Sailing into boiling water

[Dannyalcatraz]

If it was a rolling boil, it would also be possible for the water to unable to support the ship anymore and it would sink. There have been cases of gas released from the ocean floor lowering the density of the water to the point that a ship will swamp.

painandgreed beat me to it. I've seen some physics demos that show that effect- the boiling water is so much less dense than the normal water that the ship sinks rapidly due to lost bouyancy.

BTW, you get similar effects sailing/swimming across a boundary of fresh and salt water.

 

[Edgewood]

painandgreed beat me to it. I've seen some physics demos that show that effect- the boiling water is so much less dense than the normal water that the ship sinks rapidly due to lost bouyancy.

BTW, you get similar effects sailing/swimming across a boundary of fresh and salt water.

No kidding on this one. I saw a video of an oil rig sink within 6-10 minutes over an area of low density water due to rising gases. Scary stuff. It's believed that this is what has been happening in the Bermuda Triangle (but that's a story for another thread....carry on.).

 

[Baron Opal]

The barnacles would die.

The crew would suffocate next because the air would be so hot and humid they wouldn't be able to shed their body heat.

The pitch sealing the seams would soften and perhaps begin to allow water through.

Hot water would seep into the wood itself. As it swelled it would warp, although the ship would probably sink from leakage before the beams twisted off of the ribs.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

But how much pitch was actually used? Caulking was hemp, or the like. Although given everything else I doubt that the pitch melting would be all much of a problem anyway. They're all gonners unless the ship can be gotten out of the area almost immediately.

 

[Eltharon]

If the pitch melts, water will start to seep in the cracks. Though it probably wont be fast enough that its the worst of the crews worries. The ship sinking immediately because of the lack of water density might be high on the list, though, as is death by heatstroke.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

At this point, I have to ask, is this trip really necessary?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

This is sounding worse than the journeys of the Minnow, the Argos, or the Sloop John B...

 

[Noliar]

I think there'd also be a suffocation problem - the amount of water vapour you'd get off a boiling sea would displace the breathable air.

The best bet for surviving would be to nearly empty the ship to lighten it and trap as much air inside as possible and stay below decks while a zombie skeleton crew battens down the hatches and sails the ship. Difficult sailing conditions for zombies tho. And it would still get HOT.

 

[Frostmarrow]

I think there'd also be a suffocation problem - the amount of water vapour you'd get off a boiling sea would displace the breathable air.

The best bet for surviving would be to nearly empty the ship to lighten it and trap as much air inside as possible and stay below decks while a zombie skeleton crew battens down the hatches and sails the ship. Difficult sailing conditions for zombies tho. And it would still get HOT.

Wouldn't the rotting skin peel off of the zombies bones as they manage the ship? Before you know you've got a skeleton crew!

 

[Rvdvelden]

No crew with a shred of sanity in them would willfully enter a white wall of steam. They'd stay as far away as possible from it. Navigating in such a place could only be done by compass, and you'd never know if you would hit something until it's too late. Sailing through a boiling sea is just plain wrong, imho.