Procedure 01Emergency Action Guide

Flooding.

Consider the volume of water coming in and your ability to pump water out. Focus first on stopping the flooding, then on removing the water.

Indicators
!
Water inside the boat
!
Bilge alarm sounding
!
Bilge pumps cycling
Immediate Actions

Taste the water.

Taste the water in the boat — the answer tells you what kind of problem you have.

If — Salt
It's the sea.
  • Relieve pressure on the boat and rig by releasing sheets to slow down to steering speed.
  • Turn on the bilge pump and activate any emergency pumps.
  • Start the engine and keep it in neutral.
  • Consider changing course toward help or a safe beaching.
  • Establish a benchmark for the water level.
If — Fresh
No emergency.

Find the source in the fresh-water system and fix the problem.

Check & Act

Find the leak. Stop the water.

1

Check if cooling water is pulsating normally from the exhaust port.

If not pulsating
Suspect the engine raw/salt-water system. Check:
  1. Engine seacock
  2. Raw water filter
  3. Raw water impeller
  4. Raw water hoses
  5. Exhaust hoses
  6. Exhaust muffler
Identify the leak, stop the engine, close the engine seacock, and repair.
If pulsating
Close all seacocks except the engine raw/salt-water seacock.
2

Now watch the bilge against your benchmark.

If flooding persists
Inspect all remaining through-hull fittings:
  1. Bilge pump hoses
  2. Stuffing box
  3. Rudder shaft
  4. Tank fills and vents
  5. Keel bolts
  6. Transducers and sensors
  7. Bow thruster
  8. Generator raw water and exhaust
  9. Air-conditioning cooling water system
Repair as needed.
If flooding stops
Find which system was the source.
  1. Check if any toilet bowls are full — suspect the system.
  2. Identify the damaged system by opening and closing each seacock individually.
Repair as needed.
NoteIn extreme weather, also check on-deck fittings: chain plates, hull-to-deck joints, hatches, cockpit drains, hawse pipe, and anchor locker.
NoteUnless you were involved in a collision or sustained structural damage, continue systematically checking the systems connected to the sea — it will pay off.
3

If flooding continues:

a)
Transmit a Pan-Pan.
↗14Emergency Communications
b)
Maximize water-expelling efforts by managing crew resources to:
  • Use manual pumps
  • Bail
  • Close engine seacock and redirect engine raw water intake to pump from inside the boat
  • Use external pumps if available from other vessels
4

If water continues to rise:

a)
Transmit Mayday.
↗14Emergency Communications
b)
Prepare to Abandon Ship.
↗12Abandon Ship
Simulator

Run a flooding scenario.

Practice this procedure step-by-step against a ticking clock. Build the muscle memory before you need it.

Start simulator
Equipment · curated

Gear for this moment.

The equipment we'd want aboard if this alarm went off right now. Each piece earns its place against a specific step above.

Indicators · earliest warning
Wired bilge alarm

Hear the flood before you see it. A loud, wired alarm — not buzzer-quiet — buys you the minutes that taste-the-water buys you seconds.

View gear
Salt · Action 2
Portable submersible pump

When the primary bilge pump can't keep up — or fails. Carry one rigged with a long lead and battery clips, ready to deploy in 30 seconds.

View gear
Step 2 · through-hull failure
Soft-wood plug kit

Tapered plugs for every through-hull aboard, tied to its seacock with monofilament. Cheap, low-tech, and exactly what you'll wish you had.

View gear
Step 3(b) · bail
Marine bucket + lanyard

A 5-gallon bucket on a lanyard moves more water than most manual pumps. The procedure says “bail” — this is what bails.

View gear

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Sea story · related

From the moment.

Featured story

Flooded and abandoned off Cape Brett.

Took on water faster than her pumps could clear it; the crew sent a Mayday and stepped into the raft. Three of four survived.

Vessel
Sailing yacht Essence
47 ft
25 nm N-NE of Cape Brett, New Zealand
2019
From the fleet

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The Book

When you can't reach for a screen.

Procedure 01 · Flooding · page 12

One of 14 procedures in the SeaWise Emergency Action Guide. Waterproof, two-in-one, mounted within arm's reach of the helm — for the moment the screen is wet, dark, or beside the point.

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