This is not strictly related to cat sailing, but it is related to boats and water safety. Here is an interesting engineering problem. I don't claim to know the answer, but it might be interesting to see what some people with more knowledge of hydrostatics and materials science than I, would have to say.

The question is: If they had enough duct tape on the Titanic, could they have saved the ship?

Experts believe that the Titanic's wound was comprised of dozens or hundreds of small holes in a line about 25 feet below the water level. It is thought that the total area of these holes was about 12 ft^2. At this depth, the water would exert a pressure of (62 lbf/ft^3)*(25 ft) = 1550 lbf/ft^2 gauge. Would duct tape have enough tensile strength and stickiness to hold? Could mutiple layers of duct tape have overcome shortcomings in either?

D.Ho
TheMightyHobie18 1067

Hmm,no.
say about 100 holes all 4 1/2" dia. Duct tape on barnacles just wouldn't do. Even plywood would be impractical. A diver would be prone to getting sucked up against a hole and held against the barnacles by about 200 lb force, and given a haemoraging hicky of death.
I'd go for pumping hot wax in the viscinity of the hole, into the cold water. Heavy fuel oil might do,if it was cold enough, or was it a coal fired ship? That exhausts my daily quota of silly ideas.
Now if it was a sailing ship, they would have keel hauled some canvas over the holed area, and been on their merry way.

I think he meant on the inside, not the outside.

And how many barnacles, after only a few days on the maiden voyage?

Duct tape, AS IF!

Plenty barnacles
Unless they dry sailed the Titanic. Hell of a tilt trailer.

Didn't they have bottom paint back then?

Canvas goes on the outside, held in place by the water pressure. Old sailor's trick is to use sails to plug holes in the hull by pulling them across the outside of the hull with a line strung underneath the hull.

Even if the Titanic had a peice of canvas big enough, it would be almost impossible to position over the 200+ foot long split rivet seam that is supposed to be the cause of her death.

Titanic was launched on 31 May 1911, sank on 15 April 1912, so she was in the water for nearly a year before her maiden voyage. Bottom paint has been around since ancient times - an Englishman received the first patent in 1625 for a mixture of iron, copper and cement. Titanic had a copper-based anti-fouling paint applied before her launch.

Even if there was little organic growth on the outside of the ship, it was hardly smooth. This was a riveted ship (over 3,000,000 used) and the hull plating overlapped to facilitate that. You can see it here

>>At this depth, the water would exert a pressure of (62 lbf/ft^3)*(25 ft) = 1550 lbf/ft^2 gauge.<<

So 1550 / 144 = 10.76 psi
From website below 45 ounces of adhesion per 1 inch width equals 2.81 psi which is less than 10.76 psi.
From website below 45 ounces of adhesion for 2 inch width equals 5.62 pounds per lateral inch of tape which is less than 10.76 psi.
From website below 45 ounces of adhesion for 3 inch width equals 9.06 pounds per lateral inch of tape which is less than 10.76 psi.
If 45 ounces of adhesion per 1 inch width is the ultimate load capacity, there is no safety factor.

I have never been successful attaching duct tape to a wet surface.

http://www.duct-tape.com/

You forgot the 14.7 PSI for the Earth's atmosphere. FYI it's 14.7 at sea level + 14.7 for every 33' of water depth (give or take fractions, you mileage ma vary, yadda yadda... :-)

Boy, that explains it all!!! The Titanic Hulls were aparently at full vacuum! Tell us more AKITA. Was it to increase buoyancy? Nah, they'd just have pumped in foam, right? Differential pressure is assumed. psig not psia etc.

nope, it seems that the main reason the titanic broke apart and sunk was due to its fancy design. even though she was supposed to be 'unsinkable'.. apparently because of the extravagant dining and entertainment areas the main bulkheads didnt really go any further than 3 quarters of the way up the ship. so once those outer areas were inundated , the water was straight over the top into the rest of the ship. I was told this by a reputable boat designer so I dont have many doubts regarding its integrity.

I don't think anything I said merited your sarcastic, condescending as*hole response. And as long as we're on the subject Mr. f*cking Einstein, what exactly was in the holds in question? Are you sure it was 100% air? Never mind, if I wanted to have a conversation with an as*hole I'd just talk back to my farts.

Dear Akita
The problem is sometimes people who don't know, venture opinions as fact. The pressure question was not clarified by your adding the air pressure as if the other posters were in error, or forgot it, and it doubtlessly confused others following the thread. Hence my annoyance and sarcasm.
The pressure of air must be added and then subtracted again because it acts equaly on both sides of the hull (unless the hull is sealed somehow to exclude it i.e. vacumed)
Please reply civily, or on the other forum, or by all means, converse with your bath bubbles.