Bilge Pump Protection

[PAR]

It's a rather common trick among blue water sailors. It works with raw water cooled or fresh water cooled and exchanger.

I've been on severely leaking or hull breached craft and you just don't take those chances. I was aboard a vessel that had a fire and a major leak, both the result of a collision. After the extinguishers got used up we turned the raw water cooling on the fire. That was a day . . .

[cyclops]

It is amazing how clear headed we get when confronted with fire on a ship. I went thru the USN shipboard fire fighting course in a steel hull on land with flashbacks and re-ignitions. I found out that I can become a very agressive fire fighter and want to KILL the fires. Fear can turn to very constructive anger in a split second when you realize you have only 1 option.