jtsai
Member III
After 5 months exploring the Chesapeake Bay, I turned south for NC home port. Instead of retracing the ICW on my northern bound trip, I took the Great Dismal Swamp canal. The DSC is the oldest man made canal in the US, part of the national park system and is used only for recreational purposes. Pair of locks elevate boaters 8' above sea level and travel through narrow waterway lined with histories. There is a visitor center midpoint of the canal and boats from several counties were double and triple tied to the bulkhead. I believe this is also the only combo boat/car visitor center in the US.
The DSC has three hazards: low hanging branches, duckweeds and submerged logs. I was able to avoid all low hanging branches, most are easy to spot and none are mast-eating size, windex size perhaps. The Ericson engine intake is low in the hull and only found small amount of duckweeds in the strainer. A Catalina 42 came in to visitor center with overheated engine and busted sea strainer cover. A Nordic Tug trawler's strainer was half full with duckweeds.
For most part of the trip, I was behind the Nordic Tug and followed his zig-zag to avoid logs. It was a success strategy except one menacing log impacted at 5 knots with good solid thud on keel and rudder. That evening I found small amount of water in the bilge (the small one under the companionway step) and some in the main bilge in the salon. This boat's bilge has been bone dry for months and from the color of the water, I can confirm it was the heavily tanned DSC water. By the way, I also discovered the main bilge is not function.
I sucked out as much water as I could which is not much and did not see any more new water rest of the trip. After some investigation, the only evidence of hitting log was slack steering cable but no evidence water ingress from rudder shaft or engine shaft. Return to boat one week later, the bilge is again bone dry, not a hint of moisture. So my question is, where and how the water entered the bilge when the keel and rudder met Mr. Log at the Dismal Swamp Canal?
The DSC has three hazards: low hanging branches, duckweeds and submerged logs. I was able to avoid all low hanging branches, most are easy to spot and none are mast-eating size, windex size perhaps. The Ericson engine intake is low in the hull and only found small amount of duckweeds in the strainer. A Catalina 42 came in to visitor center with overheated engine and busted sea strainer cover. A Nordic Tug trawler's strainer was half full with duckweeds.
For most part of the trip, I was behind the Nordic Tug and followed his zig-zag to avoid logs. It was a success strategy except one menacing log impacted at 5 knots with good solid thud on keel and rudder. That evening I found small amount of water in the bilge (the small one under the companionway step) and some in the main bilge in the salon. This boat's bilge has been bone dry for months and from the color of the water, I can confirm it was the heavily tanned DSC water. By the way, I also discovered the main bilge is not function.
I sucked out as much water as I could which is not much and did not see any more new water rest of the trip. After some investigation, the only evidence of hitting log was slack steering cable but no evidence water ingress from rudder shaft or engine shaft. Return to boat one week later, the bilge is again bone dry, not a hint of moisture. So my question is, where and how the water entered the bilge when the keel and rudder met Mr. Log at the Dismal Swamp Canal?
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