CHAPMAN MARINE SURVEYOR NEWSLETTER
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TODAY'S MARINE TRIVIA
Glaciers cover 10% of the earth, an area the size of South America, and hold about 3/4 of the world's fresh water.
Dutch Teen Successfully Sails Solo Around the World
In case you missed it, this is from an article by Judy Fitzpatrick of the Associated Press, as released in a recent issue of Florida Today newspaper.
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Laura Dekker set a steady foot aboard a dock in St. Maarten on Saturday, January 21st, ending a yearlong voyage aboard a sailboat named "Guppy" that apparently made her the youngest person ever to sail alone around the globe, though her trip was interrupted at several points.
Dozens of people jumped and cheered as Dekker waved, wept and then walked across the dock accompanied by her mother, father, sister and grandparents, who had greeted her at sea earlier.
Dekker arrived in St. Maarten after struggling against high seas and heavy winds on a final, 41-day leg from Cape Town, South Africa.
"There were moments where I was like, 'What the hell am I doing out here? "but I never wanted to stop," she told reporters. "It's a dream, and I wanted to do it."
Dekker claims she is the youngest sailor to complete a round-the-world voyage, but Guinness World Records and the World Sailing Speed Record Council said they no longer recognize records for youngest sailors, to discourage dangerous attempts.
Dutch authorities tried to block Dekker's trip, arguing she was too young to risk her life. Dekker said she first sailed solo at 6 years old. At 10, she said, she began dreaming about crossing the globe.
She celebrated her 16th birthday during the trip. Dekker anchored in port to sleep, study and repair her 38-foot sailboat.
Safety tips
Twelve Boating Safety Tips to Avoid Accidents on Water:
1 Complete a boating education course.
2 Get your boat checked. The Vessel Safety Check is a free service by Coast Guard Auxiliary and U.S.
Power Squadron volunteer groups.
3 Wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket and make sure your passengers wear one.
4 Avoid alcoholic beverages.
5 Be aware of weather conditions and know what to do if the weather suddenly changes.
6 Have a working marine radio on board and know how to use it.
7 A flashlight with fresh batteries, flares, a first aid kit, sunscreen and drinking water should be packed in
a watertight container that floats.
8 Tell someone where you are going, who is with you and how long you plan to be out. Then stick to
your travel plans.
9 Ventilate after fueling. Open hatches, run the blower and check for fuel fumes before starting the engine.
10 Know your boat's capacity and how to properly load it.
11 All gasoline internal combustion engines emit carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless, poisonous gas.
In the early stages, the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to seasickness. However, it
can kill in minutes.
12 Check your state and local requirements.
Here's an additional safety tip:
The attached file was presented some time ago in one of my newsletters, but it is still important and needs to be repeated. It was originally a U.S. Army Ergonomics Program bulletin, but certainly applies to all service branches, industries and individuals, including sailors. The nine page article is in pdf format can be opened or downloaded. Click on the link to the file below to open it to read or download.
http://chapmanmarinesurveyor.com/Documents/ProperLifting1-28-03_000.pdf
SURVIVAL GUIDE
In this series of articles I’ll present things relating to boating survival at sea (both inshore and offshore). Proper planning is the key - always. Venturing away from land, which is our natural environment, takes some
preparation – maybe not much, but some in any case. Man can’t walk on water yet and swimming has its
limitations and some can’t even swim at all, yet we still go boating and assuming we won’t have to swim home. If we plan ahead thoroughly, we won’t need to swim home, or even worry that we might have to – of course the
unexpected can always happen, but perhaps a lot less likely and certainly more easily managed with proper
forethought and planning.
It may only be a day sail or cruise with the family, but you decided to venture through the inlet and go outside into the Atlantic Ocean – just not too far out. Then the unexpected happens when you’re only a few miles offshore and land is still in sight, but much too far to swim. Perhaps not all of you can swim anyway. Whether it’s a hose that came off an inlet or discharge fixture, or you hit something and the shaft bent and the wobble ruptured the shaft log, or some other unforeseen hull integrity failure, you know you’re in trouble. Any of these could cause a sudden overpowering entry of sea water beyond the bilge pumps ability to keep up with the flow. Even the manual pump and bailing isn’t doing enough and you know exhaustion will hit all of you soon. Not enough wind to sail back before sinking and/or the engine won’t start now. Really hard to make a boat go fast when it’s full of water anyway.
