Unsuspected chafe could have sunk him
Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012
Sailors are well aware of the danger of chafe to sails, halyards, mooring lines, anchor rode, and various and sundry other pieces of equipment on the exterior of their sailboats. The most recent time I winterized the inboard diesel engine in our 1981 Bayfield 32, Ocypete, I noticed an example of chafe inside my sailboat. It was the result of engine vibration, and was a form of chafe I had never previously considered.
When I disconnected the supply line from my raw-water pump, I noticed that the outer half of the 5⁄8-inch-ID hose was completely chafed through. It had been rubbing against the aperture in the fiberglass bulkhead where it passes from the raw-water seacock under the galley sink into the engine compartment.
The raw-water hose is of two-piece construction with a protective outer layer and an inner fabric-reinforced layer, each approximately 1⁄8-inch thick. My hose had worn half through. Only 1⁄8-inch of hose was protecting my engine from overheating. As the raw-water seacock is, of necessity, below the waterline, in a worst-case scenario, the unnoticed hose failure could potentially have sunk my boat.
I was able to enlarge the aperture enough to insert a chafe guard I fashioned out of reinforced polyethylene hose to protect the new raw-water hose. Anytime you replace raw-water hose, use non-collapsible hose that won’t kink or constrict the inside diameter of the hose at bends, as this could restrict the water supply to the raw-water pump and lead to overheating.
A complete inspection of my raw-water hose is now an added step on my fall-season decommissioning. Once you realize how little stands between the inside of your boat and the water in which it floats, you may agree that it’s also a good idea to carry a few feet of spare hose in case you have to make emergency on-water repairs.
Bill Van Allen and his first mate, Emily, began trailersailing on inland lakes in Central Ontario. After progressing from a MacGregor 24 to a MacGregor 26, they upgraded to the Bayfield 32 they sail with their miniature schnauzer, Kaiser, out of Victoria Harbour on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
