Alfie down?? hope Terry is ok

[matty40s]

I have just heard that nb Alfie has been sunk near Watford, can anyone confirm?

I do hope Terry is ok, he was looking forward to this new adventure immensely.

[Naughty Cal]

Oh no!

[mark99]

Watford Herts?

[Pennie]

meep - I hope everything is ok x

[Sabcat]

I hope it's not true. Gutted for him if it is

[matty40s]

Yes mark

[alan_fincher]

I have just heard that nb Alfie has been sunk near Watford, can anyone confirm?

I do hope Terry is ok, he was looking forward to this new adventure immensely.

 

Yes,

 

Unfortunately I can confirm this is true.

 

There was a second hand version of a story it was sinking yesterday, passed through someone who had no detail, but asking for help tracing owner.

 

Knowing Dom would have his details I contacted him, but he was unable to get hold of Terry on the phone.

 

Then a message today it was refloated, but still no confirmation if Terry knew.

 

I contacted the firm that refloated it, and they confirm Terry is aware.

 

I don't think he was on the boat, but had left it.

 

Weed hatch not properly replaced, apparently.

 

It has had, I'm told, 2 feet of water in the back end, so he must be fairly devastated. The only good news is nobody harmed, and that it was not submerged for very long at all.

 

What a start to boat ownership - we really feel for him.

 

 

Watford Herts?

 

Yes - nearer to Kings Langley, I think - near one of the M25 bridges ?

 

It is reported as now moving, being pushed by a push tug.

[Athy]

It sounds as though he is sorting things out then, well done Terry.

I bet his weed hatch will be one of the most secure on the whole system from now on!

[patty-ann]

Bless him what a horrible start to his great adventure..chin up terry and keep going..all the best x

[mark99]

That's terrible.

 

We helped someone last week who was in a bad situation with weed hatch.

 

Their first trip out of the year - the engine boiled over and spewed the coolant into the engine o'le under the counter. We suggested the prop was caught up with the crap floating in London (as when the boat went past, it was pushing a load of rubbish under the bow) and overstressed/heated the engine - looked at weed hatch to check prop but the weedhatch was actually underwater as the boat was so low at the back and we could see the weed hatch seal had gone and was leaking water into boat. The 3(!) bilge pumps were going and just about keeping it from getting worse.

 

However, the engine was very sickly and the thought was, what if the battery runs down and the bilge pump fails - a sure sinker.

 

Being Perivale, we were miles from next lock......(Camden 3).

 

The lads managed to get cold water into the engine again (may have cracked the block during this) restarted it to keep battery going.... a few taps with a hammer on the weedhatch screwjack lever slowed the leak from the weedhatch down to just a dribble.

 

In a way if the engine did not blow it's coolant (causing us to look at his weedhatch to clear prop and noticed the leak) I think it would have just sank whilst underway.

Edited March 18, 2015 by mark99

[matty40s]

If there is a plus, the water round there is pretty clear and clean.

Awful news, if you are managing to read the forum Terry, let us know if we can be of any help.

[Wanted]

Yes, not sure what I can help with, but do shout if you see this and need it.

[b0atman]

I can understand weed hatch allowing water in when prop turning but not when static ?

[Athy]

I can understand weed hatch allowing water in when prop turning but not when static ?

If it's not on properly, waves created by passing craft can wash over its rim and into the boat.

[alan_fincher]

I can understand weed hatch allowing water in when prop turning but not when static ?

 

Don't know any details.

 

Perhaps he had already taken on enough water by thed time he moored up the boat and left it that the top edge was already vulnerable, and it was running in.

 

I understand it was on, "but not properly seated", so it may have gone down quite slowly, I guess, if there was not that much of a gap.

 

An inexperienced boater might not spot the boat was already lower in the water than it should be, as they were leaving it, possibly?

[Nightwatch]

Really horrible news.

 

Been following the thread(s) about Alfie and Terry.

 

So sorry to hear this.