OK, so now it’s time to think about abandoning ship, but this was only supposed to be a day sail or cruise and you didn’t plan on having to take a properly stocked “abandon ship kit” with you, nor have you even made one up to keep aboard. You did plan to do that later. Of course you can call for help on the VHF and hope it will arrive in time. Then you realize the batteries have been swamped and shorted out with the incoming sea water and the VHF is no longer working. Now what? Forgot to bring the portable VHF, if you even own one, so how about the cell phone. Left it in the car did you? Or maybe you’re out of range of a signal. Well, now what do we do? At least we have the life jackets and flares, so start shooting the flares and get into those jackets, the latter of which we should have done already anyway.
If you’re lucky help will arrive in time, but you may still loose the boat unless it‘s the Coast Guard that came and they used their big auxiliary pump to save your boat and tow it back to a safe harbor. Maybe all ended happily this time, but what about the next time – and don’t assume there won’t be a next time. Proper planning is all that you need to do before leaving dockside, no matter how simple the trip is supposed to be. Taking chances on your own can be downright stupid and may involve others in the problem as well, but taking them with other people on board would be criminal negligence and something to regret forever if you lost someone as a result of negligence, especially if it was one of your own family members.
OK Skipper, let’s get that “abandon ship kit” put together before the next sail or cruise. No need to go into the details of what should be in the kit here, as that depends on the number of people you would expect at the most and just how far your craft would be voyaging. If it’s a weekender type boat going offshore, but not too far out of sight of land the kit may be relatively simple. If it’s a blue water craft and you plan on going down island, or deep ocean cruising then the kit needs to be well thought out. All this information is available in cruising books, online, “Chapman’s Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling” and by talking to your blue water cruising friends. Good ready-made “ditch kits” are also available at most marine supply stores. Otherwise, just
make it up to suit your own situation – and do it now!
BATTERY MAINTENANCE
Unless a battery is a non-maintenance, or sealed type, it needs maintenance to prolong its useful life. Water must be added periodically to its fluid, or electrolyte; use only distilled water for this purpose. If you don't have a small funnel, you can use a smal1 paper cup creased to form a spout for pouring the water; this directs the water into the small cell opening.
For the best service, battery posts should be free of corrosion. A baking-soda solution dissolves corrosion. It's handy to use a creased paper cup for this, too. Put a teaspoon of baking soda in a 3-1/2-ounce paper cup and fill it with water. Pour some of the solution on the post; after a few seconds, the corrosion dissolves. Wipe up any residue with a dry paper towel; then, with a damp paper towel, thoroughly wipe the treated area. Make sure the battery caps are on before cleaning the posts to prevent the baking-soda solution from entering cells.
You must be extremely careful when working with a battery; improper handling can result in fire and personal injuries, including burns and blindness from contact with sulfuric-acid electrolyte. Do not smoke around a battery; a battery produces hydrogen gas, which is an explosive. Always wear old clothes, rubber gloves, and goggles or safety glasses when working on a battery. Be sure a supply of baking soda (which neutralizes sulfuric acid) and fresh water is close by; if a faucet isn't handy, keep a bucket of water next to you.
If sulfuric acid gets into your eyes despite your having taken these precautions, flush your eyes repeatedly with several changes of fresh water and immediately see an ophthalmologist. For burns caused by sulfuric acid on the skin, sprinkle baking soda on the affected area, then flush well with water.
If you live in a cold climate, the battery should be removed from the boat (referring to small boats only, of course) for winter storage. When using wrenches to remove battery cables from the posts, avoid touching both posts at the same time; this causes arcing and sparking, which can result in burns, or even can cause the battery to explode (which I have seen happen). It's best to remove any rings before working on a battery - if a metal ring shorts out between a battery post and a wrench, it can become red hot and melt right on your finger.
Where batteries are concerned, never become lax about safety precautions and don't be careless.
PESTS ON BOARD?
If there is a way to get in, pests will find it, whether the boat is being used or stored. One problem is mice and rats, as they can enter through any openings in the boat; such as through open or partly open hatches, cowl or stove vents, hause pipes, the hole where the shore-power cable goes through on boats with reel-in cables, etc. Once in, they will probably make a nest in the bilge area or behind cabinets. In addition to making a mess, mice and rats can gnaw through electric wires and the smaller, softer hoses on engines and generators.
Mice and rats can be kept out by filling any openings with bronze wool (don't use steel wool, as it will rust and disintegrate). If the wool won't stay in, use just enough clear mailing tape, which is sticky and water-resistant, to hold it in place. Mice and rats may also come up the shore-power cable whether at dockside or hauled, or via the dock lines when the boat is in the water.
