Need advice on welding thicker metals

[Downunder Bob]

No job is fun under pressure and bad weather conditions, i was in freshwater and can't remember if i used 6013 or 7018 electrodes, but managed to hummer out the deep gash on the hole shut and weld it at the last moments as one engine was already underwalter the other was half way the engine block it was one of those moment do you bail or keep working and save the boat.

No job is fun under pressure and bad weather conditions, i was in freshwater and can't remember if i used 6013 or 7018 electrodes, but managed to hummer out the deep gash on the hole shut and weld it at the last moments as one engine was already underwalter the other was half way the engine block it was one of those moment do you bail or keep working and save the boat.

You did well, you save the boat. Like you, I can't remember what rods I was using, and I wasn't quite saving the ship, although it did prevent further damage.

A Marine Engineer will always do his best to save the ship. History records the Titanic went down with all lights on and all pumps going, not one engineer got out. to this day, by royal decree, all British commonwealth marine engineers wear royal purple alongside their gold bars on their rank insignia.

 

[GoceKU]

A Marine Engineer will always do his best to save the ship.

I'm no marine engineer and that was my 5th time on a friends boat in my life, we ware doing repairs. And when the storm roll in we took the boat in deeper water to stop it getting crashed again the harbor, the inexperienced captain on the other boat, the one i saved left the harbor too late and bottomed out the boat and opened a gash in the engine room. When we heard the mayday we aproced it with in minutes and could see he was half way sank. I full of adrenaline jump over, couple of the crow members were trying to put t shirts in the hole and in all the panic i've seen a hummer on the floor grabbed it and started hammering the metal shut. Next thing i remember i heard one engine die, looked around there was no one around and was thinking do i get out or try to weld this. Then i seen the lead from the welder and box of electrodes in the water, grab it and started laying welds, hummering welding when i stop the leak and got out i was the only one on the boat, the captain and crew abandoned ship and were circling me when i shouted leak is fixed in macedonian, my friend pulled parallel and the captain come back over and had to jump because the boat was so low in the water. I stayed till the storm pass which was quick and pulled in to port, and sayed goodbye. Next day we heard the captain was arrested by coast guard for endangering the craw, and not sure what happened from there on, noone ask for a statement or nothing else.

 

[Downunder Bob]

You could have claims salvage rights, they had all abandoned ship you were the only one left and you saved it. Not sure how it works in inland waters, may vary in different countries, but at sea if the crew abandons ship anyone who salvages it can claim salvage rights, generally about half the value of the vessel and its cargo, but can rise to the full value. Did you have previous experience at underwater welding. or salvage work.

 

[GoceKU]

Did you have previous experience at underwater welding. or salvage work.

Here in Macedonia we have only couple of lakes and no exit to sea, so boats are not popular in fact that was only my fifth time on the water and i've been maybe 3 time more sense than. I've never done any salvage work but when my instincts kick in i was doing what come naturally to me, the gash was more to the side probably caused by the harbor so it was partly under water by the end. Here waterways were not really regulated that much until about a year or two pass that when a tourist ship turn over and there were couple fatalities. I don't care about salvage rights, in fact i didn't even go a thank you from the captain, couple of the crew members thanked me, even one recognizes me last year and bought me a drink, and said that the boat changed hand couple of times since then but my repair still holds.

 

[Downunder Bob]

A sterling effort, all the more so for someone not qualified. Do you realise that you could have claimed salvage rights on the vessel. At least in the open sea you could have I'm not sure about the law on inland waters, and some countries will vary, but at sea if the crew has abandoned ship whoever saves the vessel has full salvage rights, and that means you can claim anything from 50% to 100% of the value of the vessel and its cargo. You may recall that all pictures of the Titanic show it going down with all lights on. The Engineers, to a man, stayed with it to the end and kept the pumps going and the lights on. As a result, to this day, all British commonwealth Marine Engineers proudly wear a royal purple strip alongside their gold badges of rank. It's not just the captain who goes down with the ship.