Boot Key Harbor
"Marathon- the Heart of the Florida Keys"

An On-Line Cruising Guide for the Florida Keys & Cuba
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Thru Hulls and Sinking

Where do you think the chances for your boat sinking are the highest? Out in a rough Gulf Stream and getting swamped, a collision with an underwater submerged object, or maybe going aground on the reef? None of the above. You’re most likely to sink sitting at your own dock! The two major culprits are thru hulls and dock pressure water that is left connected to the boat. Southern boaters don’t have to worry about freezing thru hulls, but that’s a major concern in the north. It freezes, bursts, and down you go with the incoming flood. Here in the Keys corrosion of metal thru hulls is a problem. This just happened to me after returning from Cuba. The boat was at the dock. While in the bilge I heard the sound of rushing water and traced it to a bronze thru hull for the generator. I gave one slight tug and the whole thing broke right off with a giant fountain of water shooting up from the hole! If that had happened while unattended the boat would have sank. Hoses also come off thru hulls. That’s why they should be double clamped and routinely inspected. Thru hulls and their hoses that become detached are the single biggest problems with sinking at the dock.. Liveaboards and cruisers frequently have the dock fresh water connected to their plumbing systems and left on. No problem, until an internal water line breaks and you sink it with all the incoming hose water! I’ve had this happen to me twice but was lucky enough to catch it. The best thing I ever did was install a high water alarm with a horn so everyone knows there’s a problem. I once had the hot water tank corrode through and almost sink the boat at a dock with 20 feet of water. I’ve had the same thing happen to rubber hose connections in the pressure water system that got “aneurysms” and burst. Now what I do is connect a $15 water limiter to the hose from the dock. You can get these from Home Depot & they’re used to set a gallon limit on things like watering the lawn. We set ours for about 200 gallons. That way if our plumbing breaks it limits the amount of water in the bilge so our pumps can handle it. Check out your thru hulls & double clamps, and rethink leaving the boat unattended with dockwater on.