The purpose of this event is to evaluate the team’s ability to quickly mitigate damage to a vessel by properly patching a ruptured pipe. Two teams consisting of three members each will compete at the same time.

1. The teams will be provided a pipe patch trainer and a DC pipe patching kit. The DC pipe patching kit will consist of DC wedges, oakum, rubber, scissors, hammer, marlin (line), ripsaw and a one-inch chisel.

2. Each team will be graded in two areas:
   (a) The amount of time it takes to effectively patch the pipe.
   (b) The amount of water that accumulates in a 5-gallon bucket in a two minute time period after the pipe is patched.

3. (A) Patching the pipe: Each team will have a maximum of 30 minutes to patch the pipe to the best of their ability to minimize leakage. When a team is done patching the pipe, it will yell “DONE” and their clock will stop. At 30 minutes, any team not finished will be told to “STOP.” A team touching or patching the pipe after the 30 minute mark or after they have yelled “DONE” will be assessed a 5-minute penalty. The team with the least amount of time patching the pipe will receive 12 pts, the second lowest time 11 points, and so on from least time to most time.

4. (B) Water accumulation: When a Team Yells “DONE” or the Judge yells “STOP” a 5-gallon bucket will be placed under the teams pipe by the judge. Leakage will be measured by the amount of water accumulated in a five-gallon bucket in a two-minute time period. The team with the least amount of leakage into the 5-gallon bucket will receive 12 points, the second lowest amount 11 points, and so on from least water to most.

5. Final Score and Team Points: The Teams will be ranked by adding the two scores above for a maximum of 24 points. The Team with the highest score will receive 9 pts, the second highest 6 points, third highest 4 points and 2 points for 4th place.

6. Ties: In the event there is a tie in either of the two individual competitions or the final score, all tied teams will receive a score equal to the highest position of all tied individuals. (ie. Team A’s combined score is 20 pts and they would get 9 pts for 1st place, Team B receives 19 pts and gets 6 for 2nd place, Team C gets 6 points for third place, and Team 4 gets 2 points for fourth place).

SOFT PATCH:

Small holes or cracks in low-pressure (150 PSI) piping can often be repaired by applying a soft patch (fig. 7-23).

• When if is possible, reduce the area of the hole first by driving in softwood plugs and wedges as necessary.
• Do not drive the plugs and wedges in to far or else they will retard the flow of the fluids in the pipe.
• Once the plugs and wedges are in place, trim them off flush with the outside surface of the pipe.
• Cover the damaged area with a piece of rubber that will completely cover and extend about 2 inches past the damaged area on all sides.
• Use two tightly wound layers of marlin or wire to hold the rubber in place.
• Your can also use marlin and oakum as a caulking material in the cracks.
• The soft patch can withstand 150 PSI.
• For some types of damage, such as sharp bends in the piping, a soft patch will not be effective.