Another Heads Up!
Another Heads Up!
The "2 minutes too late" thread inspired me to post about something similar that I did. Me and a friend were at Catalina. He was snorkeling and spearfishing and I was kind of motoring around near him and turning motor off for a little while and drifting then I would fire motor back up to get back into position then drift some more. Soon I was ready to fire up the motor again to reposition the boat and it turned over and over and no go! I was drifting toward a rocky shore and totally panicking as I tried to start motor. I then went to throw out anchor to keep me from drifting into shore and it was not ready to go. It was buried beneath all our fresh water and spearfishing gear and I was totally panicking at this point. I was about as freaked out as I have ever been! To shorten story. I got the anchor out and the boat stopped in time. What was the problem with the motor? I am embarrassed to say that I had knocked the safety lanyard out of the motor control unit. Total newbie screwup! Flipped the safety switch on and boat fired right up. What did I learn? Have anchor readily accessible. Be more familiar with all the operations of the boat! Think about where you are as you start and stop the motor. (Dead battery could have given me a similar scare) Everything turned out fine but it was one of the biggest scares of my life!
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Starscream
- Admiral
- Posts: 1567
- Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:08 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Montreal, Quebec. 2002 26X - Suzi DF90A
Re: Another Heads Up!
We've all done that! (or will do that sometime in the future) And the one where you leave the motor in gear instead of neutral when you shut it off, and then the motor won't start up again. And the one where you close the fuel tank vent for some reason and forget to open it, then the motor dies after running fine for a few minutes. And the one where you turn off the battery selector for some reason and forget about having done that.
Panic is the killer.
But you got the anchor out in time, even with the rocks looming, so good job there! I bet that was a great feeling, when the anchor dug in and the nose of the boat swung towards it, safe!
Panic is the killer.
But you got the anchor out in time, even with the rocks looming, so good job there! I bet that was a great feeling, when the anchor dug in and the nose of the boat swung towards it, safe!
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BOAT
- Admiral
- Posts: 4969
- Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:12 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Oceanside, CA MACMJ213 2013 ETEC60
Re: Another Heads Up!
I don't have a lot of experience with big motors with keys and gear shifters and steering wheels and that powerboat blah blah crap - all the sailboats I sailed before the MAC had a little outboard on the back that your started by pulling a rope and there was a handle on the side of the motor for 'forward' or 'reverse' and the throttle was always this twisty grip thing on this short tiller that stuck out of the motor (that I rarely used) because I preferred to use the rudder on the sailboat over the tiller on the outboard. For the most part the motor was just something you used to put your foot on.
Suffice it to say that I never got to be one of those people that became overly dependent on outboard motors - they were just items I used to get into a slip or drive onto the trailer for the most part.
So one day on the MAC I am slowly motoring out thru the Oceanside Marina channel that leads to the ocean and this channel is lined on both sides with huge big boulder rocks like most any other marina jetty and about 100 feet away from the jetty I accidentally bang the ignition key on the pedestal with my elbow and the motor stops . . . .
The silence was so deafening it actually startled my wife who turned to glare at me thinking I was playing a joke on her.
"Ooops!" I say to the wife who looks annoyed and I turn the key back on to start the motor.
No Go - motor won't start.
I turn the key over and over but nothing happens.
So as we are drifting towards the rock the wife is starting to panic - but for me, I am more puzzled by the funny contraption on the back of the boat than I am about the rocks - seriously - my mind was contemplating things like "well is this going to mean an expensive motor repair?" or "do I tow the boat to the motor shop to get the OB fixed?" Not having any experience with large outboards I was more concerned that I had seized the motor or broke something expensive so that I never noticed my wife starting to go into full panic mode to the edge of shock as we drifted so close to the rocks - I myself used to tack back and forth to get out of the Los Alamitos jetty all the time because my first boat had NO MOTOR AT ALL so I was accustomed to waiting until I could actually hear the water lapping up onto the rocks before I got worried and began my turns. I forgot that my wife had no such experience and I realized she was going into a panic. I looked up and saw that we were about 30 feet from the rocks and drifting closer.
Whoop - de - do - I walked up to the furling line on the Genoa and let out a little Genoa and the boat turned away from the rocks and I gently sailed it right over to the the fuel dock on the other side of the harbor using the head-sail - something I have done on other boats a hundred times before.
