www.news.com.au/national/three-sailors-rescued-from-sinking-yacht-in-coral-sea-350km-east-of-brisbane/news-story/543df7950756a75861e06ac7b0be56fc?amp

Its frustrating seeing some of these incidents and not finding out what was the cause, the boat doesn't look low in the water, where was the water coming in and could have it been plugged to limp to shore? Hose popped off or rudder cracked hull?
keel breaking off?
prop shaft?
How goddamnit!!
It would be nice to know these things

I agree, but presumably the detail will come out eventually.

In the first photo attached to the article she seems to be hove to pretty well (main is tidily reefed, headsail reefed and back winded, not making much way going by the wash) and on her normal waterline.

Some lines in the water in the second photo but still on the normal waterline?

If she's still floating as high as she seems to be by the time rescue arrived, how serious was the leak? It could have been that an engine-driven pump was the only thing keeping her afloat in which case bailing out may have been the right choice.

Which leads to a more general question - how serious are most of us at stopping leaks on long passages? Spade rudders breaking loose are an issue - how hard is it to put a circular coffer dam around the area? It's only got to be strong enough to stop water flowing in, so even PVC pipe would do, and it's only got to be above the waterline in waves. Boats with neoprene gaiters would probably be protected from top bearing failure or many shaft failures and they are pretty cheap and easy to fit. One could also perhaps fit an external neoprene gaiter, significantly bigger than the bottom bearing, to contain hull damage in that area. It would probably be better in many ways than an internal bulkhead.

What about other sealing kits? Holding water out at the level of a yacht hull requires very little pressure, as we can all see when we replace logs. When Robin Knox Johnston was in the Doldrums early in his round the world trip, his garboards were leaking so badly he could see the gap. He dived over, nailed a tarred 7ft long piece of canvas onto each garboard seam, then dived back in and nailed copper patches over the top to hold the canvas on. If he could do that job alone at a depth of 5ft, and do it so well that he went from pumping twice a day to going through the Southern Ocean, around Cape Horn and back to the UK without pumping the bilges at all, then what could be done to stop or slow a leak temporarily with a modern patch kit applied internally or externally?

A failed P bracket leading to the propshaft cracking the hull could be a problem. Could such an issue be addressed by, say, some lead flashing, coated by waterproof closed-cell neoprene, sealant (the sealants that can go on wet seem to work surprisingly well for both hatches and when applied underwater inside domestic concrete water tanks), and self tappers to go through the lead and hold it all together?

Hoses popping off or breaking should not be a problem in any way on a seaworthy boat, particularly with modern tapes.

These stainless steel repair clamps are used in industrial pipelines and seem to have possible potential if you had a rudder tube crack or something similar;

static.crane.com.au/asset.php?type_name=image&t=1719237661&id=23484&idkey=997675bd3b08f8ad68e2145b5b733e84

I wonder whether these clamps could also work on exhaust system leaks to give them a second potential use?

I must remember to get a grate to fit over the engine water intake hose if the old trick of using the diesel cooling system as a power-driven pump actually works.

I don't know the stats, but getting from a yacht to a rescue craft isn't risk-free so spending time to save the boat probably doesn't have to be riskier.

Inflated RIB on deck, UV cover blowing off jib, rust stains on hull. Hmmm. I wonder if it's a modified Comar Comet 50 - they seem like nice boats.

Has anyone looked into expanding foams that seal underwater, e.g., the kinds used to seal holes in ponds, etc. It could be a potential solution for temporarily plugging small holes from the inside of the hull.

PS I do carry spare tarps that could potentially be wrapped around the outside of the hull, although it would probably only hold in place if the vessel were stationary.

Select to expand quote

scruzin said..
Has anyone looked into expanding foams that seal underwater, e.g., the kinds used to seal holes in ponds, etc. It could be a potential solution for temporarily plugging small holes from the inside of the hull.

PS I do carry spare tarps that could potentially be wrapped around the outside of the hull, although it would probably only hold in place if the vessel were stationary.

