Learning Curve...dumb thing '98

Paul Anstett (panstett2@yahoo.com)
Fri, 15 Jan 1999 19:29:43 -0800 (PST)


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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I'm going to drape a cover over the boom, and get a bilge pump which
will sit in the middle of the cabin when I'm not around. It will be
powered by on-shore power...i.e., an electrical cord that goes out to
the dock without touching water.

Last summer after a terrific storm I checked my boat out...it sits
moored in water 50 miles from where I live and work. The cockpit was
full of water, almost draining into the cabin through seams in the
hatch.

The cockpit drain was clogged...debris blew into the boat and clogged
it. I bailed out most of the water, but then concerned myself with
unplugging the drain.

I assumed the drain tube was made of a hardened PVC-type tube, so I
jammed a heavy coat hanger down the cockpit drain to get rid of the
debris. I really became concerned when I had stuffed 3' of the
coathanger down the drain hole, but could see nothing exiting the
drain outside of the transom.

I called Scott Johnson at IM and he said..."Oh no. Don't use a
coathanger. You'll pierce the drain tube".

Well...I had, and I did.

Before I called Scott, however, I thought my boat was slowly sinking,
and I was devastated. Scott, however, told me to crawl to the back of
the aft berth. There I could see that it was no big thing. I
disconnected the fragile corrugated plastic tubing and found about a
dozen coathanger holes.

Well, I repaired it temporarily with electrical tape. And I will
replace the tubing next spring. The whole operation took me about 15
minutes.

Incidentally, before I called Scott, I presented my dilemma to a local
boating business. I was told that my problem was fixable, but the
price would be $500. After calling Scott, I temporarily fixed it for
about 20 cents. And a permanent solution will cost only a couple of
bucks.

Well, that's my "dumb thing for '98".

Paul Anstett
P19 #1022
SarahSpunda
Fargo
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