Going Through the Oil!

If you go swimming it will ruin your towels. Otherwise it just messes up the paint along the waterline.

I wouldn't run the watermakers while in a slick.

Should there be a concern regarding the raw water that goes to the heat exchangers. From there the water may go to systems like, gear coolers, shaft seals, and the exhaust. What are the chances of the thicker oil clogging these systems?

Isn´t it possible to go around the oil? I would never go near it...

We've had a warning from Volvo not to go through the oil.

If it gets sucked up into the cooling system, especially on Gas engines, Volvo warn that the warranty may not be valid on an overheat.

Just don't do it.

If you are running a displacement hull the water intakes are well below any oil. If the seas are rough enough that the intakes suck surface water then the oil is going to be broken up anyway. If you are running at planing speeds then avoid the oil or slow down when crossing a slick.

For the most part, the oil sheen on the surface is only a few molecules thick. The drifts of red mousse that you see on the news are usually long and narrow like tidal rifts, they are only a fraction of an inch thick and can be avoided entirely or passed through at 90 degrees at slow speed to avoid sucking up anything. Even that stuff is mostly water and is flushed through the heat exchangers pretty quickly.

There is a lot of hype about oil slicks and the warnings about voided warranties are a "heads I win, tails you lose" deal for the manufacturers, they see an oil moustache on the bow and they can claim immunity from everything. Don't forget that there is a great deal of water flushing through the coolers and very little oil available to foul the tubes or plates and even a tarball is washed off the hot surfaces pretty quickly.

Many of the Shrimp boats we see laying the oil booms may have a keel cooling system that is closed loop.

Would you want to run your outboard in that goop????

The jacket water of a heat exchanger cooled engine is a closed loop too. Not only that but the flow across the raw water side of a heat exchanger surface is many times faster than that of a keel cooler so it flushes contamination off much faster and more thoroughly.

Why not? The stuff isn't a foot thick. Many, if not most of the near shore boom boats are outboard powered.

Outboard motors performed very well in the thick cold crude of Prince William Sound, they will perform equally well in the thin light crude floating on the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Mike,
Several of the boatbuilders on the Gulf I have spoken to recommend staying away from it as much as you can. A surface sheen is one thing, but the oil clumps and slicks we have been seeing can be deep and I have seen on the news were some of it is like molasses, potentially clogging intakes and such. Also, you make think the oil is just another liquid that will pass through the raw water side, but it can gum up heatexchanges and coolers, coating internal surfaces that may impede proper cooling and transfer of heat. You certainly don't want to gum up a thermostat either. And don't even think about running a fresh water maker during the travels. That can be an expensive cleanup.
What type of vessel are you transporting? Can you run south of the spill, acroos the Gulf or do you need to run the coast?
If you run through it and get an oil brow, will that come out of the gelcoat or Awlgrip with soap or make a permanent stain or shadow?
Many unanswered questions, but I would stay away if possible.

On that boat you can probably add some bladdertanks if you like. Try to figure out how much extra fuel you would need to go south of the oil..?

Make sure the owner knows that there is a risk of staining the gelcoat if it is not hauled and cleaned as quickly as possible after arrival.

Put a good coat of wax along the waterline and higher on the stem to make cleaning easier after you arrive. At worst it will look like every boat on the BC coast where there is a lot of tannin in the water.

It looks like you will be running along the beach all the way so you will have good info on the location of mousse patches so will be able to avoid them. I wouldn't worry for one moment about the mechanicals. Carry the usual spare impeller and enjoy the trip.

42 foot trawler with 150 mile range seems a bit off, are you sure of the range?

Hi,

This one is shown as doing 300 nm:

http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/cHJteTAyfnBybXkwMQ==-BENETEAU_SWIFT_TRAWLER_42.html

If you go at a reduced sped you might be surprised how far you can extend the range. I am not sure if small Trawler that can knock on the door of 20kts is really a trawler.

Are you sure you are a yacht captain..?

Sounds like many of them.

Greetings,
Get out the Shell road map...
Peter

It's only a few centimeters on the map.

Going through the oil

If the boat appears to be in good shape I would run from Tampa to Apalachicola and then down the intracoastal to Houston. I think its about 320 mile from Ft. Myers to apalachicola so you should be within your range. The 400 mile range sounds more accurate than the 150 miles originally quoted.