The man on the fuel dock watched me pull up - I furled the genoa in fully about 20 feet from the dock and drifted in the rest of the way. i jumped over the side onto the dock with an aft line and the man grabbed the forward dock line and we tied up. Still all I can think about is my sick outboard - this expensive new toy I did not understand and I tell the the man at the fuel dock (who pumps the gas) that I turn the key and nothing happens and he says:
"Is it in neutral??"
And feeling like the stupidest guy in the world I reach over and put the 'gear shifter' in neutral and start the motor and we proceed back out of the harbor.
(DOH!)
Suffice it to say that I never got to be one of those people that became overly dependent on outboard motors - they were just items I used to get into a slip or drive onto the trailer for the most part.
So one day on the MAC I am slowly motoring out thru the Oceanside Marina channel that leads to the ocean and this channel is lined on both sides with huge big boulder rocks like most any other marina jetty and about 100 feet away from the jetty I accidentally bang the ignition key on the pedestal with my elbow and the motor stops . . . .
The silence was so deafening it actually startled my wife who turned to glare at me thinking I was playing a joke on her.
"Ooops!" I say to the wife who looks annoyed and I turn the key back on to start the motor.
No Go - motor won't start.
I turn the key over and over but nothing happens.
So as we are drifting towards the rock the wife is starting to panic - but for me, I am more puzzled by the funny contraption on the back of the boat than I am about the rocks - seriously - my mind was contemplating things like "well is this going to mean an expensive motor repair?" or "do I tow the boat to the motor shop to get the OB fixed?" Not having any experience with large outboards I was more concerned that I had seized the motor or broke something expensive so that I never noticed my wife starting to go into full panic mode to the edge of shock as we drifted so close to the rocks - I myself used to tack back and forth to get out of the Los Alamitos jetty all the time because my first boat had NO MOTOR AT ALL so I was accustomed to waiting until I could actually hear the water lapping up onto the rocks before I got worried and began my turns. I forgot that my wife had no such experience and I realized she was going into a panic. I looked up and saw that we were about 30 feet from the rocks and drifting closer.
Whoop - de - do - I walked up to the furling line on the Genoa and let out a little Genoa and the boat turned away from the rocks and I gently sailed it right over to the the fuel dock on the other side of the harbor using the head-sail - something I have done on other boats a hundred times before.
The man on the fuel dock watched me pull up - I furled the genoa in fully about 20 feet from the dock and drifted in the rest of the way. i jumped over the side onto the dock with an aft line and the man grabbed the forward dock line and we tied up. Still all I can think about is my sick outboard - this expensive new toy I did not understand and I tell the the man at the fuel dock (who pumps the gas) that I turn the key and nothing happens and he says:
"Is it in neutral??"
And feeling like the stupidest guy in the world I reach over and put the 'gear shifter' in neutral and start the motor and we proceed back out of the harbor.
(DOH!)
Re: Another Heads Up!
Boat, That is a sweet pic of the rock jetty at sunset! I'm into photography as a hobby too. I don't have enough experience or confidence to sail her into the marina. If my motor is out I'm calling the tow truck!
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BOAT
- Admiral
- Posts: 4969
- Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:12 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Oceanside, CA MACMJ213 2013 ETEC60
Re: Another Heads Up!
On the weekdays we locals like to sail back and forth just to see who has the guts to go the fastest - there is this guy in a 22 foot boat that sails through that tiny marina at 11 knots! The guy is crazy but he has never crashed or barged a boat. He is a real pro. We sail from the Jolly Roger to the Fish Broiler and back again. Only the guy in the 22 has the guts to sail to the lighthouse because the channel in there is only about 40 feet wide.A-1 Boss wrote:Boat, That is a sweet pic of the rock jetty at sunset! I'm into photography as a hobby too. I don't have enough experience or confidence to sail her into the marina. If my motor is out I'm calling the tow truck!
I can't take picture like that - the guy with the camera is Larry Marshal - he is a pro. http://fineartamerica.com/featured/ocea ... shall.html
I used his picture to demonstrate how quiet it is when the motor is off. Dawn and dusk has very little traffic in the winter.
