Unsinkability

Posted By: Ed Haile
Date: 12/2/09 7:33p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Unsinkability in G16 (Ron Ball(G16))

Although the Gloucester 16 displaces 900#, you only need around 400# to keep it afloat (wt. of mats minus wt. of water). That's 6 to 7 cubic feet of air. You might even pump the boat dry if you had a pump handy. The likeliest cause would be knockdown and flooding through the companionway. Just replace dropboards and pump her dry. The second likeliest would be holing (collision, lightning). You would need an underwater patch, like the kind I am told they use to repair leaks in house trailers. Seals to a wet surface. Then pump dry. The third would be sinking on a mooring due to a leaky CB pivot washer. Did I mention the tradeoff that designed that to be underwater? I doubt the G16 will turtle, even with the 200# keel retracted in the trunk. But it's well to remember that low or unsecured ballast upright, becomes high ballast capsized, sad but true. I think with watertight hatches in the bunks, you can seal off flooding from a holing in the bow area without the addition of positive flotation. I am removing the cabin liner and beefing up the thickness of the cabin sole. A watertight bulkhead aft the bunks, also. An alternative to pool noodles in the cockpit lockers might be pepsi liters. And watertight hatches in the cockpit seats. There tons said on the list about damage and hull failure from swing keels slamming open or slamming shut (broken cable, capsize, etc.). However, I don't think our boat with a mere 200# of iron presents a threat.