Damage control is not just a political skill. It's really the naval discipline of responding to structural damage and/or flooding. Tug and towboat crews generally do little, if any, preparation for this type of emergency, but they should. Jumping into a life raft is seldom the best option.
Putting together a basic damage control kit isn't difficult or expensive. All it takes is a duffle bag or two containing soft-wood cones, various-sized wedges and blocks, large and small mallets for driving the wedges, a small handsaw, a roll each of canvas and rubber gasket material, oakum, marline, cotton rags, an assortment of hose clamps, wood screws, screwdrivers, a sharp hatchet, and a claw hammer with a variety of galvanized nails. If you can manage it, try to find a place to store some plywood, a few longer lengths of 2 x 4 and 4 x 4 lumber (for braces) for cutting to the exact size, and a plastic miter box.
Thru-hull fitting failures, especially due to corrosion, are a common cause of flooding. If a big one lets go (like for rudder posts, shafts or sea suctions) the pumps alone may not be enough to stave off flooding. One of the best things you can do is to have properly sized, pre-positioned wooden cones tethered with heavy-duty monofilament fishing leader at or very near the thru-hull fitting they're meant to plug. In such situations, you may not have time to go looking for them when the water is gushing in.
Effective damage control training should be more than simply talking about it around the galley table. A thorough walk-around inspection of the entire vessel, involving all hands, should be done and every possible point of water ingress noted. Then you can discuss the possible responses to it and formulate a basic plan you can utilize if the real thing occurs.
In an emergency it's the rest of the crew, not the captain, who'll be the primary responders, so you must train accordingly. Your odds of success improve considerably if everyone is capable of operating independently in an emergency. And remember to regularly test your pump and keep your bilges clean. A pump clogged with oily rags or other debris is useless.
