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Sailing from Berkeley to Hawaii in a 19ft Sailboat

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143 points protonbob | 1 comments | 02 Apr 25 15:52 UTC | HN request time: 0.192s | source
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rkhassen9 ◴[02 Apr 25 20:39 UTC] No.43561262[source]▶
"Generally I relied on canned goods to supply the bulk of my meals. Each can was protected in double Ziplock bags to prevent rusting. Pinhole leaks in cans caused by rust and corrosion can be lethal to the unsuspecting mariner."

Is a pinhole leak on a can really that dangerous on a 24 day trip. I get ocean air...but wow. That is something I would have underestimated for sure.

wondering if someone in the know can weigh in? is this over cautious or like yeah, good idea?

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aaronbaugher ◴[02 Apr 25 20:47 UTC] No.43561360[source]▶
I can't think of a reason it'd be any more dangerous than if the same food was sitting on your counter for the same time period. But some people won't eat cold pizza that sat out overnight either.

When we can food, sometimes there's a jar that doesn't seal. We just put it in the fridge and use it in the next few days. It'll keep at least as long as if it hadn't been canned.

Having said all that: if I went to open a can of food and saw that it had a leak, I wouldn't eat it, because how could I be sure that it wasn't leaking when I packed it 24 hours ago? A visible leak now might have been too small to see then, so who knows how long it's really been leaking.

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1. cma ◴[02 Apr 25 21:23 UTC] No.43561789[source]▶
Rust develops much faster on a boat at sea. A breach from rust can affect a can with enough botulism toxin to have bad effects within 3-4 days. Most cans probably have a plastic liner though but I'm not sure how much of a safeguard it is.