I had the unpleasant experience of being awakened one night on my boat when a rat came aboard via the shore cable or a dock line and started to climb over my leg in the bunk. I awoke instantly and swatted the critter off, but he ran and hid before I could get the light on and find him. I had a lot of trouble getting back to sleep that night. The next day I bought some rat traps and placed them in the bilge area and he went for the cheese bait in no time and got snared. I threw that trap with the dead rat overboard and slept well that night.
If you store your boat on the hard (as many do up north during the winter) with the shore-power cable plugged in, you may want to make a mouse/rat guard to keep them out. It's a circular piece of thin metal about 8 or 10 inches in diameter, with a hole in the center just big enough to fit snugly over the shore power cable or dock lines, and a slit from the edge to the hole for placing it on the cable or lines. When in place, the mouse/rat guard is perpendicular to the cable or lines, and tall and slippery enough so that mice or rats can't climb over or around it. Cone shaped guards are available in some marine supply stores or online, which are placed on the cable or line with the cone facing toward the shore side - i.e., away from the boat.
As a mouse and rat preventive, some boaters swear by the method of placing mothballs in drawers and corners; evidently, the smell keeps mice and rats away. Unfortunately, they also smell bad to humans as well and require airing out the boat when back in use. Ants and roaches can get inside in boats via the shore-power cable and dock lines as well. Periodically spraying the cable and lines with insecticide makes it an unappealing pathway. Roach spray leaves a bad odor, so it might be better to use roach traps that can be discarded periodically.
In the spring, watch for birds scouting out your boat for nesting places. They may want to make their home in a cook stove vent (if it is not covered with a grille). Cabin heater and cowl vents, sail covers and folded Bimini tops are favorite nesting places for hornets and wasps. Spiders are attracted to the odor of propane and may set up house-keeping around the tank regulator.
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BOATERS BEWARE OF FUEL WITH ETHANOL ADDITIVE
The following article appeared in the Sports section of a recent Sunday issue of Florida Today newspaper and is reprinted here as a public assistance notice. Several months ago I posted a similar article about ethanol additive in fuel at 10% (E10) and its potential to cause damage to marine engines and certain types of fuel tanks. I keep hearing from clients that they have suffered ethanol additive damages to their gasoline engine and tanks, so I find it necessary to repeat this warning from BoatUS. Apparently there a lot of boating folks that just are not aware of this problem and now the increased percentage to 15.
The Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is urging boaters to be vigilant when filling up their truck and trailered boat at the local gas station.
That's because use of gasoline with up to 15 percent ethanol (E15), while fine for tow vehicles, is not good, nor authorized by the EPA - for use with boats.
A strong solvent, ethanol has been known to degrade marine fuel systems, damage engines, add safety concerns, and lead to expensive repair bills.
"When filling up at gas stations, boaters are used to pulling up to the pump and filling up the tow vehicle first, and then putting the same fuel nozzle into the boat," BoatUS Director of Damage Avoidance Bob Adriance said in a news release.
"If that happens with E15, it could be a big mistake."
The Environmental Protection Agency intends to put a warning on the pump - label with the exact wording yet to determined. "This is going to be a lot different from the choices offered to boaters today, where it's nearly impossible to misfuel gas or diesel engines, or where there are few consequences when choosing 87 octane over a higher 93 octane gasoline, for example," Adriance said.
According to BoatUS, the concerns about E15 and boat engines include:
! In addition to hydrogen and carbon found in regular gasoline, ethanol also contains oxygen, which means less air (or conversely, more fuel) is required for combustion. The term "enleanment" is used to describe what can happen when there is too much air and not enough fuel. While most cars and trucks have closed-loop systems that can adjust to prevent enleanment, most boats have open-loop systems which do not, adding a greater risk of heat related damage to a boat's engine with El5.
! Many components on a boat come in contact with ethanol laden gasoline, including fuel lines, fuel tanks, fuel pumps, fuel injectors, carburetors, pressure regulators, valves, o-rings, and gaskets. The compatibilitv of these components with any blend greater than E10 is unknown. The failure of only one of these components in an engine could lead to failure or, worse, a fire or explosion.
! Boat engine warrantees won't help since new marine engines are only warranted for use with up to l0 percent (E10) ethanol. Older engines may not even support the use of any ethanol.
For more information, visit BoatUS.com/seaworthy/ethanol.asp/ or http://my.BoatUS.com/forum.
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Special offers will be included here when I find things or books of interest that aren't generally known about or might be overlooked in the maze of things at your local boating supply store or online.
Any questions? Contact me at: chanchapman@ChapmanMarineSurveyor.com
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Thank you.
Chan
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