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Boat Sunk Beauchamp Arms


dnks34

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Sorry if this has already been brought up i did have a look through the threads and couldnt see owt.

Saw today a sunken sports canopy type cruiser maybe 20 - 27ft tied alongside the large tug type vessel moored just before the Beauchamp arms when coming along from Reedham.  The line was holding the bow above water with the sunk vessel leaning almost over onto its side.  

I didnt see it on my way up river yesterday, thats not to say it wasnt there however! 

Anybody know what occured. 

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......I always wondered how much water would come in if one of those went. Lots and probably too much for the bilge pumps to handle.....

Quite true with some outdrives, but not all of them, thankfully.

Many people believe it is a risk they all suffer, but its not true.

Despite appearing to be very similar, Mercruisers will go down very quickly, whereas VolvoPentas won't sink at all, even after weeks with split bellows.

The design where the shaft passes through the transom is completely different (surprisingly).  Volvos have an inner bearing and seal inside the bellows, whereas Mercruisers don't, and the water can flood in very quickly.

Here's my Volvo 290 DP, showing the watertight bearing inside, the last time I changed the bellows.

volvo penta inside bellows.jpg

volvo penta inside bellows2.jpg

volvo penta inside bellows3.jpg

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I wouldn't want to rely on bellows to stop a boat sinking. 

I was worried about the gators biting into it, but a greater risk might be an otter, or water vole, or even a piece of wood or a branch catching it.

I would be looking at fitting a bulkhead inside to contain any water, but that could flood the engine and it would be difficult to fit and seal.

I often wondered why water intake valves weren't bunded, ie so the top was higher than the normal water level.

We have an outboard on our Viking 23, we have no bilge to fit a pump.

We bought a manual pump, and also a small electric pump that sits in a locker with a length of hose and a length of cable with a plug on.

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