Seacock nightmare!

Nothing confirmed yet, but this crabbing boat (91 feet ) sank at the dock over the weekend. It had just taken on 20-30k gallons of diesel in preparation for heading north to fish. Dock talk/rumors are saying a seacock was left open that was supposed to be closed after fueling. I have no idea why a seacock would be opened or closed for fueling other than associated with an anti-siphon loop and the lowering of the water line after fueling. Regardless, this incident shows how quickly a boat/ship can sink due to water flow through a seacock (hose coming off or a valve not shut). I would never have guessed a boat this size could sink so quickly with (I assume) bilge pumps alarms etc.

Oh boy. Where did it go down?

OUCH!!!.
I expect an investigation will be launched to figure out conclusively the reason it went down.

twistedtree said:

Oh boy. Where did it go down?

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Ship Canal. Just east of Ballard Bridge on the south side. They just raised it a couple days ago after sitting on the bottom for a couple weeks. Had to bring in a giant crane.

Located boat up the ship canal from me. Notice the wood plugs near the waterline. Wonder if they are associated with the oped seacock.

Corks in hull not a great look.

With that many holes, that’s more than a seacock!! Just sayin’

I was Chief Mate on a 138’ tug that sank at the dock in Ft. Lauderdale many years ago. The shipyard was working on the heat exchanger and had it out. They did not block off the discharge which was above the waterline. During the night as the tide rose we caught a rubbing strake on one of the fixed fenders on the dock, which put the discharge under water. I awoke about 03:30 as she rolled on her side, managed to get out but went back in to get a crew member. She went under as I was below, probably took her less than five minutes to sink from the time she rolled.

Does not matter how long it takes to fill her to sinking level, once a boat reaches that, she goes down quick.

I do not swim by the way.. was a bit of a challenge.



M

I'll bet they just plug them all before pumping out the boat rather than trying to figure out which sea cock is at fault. I suspect swimming around through the equipment space in a submerged boat is not the safest thing to do.

I am refitting a 1973 GB36. I have eliminated (7) through hulls & sea cocks. Some were in difficult locations. I installed (2) 1"1/2 just below the helm station and looped them together with everything that requires water coming off the loop. My thought is that if there were a water ingress problem my first move would be to pull the floor hatch drop down and shut both of them thus stopping all water ingress and assess the situation in a more stable condition. I think I will travel with more peace of mind.

ronobrien said:

I am refitting a 1973 GB36. I have eliminated (7) through hulls & sea cocks. Some were in difficult locations. I installed (2) 1"1/2 just below the helm station and looped them together with everything that requires water coming off the loop. My thought is that if there were a water ingress problem my first move would be to pull the floor hatch drop down and shut both of them thus stopping all water ingress and assess the situation in a more stable condition. I think I will travel with more peace of mind.

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Great idea. I’ve come to really appreciate my sea chest. Crawling around my previous boat to close seacocks when I left the boat was a literal pain.