Mudcat Café message #1011358 The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #62576   Message #1011358
Posted By: Ironmule
02-Sep-03 - 01:51 PM
Thread Name: Gold.Vanity. Can you REALLY sink a ship?
Subject: RE: Gold.Vanity. Can you REALLY sink a ship?
The augers of the time had a crossbar you twisted like a foursquare tire tool. You couldn't use one in the water. Even deep below the surface the water pressure doesn't force much water through a small hole. The crew would have to play cards for a week or more before the ship would founder.

That said, if he had a small hooked tool called a "reefing iron" he could have "reefed" the caulking from some of the planking seams and started a serious leak. It's a scenario that would be far easier to accomplish in port than on the high seas, and impossible if the vessels were activly sailing along, or there was much tidal flow past an anchored ship.

Jeff Smith

PS, the best "pump" on a leaky vessel is a scared man with a five gallon bucket. Trust me on this ;^) I woke up the fourth morning of our bareboat charter and stepped into an inch of water! A bucket and adrenalin emptied out the belly of the sailboat quickly, and we traced the leak to a poorly tightened stuffing box on the propeller shaft. The Golden Vanitie had many buckets aboard.