Theres also flex seal, if it works as they say it does then in theory you could dive down with a small tub of it and push it in with a scraper or something
Chris249 has some good ideas I suppose you could have a leak kit ready to go full of items that could be used in an emergency

Interesting drift. Perhaps a tough plastic bad could be poked in an ugly hole and filled with expanding foam

You could try fothering, but it is more efficient if the sail is thrummed.
I have to admit that I had never heard of thrumming.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fothering

Expanda foam could be a modern thrumm !

Select to expand quote

garymalmgren said..
You could try fothering, but it is more efficient if the sail is thrummed.
I have to admit that I had never heard of thrumming.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fothering

Navy frigates still carry a thrumm sheet, about 2m x 2m, all natural fibre in the repair bases. Never used one but have used quick set concrete in a steel hull with a fist sized impact hole on the waterline (tug boat had left a large u shackle on their bow fender), the repair worked so well we left it in place for several months on task.

Select to expand quote

Chris 249 said..
If she's still floating as high as she seems to be by the time rescue arrived, how serious was the leak? It could have been that an engine-driven pump was the only thing keeping her afloat in which case bailing out may have been the right choice.

Which leads to a more general question - how serious are most of us at stopping leaks on long passages? Spade rudders breaking loose are an issue - how hard is it to put a circular coffer dam around the area? It's only got to be strong enough to stop water flowing in, so even PVC pipe would do, and it's only got to be above the waterline in waves. Boats with neoprene gaiters would probably be protected from top bearing failure or many shaft failures and they are pretty cheap and easy to fit. One could also perhaps fit an external neoprene gaiter, significantly bigger than the bottom bearing, to contain hull damage in that area. It would probably be better in many ways than an internal bulkhead.

What about other sealing kits? Holding water out at the level of a yacht hull requires very little pressure, as we can all see when we replace logs. When Robin Knox Johnston was in the Doldrums early in his round the world trip, his garboards were leaking so badly he could see the gap. He dived over, nailed a tarred 7ft long piece of canvas onto each garboard seam, then dived back in and nailed copper patches over the top to hold the canvas on. If he could do that job alone at a depth of 5ft, and do it so well that he went from pumping twice a day to going through the Southern Ocean, around Cape Horn and back to the UK without pumping the bilges at all, then what could be done to stop or slow a leak temporarily with a modern patch kit applied internally or externally?

A failed P bracket leading to the propshaft cracking the hull could be a problem. Could such an issue be addressed by, say, some lead flashing, coated by waterproof closed-cell neoprene, sealant (the sealants that can go on wet seem to work surprisingly well for both hatches and when applied underwater inside domestic concrete water tanks), and self tappers to go through the lead and hold it all together?

Hoses popping off or breaking should not be a problem in any way on a seaworthy boat, particularly with modern tapes.

These stainless steel repair clamps are used in industrial pipelines and seem to have possible potential if you had a rudder tube crack or something similar;

static.crane.com.au/asset.php?type_name=image&t=1719237661&id=23484&idkey=997675bd3b08f8ad68e2145b5b733e84

I wonder whether these clamps could also work on exhaust system leaks to give them a second potential use?

I must remember to get a grate to fit over the engine water intake hose if the old trick of using the diesel cooling system as a power-driven pump actually works.

I don't know the stats, but getting from a yacht to a rescue craft isn't risk-free so spending time to save the boat probably doesn't have to be riskier.

Inflated RIB on deck, UV cover blowing off jib, rust stains on hull. Hmmm. I wonder if it's a modified Comar Comet 50 - they seem like nice boats.

These are worth a look www.yachtingmonthly.com/news/crash-test-boat-sinking-4354

and this one www.yachtingmonthly.com/sailing-skills/crash-test-boat-broken-seacock-29540

Some damage is just beyond fothering or plugging

bermudarace.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/BROC-Structurcal-Sinkings-Final-Report-1.pdf?mc_cid=4e1e2e100e&mc_eid=b8712625e4