vent hose

[wayne grenier]

here's a tale for you-while motoring out Friday afternoon we heard a noise coming from the engine-on our cd 28-I determined it was coming from the rear of the motor as the prop shaft inside the boat had gotten ahold of the bilge vent hose (which is actually dyer vent hose) and it was flapping around the prop shaft-we shut off the motor-put it in neutral and I went down with a pair of cutters and quickly removed the vent hose-then I noticed water trickling into the boat-much to my surprise-the wire inside the vent hose-had cut through the hose between the shaft log and stuffing box as it was spinning wrapped around the prop shaft! I came back in and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to stop the leak-because I could not find anyone to pull me out of the water-I had a 2" dia peice of wet exhaust hose-which I slit lenghtwise and secured over the shaft log/stuffing box with hose clamps-after cutting away the opriginial hose-I slowed the leak to a mere trickle and as of yesterday my boat is on land awaiting the insurance adjuster and the boatyard as the prop shaft has to be pulled to replace the shaft log hose. From everyone I have spoken to this is a one in a thousand chance that this would happen-fortunately I believe it will be covered by mi insurance as it was "sudden and accidental" and as I explained to them if I didn't pull the boat and it sank-they'd be on the hook for it anyway-so-lesson learned-keep the bilge vent hoses away from the back of the engine-on the bright side-the boat didn;t sink-I now know (as you do) that you can patch the shaft log hose with a hose slit lenghtwise and the boatyard is not that busy this time of year-so they should be able to get to me next week-and I expect the insurance company will pay for some or most-or at least take the sting out of the bill-and besides my wife has been after me to trim the hedges. clean up the yard-etc. (yard work is for people who don't have boats-thats what I tell her) also-I allways used to wonder if I was doing the right thing with my money-spending so much of it on boats and sailing-I used to ask myself-how much would I have if I put it into the stockmarket instead of buying a boat? so-there's a bright side to everything-I get to see how the other half (people without boats-live for the next couple of weeks-) and am sailing to Martha's Vineyard with my brother on Saturday-as he has a homemade 21' James Wharam catamaran-that does 12-14 knots (off the wind)-I'll let you know how I make out-but from now on those hoses stay out of the bilge-despite what the "experts" reccommend-see ya



grenier@localnet.com

[PatO]

Wayne your story amazes me. I set out Fri. June 28th to bring "Esprit" CD 28 #1 from Jacksonville (where I purchased her) to her new home port - Miami. Aside from bucking the wind and current for the duration, thunderstorms as a constant companion, dodging waterspouts (really), fuel problems - clogged vent, dirty filters, and fuel consumption 2x greater than expected, I'd have to say the most thrilling event of the trip involved my bilge vent hose wraping around the prop shaft.
I was running on fumes off Cape Canaveral and had ventured into a security zone while trying to take the shortest route to the port. A couple of marine patrol fellows approached me to warn me off. While we were talking/yelling back and forth, I heard a brief wierd sound that I thought might be coming from the engine room. But the noise stopped and everything seemed ok so I bade the Marine Patrol farewell and proceeded out of the restricted zone. Ten minutes later I looked below and found my floorboards floating about halfway between the sole and the bunk cushion!
After pumping the water out I opened the engine room hatches and found that the wire in the vent hose had wrapped around the shaft and inserted itself between the ss collar and rubber seal of the dripless shaft seal. I dropped the hook got out my wire cutters and removed about 30' of the stuff. Incredibly the dripless seal was undamaged and sealed right up once the wire was removed.
I decided to take advantage of this time on the hook to get a gps fix and bearing for the entrance bouy to the port. And this perusal of the charts is what makes this particular little emergency perfect - the exact spot where I threw the hook is listed as a no anchor zone. Why? Because of unexploded WW II or some other ordinance -Excellent!
Well, I did'nt blow-up retrieving the anchor and made to the fuel dock on the fumes but that kind of excitement just can't be had sitting in traffic on the way to the office.
I hope all works out well for you and you get back in the water soon!

Pat

Ps I'd consider installing a dripless. They seem to be much less hassle than the traditional stuffing box.



fornaft@hotmail.com

[wayne greneir]

Wayne your story amazes me. I set out Fri. June 28th to bring "Esprit" CD 28 #1 from Jacksonville (where I purchased her) to her new home port - Miami. Aside from bucking the wind and current for the duration, thunderstorms as a constant companion, dodging waterspouts (really), fuel problems - clogged vent, dirty filters, and fuel consumption 2x greater than expected, I'd have to say the most thrilling event of the trip involved my bilge vent hose wraping around the prop shaft.
I was running on fumes off Cape Canaveral and had ventured into a security zone while trying to take the shortest route to the port. A couple of marine patrol fellows approached me to warn me off. While we were talking/yelling back and forth, I heard a brief wierd sound that I thought might be coming from the engine room. But the noise stopped and everything seemed ok so I bade the Marine Patrol farewell and proceeded out of the restricted zone. Ten minutes later I looked below and found my floorboards floating about halfway between the sole and the bunk cushion!
After pumping the water out I opened the engine room hatches and found that the wire in the vent hose had wrapped around the shaft and inserted itself between the ss collar and rubber seal of the dripless shaft seal. I dropped the hook got out my wire cutters and removed about 30' of the stuff. Incredibly the dripless seal was undamaged and sealed right up once the wire was removed.
I decided to take advantage of this time on the hook to get a gps fix and bearing for the entrance bouy to the port. And this perusal of the charts is what makes this particular little emergency perfect - the exact spot where I threw the hook is listed as a no anchor zone. Why? Because of unexploded WW II or some other ordinance -Excellent!
Well, I did'nt blow-up retrieving the anchor and made to the fuel dock on the fumes but that kind of excitement just can't be had sitting in traffic on the way to the office.
I hope all works out well for you and you get back in the water soon!

Pat

Ps I'd consider installing a dripless. They seem to be much less hassle than the traditional stuffing box.

thera ya go-maybe i'll show this story to the insurance adjuster-in case he doesn't believe me-by the way-I have cd 28 hull # 13-so I assume we both have 1974-75 boats-the first year they made them? you probably came real close to cutting the rubber seal on the dripless! but you were lucky-relatively speaking-have fun-I'm up in Mass on Buzzards Bay so I'll probably never get to meet you in person-I am very experienced with the systems on this boat-I've had it about 13-14 years-E-mail me if you want to talk about anything-



grenier@localnet.com

[PatO]

Thanks Wayne, I'm sure I'll be taking you up on that offer once I get a checklist of questions defined.
Good luck on your voyage to the Vinyard!
Cheers,

Pat



fornaft@NShotmail.com