TM 55-1905-223-SDC
Controlling Cracks.
e.
Caulking torn seams. Among the most difficult holes to plug are torn seams or loose bounding
boards where deck and bulkhead plates are joined. It is not advisable to weld leaky riveted seams because
the intense heat will cause adjacent rivets to leak. Rags, oakum, marline, soft wood wedges, shingles, lead
strips, lead wool, and various plastics have been used to plug such leaks, and even metal caulking. These
materials are applied on the unflooded side, but because the plates work, the cracks open and close. This
usually permits the plugging materials to be washed out.
f.
Doors and hatches sprung by blast. Doors and hatches often are sprung by blast, especially if
they were not properly secured. Often the closure can be made tight with shoring. If small spaces are open
between the closure and the knife edge, these can be treated as cracks. In some cases, the damage is so
bad that it is better to remove the closure entirely and to replace it with a mattress backed by a shored plate.
g.
Leaky stuffing tubes and shaft glands. Stuffing tubes around electric cables and reach rods
frequently leak, either because they were not properly packed or because the packing has hardened with age.
Sometimes it will suffice to tighten up on the packing nut. Marline, oakum, and very small wedges have been
used effectively. Action must be taken to insure that they are properly packed at all times and checked with
periodic air tests.
Leaky shaft glands have been repaired by tightening up on the nuts. In others, the studs have been broken
so it was necessary to shore the whole gland back in place, preferably with welded braces. In one case, the
leak was so bad that the repair team made a type of a box patch in two sections, secured it around the shaft,
and welded it over the gland. In effect, the ship's repair team made a new gland.
Section V.
STRENGTHENING BEAMS AND FRAMES
8-11. METHODS. Beams, frames, and decks, and some bulkheads are strength members of the hull
structure and if they break or become weakened, the hull may collapse and the ship break in two and sink. A
small ship may not have