Our pride and joy, Alethea, had been in the yard for a couple of weeks. She sported new bottom paint, new high amperage alternator, and new through-hull bolts. Although she did not need new through-hull fittings, the four bolts that hold the fitting to the hull were pitted and needed to be replaced.

Alethea, our 43-foot Pearson sloop has allowed my family to enjoy all the thrills of sailing in the Puget Sound and recently in the Salish Sea. We’ve had her surveyed twice, once when we first purchased here and discovered all the problems with a good old boat, and then after a refit for a deeper look after a couple of years. The second survey allowed us to review our work and look to the future. Both surveys were conducted by Gerald Edwards. He professionally noted four areas on the deck and cabin sole where the wood looked or sounded as if it needed to be checked or replaced to keep Alethea in pristine shape. However, Jerry also looked at me and said he did note like open hoses that went nowhere.

Who would have a hose that went nowhere and just ended? Well, we have two. One goes to the raw water intake of the new 49-HP Kabota, Phasor, engine and is used to connect a fresh water hose. With the T in this engine cooling line, this allows me to rinse the engine with fresh water before putting her to sleep for the off season. This hose has a valve in it. The second open hose comes from a through-hull and was the raw water feed for the toilet, but that was switched to a fresh water source. Remember that a through-hull is a hole in the hull leading to the ocean and a sea cock is a valve that is very close to the through-hull that controls the flow of water through the through-hull. All of our through-hull fittings have sea cocks fitted to them, so we do control the water flowing through all of our through-hulls.

That is why I didn’t quite understand Jerry when he told me to put a cap of a valve on the end of each of those open hoses. And there are times in life when you don’t argue with someone with decidedly more experience than you on the subject. I dutifully I threaded an on/off valve on the end of the T hose that ran to the raw water inflow to the engine beyond the valves already there and fitted a cork cone into the end of the hose that used to run to the toilet. I even put a hose clamp on the hose to hold the cork cone in the hose without it falling out. Back to the boat yard.

I was planning to drive from Oregon to move Alethea from Anacortes to Friday Harbor over a week-end. The guys in the yard had agreed to splash her late on Friday afternoon. I would arrive the same day or sometime on Saturday. All that went fine. I arrived on Saturday afternoon, I paid the bill, and looking out toward San Juan Island, there was no time like now to complete the move to Friday Harbor. Off we motored into Rosario Straight. But wait, no one would allow me to motor in this wonderful 8 to 10 knot breeze. Into the wind, up with the main, fall off, it was my first single handed sail of this dimension. I was very happy.

All too soon it was over. I called a friend to meet me at the dock, not knowing the conditions and unsure of my abilities to steer, hang fenders, jump to the dock, secure lines, and generally do everything my family usually works together to accomplish. We slid right into our slip, I waltzed off the deck and secured the lines, and our sail was over.

Later I headed below decks to turn off the raw water to the engine and generally secure Alethea. Something looked weird. I looked again. Side-by-side the two sea cocks controlling water from the through-hulls to the engine and the abandoned toilet line were both open. My heart sank. This meant that when the yard splashed Alethea on the previous day, without the owner present, Alethea could have begun taking on water. Except for one simple little item, Jerry had told me to plug the hose, and I did. Thanks Jerry, there is no doubt in my mind that you saved Alethea from either a lot of damage or sinking. Lessons learned: I will never allow Alethea to be launched without me present, note to self. Lesson learned a long time ago: do what knowledgeable people tell you to do, check well done in that department.

John Salinas, Alethea

Remember every hole in the hull, particularly those bellow the waterline, is a threat to the boat. Any one could sink her. And sea cocks have been known to fail with time. You, dear reader, do have a wood plug to fill that hole, in case? Somewhere aboard?