Bilge Wash (was check list)

J.J.Falkanger (gatorjj@mindspring.com)
29 May 1999 15:29:00 -0700


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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> Bernard Johnson wrote:
> >
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> > West Wight Potter Website at URL
> > http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
> > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> > Dammit, I sure need one! Set off to go sailing yesterday. Loving wife
> > with me. Wife has strong doubts about my competence. Going to reassure
> > her that all is OK....me not incompetent... Boat ready in record time. A
> > bit windy so rig boat with main already reefed to be on safe side.
> > Launch boat perfectly, don't even get feet wet. Stellar performance!!!
> > Swing bow around with a flourish and walk boat out to end dock cleat.
> > Tie up. Take trailer to parking area. Even remembered a pencil so could
> > fill out payment envelope...life history, sexual preferences, mother's
> > maiden name, kind of boat, destination, what had for dinner previous
> > night...mustn't keep the state of Calif. in the dark..... One last pee
> > and then a jaunty walk with now admiring wife to cute little boat
> > bobbing invitingly at end of dock. Ah! For once NOTHING has gone wrong!
> > I pause for a moment at the end of the ramp and and burst into song, an
> > inspiring rendition of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". All the other boaters
> > trying hard to hide their envy of my efficiency in launching my boat and
> > my wonderful voice. Get to boat. A perfect moment. Everything OK? Sure
> > is! (Must remember to to put keel down, put rudder down, start motor in
> > neutral, untie boat before leaving....Yes, yes, yes...). What's that
> > trickling sound? Water sloshing around under dock? Noooo... Boat looks a
> > bit low in water... Better check tightness of bilge plug (had not been
> > tightened on last sail and taken on about half gallon of water...). Lean
> > over transom, check tightness of plug. Small problem. Plug not even
> > there. Boat still filling with water. Me back to being incompetent.
> > Prospect of lunch at waterside restaurant vanishes. Loving wife
> > disappears, replaced by very disappointed hungry female companion
> > wondering what possessed her to go out with this jerk.
> >
> > Like I said, I need a check list.........
> >
> > Bernie Johnson.

Are you sure your name isn't J.J. Falkanger? I did the same thing last week, including the wife. I usually don't pull the plug out, but had occasion to, and of course you know the rest. Only difference, I motored 2 miles away (which reduced the water coming in until I stopped), then had several factors indicate something was wrong. Oh, things like the boat wouldn't stop heeling, the motor mount seemed to be mounted very crooked, we were sailing very slow, then of course the water rushing in the cabin from the open door under the sink! Then the required motor quitting (I had shut the vent and fuel line to tilt it up), and that resulting in running aground on a sand bar. Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone Bernie!

It did prove a couple things, though to me. Folks were looking for a volunteer to put a hole in the boat and see if it would float? I think it's safe to say I had a fully flooded P-19! It was great fun trying to motor back this way, through powerboats and wakes. The other interesting effect was that with all that water and weight, the boat would heel to a point, and the daggerboard would kick in and stop it. And it takes about half an hour to drain out that little hole I put in the bottom of my boat! This little experiment (I called it a "bilge wash" but my wife didn't think it was amusing) cost me a fan (sumberged, now dead), a full garage (for drying out everything from cushions to battery chargers), and a new winch (the poor 900 lb Fulton gave it's life to get the boat up on the trailer).

MORALS OF THE STORY: 1) If you're going to blow it, do it without your wife aboard! 2)I thought having proof the P-19 floats would make me feel good, but it doesn't 3) Tell folks your mistakes, so they say to themselves "what an idiot!" which causes them to remember not to make the same mistake 4)DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!!

J.J. Falkanger
Cary, NC
P-19# 792 "Fozzguppy"
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