An odd number of holes in your boat

Steve Laume · Post by **Steve Laume** » Feb 22nd, '14, 08:55

So Fred, I have always enjoyed your line; "You should always have an odd number of holes in your boat". What I struggle with is just what constitutes a hole and does this apply to above the waterline holes as well as those below? Only the hull or are we talking about the deck here too? Then there are those tricky ones in the transom that are above the waterline but often underwater while underway. The exhaust could be considered one hole, but there are three bolt holes to keep it in place.

It is winter here so I have some time to think about this before I might have to go down to the boat and drill another hole to keep things odd, Steve.

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Feb 23rd, '14, 09:17

For the safety of our vessels, you've raised a very important question, one that raises many more:

An odd number of holes below + an odd number of holes above = an even number overall. Is that right or wrong?

If it's holes overall, do you have the odd number above or below the waterline?

After all is said and done, if you find you have an even number of holes, do you add one or glass one over?

Is having an odd number of holes a universal rule or is it just for boats with tillers and locked props (or vice versa)?

Does it matter what brand of rum you have on board?

Steve Laume · Post by **Steve Laume** » Feb 23rd, '14, 10:17

Neil, I might have had an odd number of holes and then glassed over the depth sounder. Since this is well below the water line it surely qualifies. Now I might have to drill another hole in the boat to make things right with the gods. This has been bothering me for a few years now and it has been a long winter, so I have had plenty of time to ponder this situation. No one has offered me any of that really good free rum to take my mind off of this. With Raven in the water, things could get messy trying to rectify this situation, before leaving the dock this spring, Steve.

fenixrises · Post by **fenixrises** » Feb 24th, '14, 08:23

Hi all,

I know that this can be a very tedious task BUT I can not stress the importance of knowing whether you are an odd or even. All evens one step forward...Please. With drill motor in hand and a new, sharp and shiny bit properly inserted in said device, depress the trigger a few times to get the feel of it and then choose your spot and DRILL THAT HOLE, as if your life and the safety of your boat depends on it.

BTW the whole hole count is to include only those holes the pierce the boat completely. Screw holes do not count if they do not offer full penetration. Like many things in life "It's all the way in or it don't count", this is not at all like hand grenades, almost doesn't count.

Above and/or below? What are you? Daft? The reasoning is simple, there must be that one extra(read ODD here) whole hole to allow all that water that gets in, by slosh or splash or leak or dribble or drip or rain either intentional or not, to get out of the boat. Possibly that last but far from forlorn whole hole might best be assigned duty as a connection point for the, dare I say, BILGE PUMP.

Others have tried the theoretical EVEN NUMBER OF HOLES approach. However they are not available for comment as they are currently occupied salvaging their vessels from DJ's locker.

The instructional DVD with narration by yours truly will be available soon at all finer boat supply stores and video outlets. Amazon has offered a wonderful contract expecting tremendous sales figures.

I hope that this short note has clarified what may at times seem to be a confusing issue.

Take care and keep your holes, whole or not, warm during this frigid season
Fred

David Morton · Post by **David Morton** » Feb 24th, '14, 09:31

Do body piercings count when my niece is on board?

David

Steve Laume · Post by **Steve Laume** » Feb 24th, '14, 10:31

David, now you got me counting the holes in my body. I seem to be okay right now. If I cut myself and start bleeding, I am afraid I might have to create another injury to keep things right. This could get pretty painful, Steve.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Feb 24th, '14, 11:30

Does a beer hole count?

tartansailor · Post by **tartansailor** » Feb 26th, '14, 07:36

My brother in law is an (alpha) hole. Does that count when he's aboard? and if so, what do I do when he's not?

Confused and frightened in DE.

Joe Myerson · Post by **Joe Myerson** » Feb 26th, '14, 15:18

tartansailor wrote:My brother in law is an (alpha) hole. Does that count when he's aboard? and if so, what do I do when he's not?

Confused and frightened in DE.

swpatooty2 · Post by **swpatooty2** » Mar 1st, '14, 17:36

This may be a mis-application of the old warning that applied to wooden boats. There you always wanted an even number of holes, so that you knew that what worms bored in, bored out.

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » Mar 2nd, '14, 21:17

Here's good news for all boat owners.

There was a time, not too long ago, when I was confused and frightened about whether I had the proper number of holes in my boat. Many's the night that I tossed and turned in my sleep, deeply distressed concerning the hole setup in my boat. Too many? Not enough? Odd number or even?

By a stroke of luck, one day my whole life changed. I was poking around in the bins of a boating supply store and spotted various cards with peel back stickums of "holes". Beautiful, real life, genuine holes. There was a choice of small, medium and large sized holes. Some round, some irregular.

The thing that I liked best was that there were two qualities of faux holes to choose from. One type, the more expensive of the two, was undetectable past two feet away. The cheaper version could fool an unwary viewer past five feet of distance from the "hole".

Now I feel perfectly comfortable knowing that if I get a twinge of insecurity about how many or where the holes in my boat are, I can whip out my peel off cards of vinyl holes and apply or remove them to my heart's content.

Life is good,
O J

This is a picture (double image and all) of Fred Bickum, (Fenix) who was caught counting holes in the group attending the 2009 CDSOA general meeting which was held in Harve De Grace, Md.

Halfway through Fred's count, someone asked him a question and Fred lost count whether the tally was odd or even. So we continue on life's journey, still in doubt.

moctrams · Post by **moctrams** » Mar 3rd, '14, 08:33

I am so nonplussed. One time the count is 15, the next is 16. I’m doing this by visualizing and not by on the boat count. Am I having a snow “meltdown”?

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Mar 3rd, '14, 08:55

moctrams wrote:I am so nonplussed.

I see your problem.

When adding up the counts of the various holes, you need to PLUS them, not non-plus them!

(Is it Spring yet?)

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Mar 3rd, '14, 08:57

Does a number of odd holes give you as much protection as an odd number of holes?

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » Mar 3rd, '14, 12:10

It's odd of you to ask that question.

Happy Monday,

O J

The Cape Dory Board

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