The hole
The second gouge
Here’s the culprit. A hole the size of a nerf football below the waterline in the starboard stern of the boat. What really did us in was the second hole in the form of a deep gouge just in front of the bulkhead. The boat is build with fore and aft bulkheads to contain water should we hit something, but like the Titanic that hit one too many bulkheads, the gouge is what made the water not be contained in the aft section but overflow quickly into the entire starboard hull.
With the boat hauled out of the water at the St John’s Boatyard in Jacksonville FL we were able to get a better perspective. The hole was patched using a nerf football, (yes really, apparently the diver carries all different sizes of nerf balls in a bag specifically for this reason), followed by a piece of plywood that was screwed in place. The whole area was then sealed with 5200. The second gouge wasn’t discovered until the boat was hauled out of the water, which explains why it continued to have a slow leak of water into the boat during transport. Fortunately, the bilge pumps were able to keep up with the gouge leak.
The Bandaid
Here you can see gouge next to Ben’s head and patch over the large hole
Makes me feel ill to see that. I can too easily imagine the horrible “what could have happened.” Wish I could just wrap you all in bubble wrap.
So glad you guys are safe 😘😘😘😘😘
Jen B
Gonna be a great story …… In a few years. Don’t scare your mom anymore. 😎
Glad you are all safe 🙂
What’s the next plan ?
Also how did this happen ?
Iceberg ?
That was my first question, Beth…iceberg? like the Titanic? But I am so very happy everyone is safe. God’s gotcha! When do you leave again?
What’s next Amy? Getting back in the saddle?
glad everyone is safe. I’ve been thinking about you guys a lot lately and wondering how the adventure has been going! Hugs to you all.