harbor master. It could have been a total loss otherwise.

Hopefully you will have dry air in the forecast so you can let it air-out after you dry it with a strong dehumidifier.

We all need to check those hoses and thru-hulls.
 
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Clarice

Member I
Thank you

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Thanks for sharing as it is a warning to us all to be more aware.
Janet
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
I'm finally taking a breather so here is an update. Since the disaster, there has been zero water intrusion. The only water added has been from washing salt out of various parts of the boat. The engine oil and filter has been changed again along with the tranny oil. There appeared to be no water in the tranny.This probably was because it was under water for less than an hour. I took the boat over to the black water pump out and pumped out the black water tank which had filled during the sinking process then took the boat for a cruise around the harbor. Two interesting things; The engine seems to be smoother (lubed the engine mounts?) and the boat seems to pull less to port under power. No explanations. The engine oil was non contaminated but I think I will change it once again after about 10 hours. The tranny oil is a real pain but the engine oil is easy. So far, the major problems seem to be a dead and not good looking alternator, a dead oven, and a non starting Espar Diesel Heater. I have soaked the alternator in fresh water for 8 hours. I am going to dry it with my commercial grade blow gun but I don't have much hope for it. Ditto the three stage regulator (also under water). I will dry the oven mechanism with my blow gun and hopefully it will work as there seems to be no corrosion in any of the parts. The Espar problem seems to be a dead fuel pump. Not surprising since the pump would have been underwater. The heater itself stayed above water.

When I did the engine rewiring two years ago, I used marine wire, shrink fit terminals and dielectric grease on everything and it has come through with flying colors Some of the original wiring is not doing nearly as well.

After some thought I am redesigning the sink drain to incorporate clamps on all hose terminations. This household type of design is just plain stupid. This is not going to happen again. I will post the new design when complete. For now the seacock is closed!

Some pics are attached. The height of the water intrusion is shown by the blue mark on the galley housing. It was 27.5" above the sole. She was going down fast. The dive into the water to stop the flow caused one other loss. I had chucked my shoes and wallet but didn't think about the cell phone. It is in a bowl of rice to dry it out but not much hope there.

Hmm, the uploader is sticking out it's tongue at me. I'll try again later.
 
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Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
We need a new smilie just for days like this, Bob!
:)
 

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supersailor

Contributing Partner
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I got them to load. The blue mark on the galley shows the level of the water.
 

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supersailor

Contributing Partner
One more shot of the hanging locker in the aft cabin just opposite the engine. :esad:
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Rocinante33

Contributing Partner
Nice save, as the others have said!

With respect to the alternator, this would be the time to upgrade to a 90 amp Leece-Neville (Prestolite). Read Maine Sail's excellent tutorial on his web site (Compass Marine, I believe). They are much more reasonably priced than Balmar, etc.

Also get the alternator bracket upgrade. That is a safety issue.

I've got to get new sink drain hose!!!
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
New update. The surveyor will be showing up Wednesday. I got the Espar going today. The oven is still dead. The stovetop is working. Will have to figure out the repair types around here. That's what the club is for. I soaked the alternator in fresh water for 6 hours and dried it. Surprisingly, it is turning itself on and off. The tach works for a few seconds then checks out for a few seconds then turns back on. Ditto the charge. The Insurance Company did not even blink at a new one. I think I will take Keith's suggestion about the Leece-Nelville. I must check into the bracket.

The best save on this disaster has been the saving of all the manuals. I had been looking something up and the book with all the manuals was on a settee seat (about 14 inches under high water). Rae Ann and I sat up into the wee hours peeling pages apart and putting paper towels between each page. We managed to save them all! We even saved the ship's logs which were in the bottom of the chart table and got soaked. We have every manual for every system on the boat so this was a major save.

Please let me know if there is anything to check that I might have missed. I have a headache from all the checklists.
 
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Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Sorry, I can't recall if you have pulled the floorboards yet. The TAGF compartments that don't drain will be full.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Sorry, I can't recall if you have pulled the floorboards yet. The TAGF compartments that don't drain will be full.

That teak and holly sole plywood is expensive. Much better to have it replaced now rather than having to reopen the claim next year for a "soft" sole.
I believe that for your model the sole sections are both glued down and then screwed with teak plugs.
Lovely to behold, but time-consuming to replace. The difficulty is getting the old sections to come out intact. IF they would come up with only screws being removed it would be easy to dry them out, de-water the grid sections, and reinstall.

Loren
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Bob,
Would you consider doing a talk on your experience at the upcoming Maple Bay rendezvous? For those of us who have never had to deal with a major water leak or near sinking, this would be very informative--your findings and steps to rescue stuff and get the required repairs done.
Just a thought, and not intended to interfere with any other events being planned for the rendezvous.
Frank
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
Frank,

That is doable if others are interested in a little talk. The Surveyor was impressed with the efforts to save everything for what it's worth. Terra Nova won't be there due to a nonfunctioning alternator and the wife's refusal to sleep on plywood cushions.
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Thanks, Bob! I think that would be very interesting and informative. I will post on the Rendezvous post to let people know. I'm sure others will also find this very useful.
Frank
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
Keith said I needed the alternator bracket upgrade. Looking into the matter, I went to the Catalina site and the upgrade pictured there looks exactly like what I have on my M-25. The shot they have of the original looks very different. Can anyone confirm that this is the right bracket?
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