Stayafloat emergency sealant

[Grassman]

I will soon be boating on a tidal estuary which I've done before and thankfully with no incidents. However there's always a risk, albeit a small one, of a hose springing a leak and I was wondering if any of you have experience of using this paste sealant (see link below).

 

I think this might at least help stem a flow enough to get me out of trouble and probably may even completely seal it for the duration. Obviously if a water pipe came completely adrift it probably wouldn't be any good because it would stop the water flowing in/out of the engine.

It looks good in the video but obviously it's designed for cruisers and different types of leaks and therefore not nearly as likely to be of much use in a narrowboat. So £25 for the unlikely event of a hose leaking is probably not worth it, but I'm a bit 'belt and braces' and like to cover any eventuality no matter how unlikely, so I'm certainly considering getting a tub of it.

 

If any of you have used this I'd appreciate some feedback and letting me know what you used it for. One thing that's occurred to me is that it might not be suitable for stemming the flow of boiling water!!!

 

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

Never used it but often referred people to it.

 

Like many "JIC" spares, buy it and you won't ever need it so it really is a good investment.

 

 

 

 

 

JIC = Just In Case

[Tony Brooks]

I would have thought for hoses  self amalgamating tape and a couple of Jubilee clips would be a better bodge.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

I would say that replacing any hoses that are starting to look a bit old and tired before the trip would be the better approach. Maybe double jubilee clip the connections.

If possible, travel with another boat on tidal, or major river waters, to give a spare engine so the duff boat can be towed out of trouble by the good one. Had to do this on two occasions. Once I helped some one with an over heating engine. Another time some one helped me when my boat had a tree branch jammed through the rudder and a plastic sack wrapped around the prop. The leak sealant would have been useless on both occasions.

 

Jen

[Tony Brooks]

I agree with much of that but having gone to retrieve a broken down hire boat from Benson weir stream where a child had been lost overboard and drowned after being tripped in by the rope where another boat had attempted to tow, I would be very wary of that unless i was 100% sure both boat crews knew exactly what to do and that includes most keeping well out of the way.

[Grassman]

Great advice and thank you. I intended to replace any suspicious looking hoses beforehand and will also be doing the trip (the Severn Estuary) with another boater. Perhaps I should change my self description of being a 'belt and braces' person in my OP to being a rather paranoid person  .

 

It's just that I feel (or fear) that this body of water will be far more scary than my previous tidal boating experiences on the Trent, Ribble Link, Yorks Ouse, and Thames Tideway. Hence my paranoia ! 

[blackrose]

8 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

I would have thought for hoses  self amalgamating tape and a couple of Jubilee clips would be a better bodge.

 

Yes I agree. However having some self-amalgamating tape onboard doesn't prevent one having other forms of leak sealant as well. The more options you have the better your chances of fixing the problem.

[blackrose]

8 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

I would say that replacing any hoses that are starting to look a bit old and tired before the trip would be the better approach. Maybe double jubilee clip the connections.

If possible, travel with another boat on tidal, or major river waters, to give a spare engine so the duff boat can be towed out of trouble by the good one. Had to do this on two occasions. Once I helped some one with an over heating engine. Another time some one helped me when my boat had a tree branch jammed through the rudder and a plastic sack wrapped around the prop. The leak sealant would have been useless on both occasions.

 

Jen

 

How about replacing hoses and having some emergency leak sealant? Fortunately the OP isn't forced to choose between the two.

 

Mmm... yes the emergency leak sealant would be useless for dealing with an overheating engine or a fouled prop. It would also be useless for dealing with an electrical fire or a malfunctioning gearbox. I don't really think it's been designed for those scenarios.

 

But you're quite correct in recommending travelling with other boats on tidal waters. I once snapped a fanbelt on the tidal Thames and had to switch the engine off as it started overheating. Stupidly I'd put my 400cc motorbike on the deck and couldn't move it out the way to get the deck boards up to change the belt. Fortunately it was slack water and I was travelling with another boat that gave me a tow. Getting a tow is preferable to dropping an anchor.

 

[36national]

my entire boat is made outa that stuff so i guess im cool

 

[john.k]

Working bilge pumps might be a better idea.......and remove all the chip packets and biscuit wrappers.

[blackrose]

 

4 hours ago, john.k said:

Working bilge pumps might be a better idea.......

 

Working bilge pumps is something every boat should have of course, but that doesn't mean other measures to stem the flow of incoming water shouldn't be considered in addition.

 

I'm not sure why some people think you have to choose between the two? The more methods you have of stopping a boat from sinking the better surely? One might carry that sealant onboard and never need to use it, just as never using one's insurance policy.

Edited March 2, 2022 by blackrose

[Jen-in-Wellies]

8 hours ago, 36national said:

my entire boat is made outa that stuff so i guess im cool

 

This is the solution to the boat sinking problem. The same idea as making an entire aeroplane out of the stuff that the black boxes are made, so they can survive any crash.

Edited March 2, 2022 by Jen-in-Wellies

[Mad Harold]

A boat near me had  a leaking hull at a welded seam, and the owner sealed it with some stuff called Milliput.

[bizzard]

1 hour ago, Mad Harold said:

A boat near me had  a leaking hull at a welded seam, and the owner sealed it with some stuff called Milliput.

That is very good stuff, 2 part epoxy putty, sticks like anything.