plastic water fittings for head sink

[Jeff Kaplan]

i recently had all the thru hull fittings replaced, due to damage done to my boat due to an explosion at a chemical plant located next to the marina where i winter the boat. force actually dislodged some, so the ins. adj. wanted them out and rebedded or replaced. boat went in last weekend. went back out to day to do some finish up projects and also to check for leaks, none. heard the bilge come on and decided to check, some water left so i sponged dry and did a clean up job but kept noticing water seeping in to the bilge. i tasted it and it was fresh water so i was going to have to check for leaks in all the water lines. i was using my foot pump to get some water to clean up, when i heard splashing coming from the head. i opened up the locker, and low and behold, one of the plastic unions connecting the water lines to the sink fittings had split open and water was pissing out. had to crimp off the hose to stop leak and back to shore to get new galvanized steel unions. point, for all of us with older boats, check these fittings and if they're  plastic, replace them before they fail...jeff

[Larry Robertie]

God bless you brother, you couldn't pay me to float anything out of Liberty after having it there for the "big boom"!  Was there no way to total it, or are you just a die hard?

[Jeff Kaplan]

larry, no it passed inspection, with some repairs, and the ins. claim is good for one year. i was at the far end of the yard sdo the boat was very protected. pushed her pretty hard last sun. and she handled like a dream. i really didn't want the boat totaled as i have put so much into refurbishing the old girl. but i must say, i was looking, just in case. i had a rigger inspect mast and did repair to port spreader base casting,shattered in blast, but new now. all ok. having engine and shaft tested for align. next week ,now that boat is in water. look for me out there...jeff

[Jeff Kaplan]

forgot to mention that the reason the boat survived with no structural damage was because i had removed the 4 large fixed ports in the fall and didn't replace them till this spring. the pressure blast was able to enter and leave the bot with no restrictions. a blessing in disguise...jeff

[Larry Robertie]

Indeed it was a blessing.  For those who don't know what we are talking about let me elaborate...

This past Fall there was an explosion at a chemical plant (paint, coatings) in Danvers Mass.  This happened at 2:30 or so in the morning and could be heard for miles away.  About a dozen houses were destroyed, along with a couple of businesses, and the plant itself was reduced to a cinder.  One guy reported jumping out of bed after the explosion to see that his window mounted AC had been blown across the bedroom and was embedded in the opposite wall!  It was a miracle no one was killed, and only a few minor injuries were reported.

Next to this plant was/is Liberty Marina, where many folks had their boats stored on the hard.  At first (once people were allowed in to take a look) it seemed that the boats in the yard had sustained little damage.  Then stories started comming out of boats being "imploded", with all sorts of strange consequences.  It seems that the initial explosion went out over the tops of the boats (the plant was slightly elevated from the yard), but after that there was a loss of pressure that caused a lot of boats to implode.  Guys were finding that the jack stands were sucked into the hull and had left 6 inch dents.  Other stories involved antifreeze being totally sucked out of the insides of engines.  The insurance companies totaled a lot of the boats, and on others like Jeff's the claims are still open... because nobody is really sure what else is going to turn up.

[Jeff Kaplan]

larry, interesting you mentioned the antifreeze issue. i made contact with several boat owners back early dec. when we were allowed to go the yard. i was one of the first in. as you said, from outward looks, most of the boats in my area looked fine. i called one sailor who asked me if i had checked the engine compartment because he found antifreeze filled his bilge. when i looked, sure enough,antifreeze was forced out the overflow hose and was in the engine well. lost about 1/2 gal. strange stuff happened, but for us at the far end, not much damage. again, having the ports out saved my boat. tested her again yesterday, and i must say, she has never been better. new garhauer traveler is great...jeff