How do you repair a small hole below the waterline in the hull of a megaship?

[fstuff1]

From what i've read, when Escape ran ashore in the Dominican Republic a couple of weeks ago, there was a gash in the hull and water entered Deck 1.

 

If true, how does it get repaired?

Divers go under with a piece of steel (or multiple pieces) and weld? and leave in place till the next drydock?

ie: Like the Epic banging up her hull in Puerto Rico (but no rupture) due to high cross winds

 

[GeezerCouple]

"How do you repair a small hole below the waterline in the hull of a megaship?"

 

Flex Seal 😁

GC

[CDR Benson]

12 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

"How do you repair a small hole below the waterline in the hull of a megaship?"

 

The captain of the Titanic had the very same question.

 

[bigrednole]

[tallnthensome]

Underwater welder 

[SeaShark]

Or you could fix it from the interior of the ship...

[MamSam]

4 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

Or you could fix it from the interior of the ship...

We went by there this morning. They have workers on the dock next to the ship and seem to be going in and out. Big tent and lots of stuff all over the dock. Maybe doing the repair from the inside. Sure does not look like they are wrapping up. We are on the 4/9 cruise. 

[Lionkingrichard]

JB Weld works the best! Used it on a air tank on a truck. Still holding 8 years later! 120 PSI

[DaisyGoldberg]

On Deadliest Catch they fixed breaches on the inside by welding plates over the holes in the hull. Then kept fishing!

[fstuff1]

50 minutes ago, DaisyGoldberg said:

On Deadliest Catch they fixed breaches on the inside by welding plates over the holes in the hull. Then kept fishing!

while the water is rushing in??

[wayne_trisha]

3 hours ago, MamSam said:

We went by there this morning. They have workers on the dock next to the ship and seem to be going in and out. Big tent and lots of stuff all over the dock. Maybe doing the repair from the inside. Sure does not look like they are wrapping up. We are on the 4/9 cruise. 

I drive by every day to get to work. I agree it looks like an internal repair. I did see someone, just once, in scuba gear the other day. But lots of equipment on port side forward with an access into the ship. I help rockets go to space so not sure exactly what is going on with the ship.

[Lane Hog]

27 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

while the water is rushing in??

Sort of.  If you can brace the repair plate using cribbing/supports and block it into place, that can slow down the flow.  An oxygen-acetylene torch will work regardless of the water.

[RD64]

Gorilla Glue!

[fstuff1]

22 hours ago, Lane Hog said:

Sort of.  If you can brace the repair plate using cribbing/supports and block it into place, that can slow down the flow.  An oxygen-acetylene torch will work regardless of the water.

 

What if it's a 50 foot long gash? 😮

 

[Capitan Obvious]

38 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

What if it's a 50 foot long gash? 😮

 

What if we just stuck to the facts instead of making up scenarios to drum up the drama? 🙄

[chengkp75]

If there was a breach, things like canvas can be draped over the outside of the breach, and the water pressure will hold it against the hull, stopping most of the flow.  Oxy-Acetylene welding would not be used, it is not considered to be of sufficient strength for hull welding, you use an electric welder, and keep slowing the water flow down while welding closer and closer to the water.  Been there, done that.

 

Laszlo posted on another thread that it may have been a "scupper" that broke, and I'm starting to think that is more likely.  These are drains from the outside decks and balconies, where the piping goes all the way down to below the waterline.  There is a check valve that is supposed to stop water flowing back in, but these wear out and don't work all that great.  It could also be the short pipe between that valve and the hull plating.  These pipes are all along the hull, and in crew spaces (deck 1), they are in the void spaces behind the crew cabins.  To fix this, a diver puts an expandable rubber plug in the pipe, then you cut away the damage and repair from inside.  I'm leaning towards this as likely, though someone has also said that a ballast tank was breached.  See my comments about canvas "fothering" to seal the flow for that repair.

[chengkp75]

21 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

What if it's a 50 foot long gash? 😮

 

I've done a 20' long one, you just work in sections.  You try to slow the water as I've said above, and try listing the ship to raise the breach as high as possible to reduce the pressure.

[RunBikeCruiseDC]

On 3/29/2022 at 2:13 PM, GeezerCouple said:

"How do you repair a small hole below the waterline in the hull of a megaship?"

 

Flex Seal 😁

GC

Duck Tape!

[fstuff1]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

I've done a 20' long one, you just work in sections.  You try to slow the water as I've said above, and try listing the ship to raise the breach as high as possible to reduce the pressure.

I'm currently on the Getaway.

We were parked next to Escape at Port Canaveral.

Escape was not listing to expose the breach below the water line.

 

So I guess your method of using canvas at the breach to slow the water is what they're doing? (Assuming it's a 50' gash)

[fstuff1]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Laszlo posted on another thread that it may have been a "scupper" that broke, and I'm starting to think that is more likely.  These are drains from the outside decks and balconies, where the piping goes all the way down to below the waterline.  There is a check valve that is supposed to stop water flowing back in, but these wear out and don't work all that great.  It could also be the short pipe between that valve and the hull plating.  These pipes are all along the hull, and in crew spaces (deck 1), they are in the void spaces behind the crew cabins.  To fix this, a diver puts an expandable rubber plug in the pipe, then you cut away the damage and repair from inside.  I'm leaning towards this as likely, though someone has also said that a ballast tank was breached.  See my comments about canvas "fothering" to seal the flow for that repair.

 

How long does it take to repair the dmg that Lazlo described in either situation?

[chengkp75]

8 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

How long does it take to repair the dmg that Lazlo described in either situation?

Depends on where it is, and how extensive it is.

[HowardK]

Is the ship salvageable? My friend Dave from Dayton is a Phd in engineering and says the problem is not fixing the ship- but a similar event happening again as it will already have been weak despite events.

[chengkp75]

1 minute ago, HowardK said:

Is the ship salvageable? My friend Dave from Dayton is a Phd in engineering and says the problem is not fixing the ship- but a similar event happening again as it will already have been weak despite events.

????

[Lane Hog]

Speaking from an aircraft repair perspective, the repaired areas usually wind up a little stronger... Can't imagine a shipyard repair being that much different.

Edited March 31, 2022 by Lane Hog

[ontheweb]

14 hours ago, RunBikeCruiseDC said:

Duck Tape!

Damn, I was going to post that same thing, but you beat me to it.