[Terryb]

Hi everyone, I took a lesson from a very experienced 30 year plus boater on what to do and what not to do. After which, feeling confident I carried out an inspection of the prop, because of a vibration, having cleared a bag from the prop I re fitted it as anyone would. I initially was a bit surprised to find that 1, it had silicon around the hatch. 2, that there was no lip or guide to locate the hatch cover in place. It appeared to me that it was just a matter of the tightening of the bar clamp to keep it in place.
As most of you are aware, a friend of mine did the same thing just a week before I bought Alfie, and I assured her, that her predicament was her gift of a lesson to me. I carried out a full throttle forward and reverse burst before I replaced the foot plate, and as far as I was concerned, had no reason to doubt I had replaced it properly. How wrong was I?
I mucked up and have lost over £3000 of camera, lenses and a week old laptop and who knows what this will cost overall. So before all the " I told you sos turn up, please, I am in a real delicate position right now, and do not need lessons or haters.
However, If anyone has more constructive advice regards drying out my home, I welcome help with open arms.

Lastly thank you so far for the obvious care and compassion from you all.

Terry

[mark99]

Well as said above (re Perivale boat) re weedhatch letting in water when not moving, the chaps we saw were prolly underway for some time letting so much water in that eventually the weed hatch ended up just underwater.

 

We all make errors - esp me.

 

Bad luck Terry all the very best getting it all back together.

 

ETA check your insurance out. You may be able to recoup.

Edited March 18, 2015 by mark99

[GoodGurl]

Terry salvage what you can and try to get a dehumidifier to help dry it out.

[matty40s]

Good to hear you are OK Terry.

 

First and foremost, get the hatch dried out and get it sealed properly with thick 3M tape or similar. Silicon is useless once it's seal has been broken.

 

Get into a marina with hook up and hire/ borrow some fans and dehumidifiers.

Your insurance Co should be able to advise and hopefully pay as well.

Lift floorboards, open all cupboards and drawers. Also leave front and back hatches open as much as possible to allow through air.

[alan_fincher]

So sorry, Terry.

Only good news I guess is that you are unhurt, and that it is at least refloated.

 

I guess you will get a mixture of advice involving either dehumidifiers or fans.

 

It might help to know what the insulation is on the parts that have gone under.

 

If it is sprayfoam, for example, that will not absorb water, and then retransmit it into the inside wooden linings.

 

Polystyrene slab shouldn't hold water either, though water will have got between that and the hull that may increase drying out time.

 

Rockwool would, in my view, be worst case, as that will be soaked, and because you can't really get ventilation to it, will probably take a long while, and could help add to damage of wood linings.

I think you need to pay for somewhere with mains power, because whether fans or dehumidifiers, you will probably need it.

[matty40s]

Don't try to start the engine either without getting advice (forum member RLWP is quite handy in this area)

Edited March 18, 2015 by matty40s

[Keeping Up]

That is dreadful news Terry, I hope you can get it dried out quickly and that the water was relatively clean in which case with only a short immersion the boat's woodwork should not have been damaged. The camera and laptop may well be covered by your insurance, it's definitely worth checking that aspect.

 

If there's anything I can do to help just call me, although apart from offering the loan of a couple of fan heaters I doubt that there's much I can do which hasn't already been done.

[Lysander]

So sorry to hear about Alfie's sinking, Terry. I am in the Watford area but I'm not sure I could do anything to help apart from sending positive thoughts your way. Regarding the camera equipment and laptop, you may be able to salvage something by taking the batteries out and putting them in a bag of uncooked rice; maybe the same with the lenses.

I think the next marina on your route is Cassiobridge - it's pretty small but they may be able to assist.

[Bettie Boo]

Terry, one novice to another, so sorry to hear about your recent hardships. Here's hoping your insurance sees you right in replacing your damaged electronics and the drying out the interior/insulation of the boat isn't to time consuming or expensive.

 

Good luck to you

 

B~