crash and collision bulkheads , who needs them ??

Discussion in 'Boatbuilding' started by tunnels, Sep 12, 2012.

  1. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    For years i been working in boat companies all over the place and i am amazed at how little people think about such things as safety when they are making boats .
    Just about all the boats i have made in recent years have been to survey standards so you have rules to work within !!, But in the everyday companys no one cares about such things at all simple things like the way the forward bulkheads are fitted and glassed into the hull !!,no one really cares what they are made of even .
    Also the boats that have everything in the back of the boat ! tanks, motors getsets ,and battiers etc etc the very heart of the boat . The bulkhead between there and the inside of the boat very little thought is given as to its importance ,and in the event of an accident and the hull holed will it stop the boats engine room from filling with water from the forward end or will it simply collaps under water pressure and you will be completely powerless to do anything but watch it sink out from under you feet !! :eek:
     
  2. mydauphin
    Joined: Apr 2007
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    Location: Florida

    mydauphin Senior Member

    Nobody thinks their boats are going to crash or sink, so they don't think about. Most factory boats are in my opinion dangerous without major upgrades. But try to get people to build or rigged the boats properly and they will tell you they will never need this stuff, it just adds weight. So they go out to sea, with a big motor, a little anchor and a tiny bilge pump attached to an undersized worthless electrical system, in a structureless boat that is barely watertight. And then they wonder why the Coast Guard has so many emergencies to deal with.
     
  3. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    you are right on the button !! like i pointed out most of all the stuff i have been involved with over recent times has been to do with Survey work . there everything is done by the book and taken care of properly . the important thing i have always carried on with no matter where i have worked and any work i have done . the companies just simply done care . im in the middle of a 90 foot lake boat and watching and recording things that do not meet evernthe designers specs let alone mine i send internal emails so as it goes on record to the people involved non of these things get to the company owner so i have the feeling that my days are numbered and the company is about to fold but its not going to stop there i will take this to the chine survey authority if need be . this is seroius stuff and i do not want to see people get hurt and its also protecting the company as well even though they dont know it at this stage !!. :eek::confused:
     
  4. bntii
    Joined: Jun 2006
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    Location: MD

    bntii Senior Member

    I've seen cats that would have sunk without them.
    One came in for repairs last summer which has hit a sea buoy & shattered the bow on one hull.
    A few gallons of water and get to port for repairs instead of abandoning the boat.
     
  5. missinginaction
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    Location: New York

    missinginaction Senior Member

    Once when I was a kid I forgot the plug at the boat launch on my first little outboard. I was impressed with the amount of water that rushed through that little hole.

    When I bought the 27 footer that I'm working on now, sure enough there it was, a cheap little bilge pump on some AWG 12 wire, or was it 14? Just some cheap automotive type extensions run up to the helm with an inline fuse bouncing around in the bilge area. Resistance? Voltage drop? Heat? Seems many people don't have the time or inclination to learn much. Just toss that pump in and connect the two wires and lets have a beer.

    Early on I decided to install 2 reasonably sized pumps and an attachment for the seacock that allows the engine to pump water out of the bilge in an emergency. I may never need it but I'll be more relaxed knowing it's there.

    What amazes me most is the condition of the electrical systems on many older boats. I'd be embarrassed if mine looked so shabby. Dangerous too.
     
  6. BPL
    Joined: Dec 2011
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    BPL Senior Member

    How do you not trap water in the bilge with effective collision bulkheads?
     
  7. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    Working with non boating people is a night mare !!

    Went and did another inspection and found yes they glass one bulkhead on one side only with 450 csm and tabbed along the top one side to the other like it should be !then i look at the bottom against the hull and just a sprinkling of csm glass . wheres the logic ?? like they were glassing it anyway why not carry on and do all sides ?? water always finds the weakest places and does its thing .
    Its on an email and gone to the guy in charge and will filter down the system !!! so on with the next bit :p
     
  8. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member


    How the hell do you do that,-- billions of miles of open water and your run into a 2 meter bouy?

    Unbelievable.
     

  9. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    obviously its not that hard !!!gps with tracking device maybe !!!
    metal detector !!!! compass error !!!! or just plane Irish luck !!:p:D
     
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