Careening your boat for easy repairs

May 18, 1:54 PMSF Sailing ExaminerEdward Killeen

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Easy access to your through-hulls

Unfortunately, boats come with holes in them.  This is not a good thing when you expect your boat to float on the water.  Centuries ago, naval architects saw the problem with holes in the bottom of boats and came up with a solution: through-hulls.  These are handy valves that you can open and shut to allow water into or out of those holes when the need arises instead of at the whimsy of Father Neptune (Mother Nature's aquatic cousin).

Through-hulls are a forgotten and sometimes neglected part of a boat's anatomy, especially in the large crop of 25-30 year old fiberglass boats that populate most marinas.  Taking care of these through-hulls is essential for a boat to conduct its most important task: staying afloat.

It's actually easy to maintain these valves, just give them exercise.  At least once a month go around the boat and open and shut each through-hull a few times.  For emergencies, keep an appropriately sized wooden plug next to the through-hull.  If and when that emergency arises, jam the wooden plug into your new hole to stop the leaking. 

Once you've stopped the leaking, how do you fix a hole in the bottom of your boat while it's still in the water?  Careening.  Tie a long piece of line to a halyard, pace a couple of hundred feet down the dock, pull that line to heel your boat, and get the "hole" above the waterline.  You can then work on fixing your through-hull at your leisure.  Please see the important disclaimer below.

I'd still recommend hauling the boat at a boatyard to do a permanent fix but this easy careening operation can help get your boat safely to the nearest boatyard.

Important disclaimer: This is not actual advice.  Only careen your boat at your own risk and under the supervised care of a licensed and bonded boatyard professional.  If you are reading this and think, "wow, cool idea, I'll careen my boat without any knowledge of how to careen a boat" then you should turn your boat into the coast guard immediately and apply for a Darwin award.