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Passagemaker holed by a barracuda
My wife and I built a Passagemaker dinghy in 2012 from a CLC kit in our garage in Kaneohe HI. We sailed it ocassionally for a year or so and then it fell into disuse due to lack of good access to the water. Last year, two friends with great water access adopted the boat and we've been happy to see it being actively used. In December they decorated the boat with lights and joined in a holiday boat parade. On the way home after the parade there was a loud crash and the boat was holed above the waterline by a barracuda that was apparently attracted to the lights. I've attached links to a few photos.
Any recommendations on how best to repair this? The hole is 3.5" in diameter and bridges the upper two panels below the forward oarlock. I have some ideas but would be interested in what other builders think.
Thanks in advance,
Scott
https://www.dropbox.com/s/woj0pshp369slfw/IMG_6214.JPEG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j3uk28npq9xi8xl/IMG_6222.JPEG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bpd2860ii1ei2s8/IMG_4514.jpeg?dl=0
3 replies:
RE: Passagemaker holed by a barracuda
Wow--but it looks eminently repairable following the above advice.
Did the barracuda make all the way through the hole and into the boat? If so, did it flop itself back out again or have to be manually tossed overboard?
RE: Passagemaker holed by a barracuda
Too long a story to go into details. Standing on the stern of my cruising sail boat, trolling with a hand line, I hooked a 'cuda. It came at the boat, jumped up about 3 feet and bit my foot. It happened so fast my mind couldn't keep up with it. They are so amazingly fast,, but can't imagine going through plywood like that. Guess he had a sore snout for a few days, unless he became dinner.
RE: Passagemaker holed by a barracuda
» Submitted by Gramps - Fri, 1/14/22 » 6:21 PM
Looks like you need to square, taper and smooth out the hole so you can cut "dutchmen" (patches to fit in) and fiberglass over the whole business after fairing it all out with thickened epoxy. If you're really good, really careful, and more than a little lucky, you might not have to paint instead of varnish.
Dang barracuda must have been movin' pretty fast!
Note to self: no rigging of Christmas lights when sailing your PMD at night in barracuda infested waters. Yikes!
.....Michael