overboard outboard.

Please use this area for off topic conversations and banter
User avatar
trebor
Posts: 961
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:53 pm
Location: West Midlands

overboard outboard.

Post by trebor »

Saturday 4th October,
New outboard and safety boat, just delivered purchased from boat show, taken out for gentle warm up and run-in, turning from side to side, out board fell off, gone, sunk.
No one at club had ever known an outboard fall off, anyone else?
I am just glad it was not me, how embarrasing.
Robert
Minisprint 4230
Tinker Traveller 160
Mirror 61147 Anastasia
http://www.aquabatdinghy.co.uk
Rupert
Posts: 6255
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:40 pm
Location: Cotswold Water Park

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Rupert »

Yes, it happened to me in 1985.

I'd just taken over driving the Aberystwyth Student sailing club rib, accellerated and the engine ripped up through the wood where the clamps were and went. Saw it floating for a few secs, then gone.

The new engine got bolted on.

Presumably in a lake you can get someone to go diving for it?
Rupert
Nessa
Posts: 2290
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 3:16 pm
Location: East Angular

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Nessa »

What type of safety boat is it?
The Peril
Agamemnon
Lovely little Cadet
OK 1954
Xena Warrior Princess
Finn 469
Laser 2
Wayfarer World
User avatar
PeterV
Posts: 1233
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:47 pm
Location: Locks Heath, Hampshire

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by PeterV »

Dropped one off the stern into Leigh creek many years ago. Collected it at low tide, flushed it with fresh water then restarted and run fine.
PeterV
Finn K197 & GBR564
Warsash
Obscured by clouds
Posts: 715
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:23 pm
Location: north Wales

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Obscured by clouds »

wished we had dropped the horrible outboard we had on our first safety boat [an ex RYA Tornado RIB no less] over the side. Cost the club a small fortune in repair bills. replaced it with a Honda 4 stroke which ran like a sewing machine and drank so little fuel that the admin officer queried the bill!
Tony



MR 2404 Julia Dream
N18 276 Sibrwd [ongoing project]
Hirondelle catamaran Kalipse
[down to 3!]
User avatar
trebor
Posts: 961
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:53 pm
Location: West Midlands

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by trebor »

They call the boat a Jaffa, it is a roto-moulded orange boat, I dont know much about it, its the same has the other 2 we already have.
The boat was set up by our new SI and Training principal, the driver admitted he may have got slightly over enthusiastic, the engine was a 20 hp, the others are 15hp, but the fastenings shouldnt need running in, the insurance claim will be a no/no I should think.
Their are divers already arranged, several of the open water swimmers, who are members of sailing club, dived in where engine is (they think) but were defeated by weeds, though how they expected to have time to attach a rope is another matter.
The engine hopefully if found, will be taken to our servicing agent.
Rupert, That is another issue, I suggested a connecting rope or chain, but was told it was not safe to have a running engine hanging off the back of the boat ( I suggested the snatch cord would stop engine anyway ), bolting the engine sounds a good idea.
Robert
Minisprint 4230
Tinker Traveller 160
Mirror 61147 Anastasia
http://www.aquabatdinghy.co.uk
Michael Brigg
Posts: 1663
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:11 pm
Location: Gosport, UK

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Michael Brigg »

This is such a common event that there is even a standard outboard engine servicing procedure for it. "De-Dunking."

The procedure is here:-
http://www.marineenginedigest.com/diy/o ... rboard.htm

You can pay a diver a small sum to go and get it out for you. You may even be able to invite a local sub aqua club (or firemen/local police) to come and practice the rescue/search procedure.

I hope you took sightings of where you were when it happened. The method is to go out to where you were and drop a big anchor with a rope attached. Hold on to the rope and swim/sweep the bottom all the way round at 1 foot. Repeat this at 2ft, 3ft 4ft until you have removed all of the old shopping trolleys and somewhere amongst them you will find your motor.

If you cant do the job yourself, stick it in a tub full of fresh water to rinse out as much of the grit as you can, then take it to your outboard dealer, 9or a decent mechanic) who will "de dunk it for you for @ £50-100.00 (I hope/presume you are insured?) Never mind if not, this is probably not much more than the excess on your insurance anyway. Whatever, it is certainly less than the cost of another brand new engine! (even a small one.)

I wont say it but if you are then hopefully you can get a new one and not have to worry about reconditioning the old one. They might of course insist you try and find the old one.

This happened once to my brothers and I as we motored in an old dory down to Itchenor sailing club in the middle of the stongly tidal reach, at high tide. (@30ft of water!) A chap on a boat nearby saw it happen and took sightings which gave us a fix. Dad needed the engine at the Week end ((it was Tuesday. Terrified, we spilled the beans to our mum who saved the day with a cash handout. A diver was sent down (he charged £20) and the engine was found miraculously after @ 10minutes. and delivered with due urgency to the mechanic. It started without a hitch on Saturday and Dad never heard about it until my brothers 21st party speech of thanks for free taxi rides etc to parents.

The relevant sentence there is "This happened once...to my brothers and I..." One thing is certain:- You will never forget to attach the wire "safety lanyard " again :lol:

This fitting is not to deter thieves! Image

I dont believe its unsafe...If you make it long enough the water will stop the engine far quicker than you will and you will still be able to pull it back on board again. Anyway, all you would have to do is give a yank on your safety kill cord!
Last edited by Michael Brigg on Mon Oct 06, 2014 9:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Michael Brigg
Michael Brigg
Posts: 1663
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:11 pm
Location: Gosport, UK

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Michael Brigg »

trebor wrote:They call the boat a Jaffa, it is a roto-moulded orange boat, I dont know much about it, its the same has the other 2 we already have....


...bolting the engine sounds a good idea.
I think here is your problem.

Roto moulded plastic is slippery as ice with a bit of oil on it, and under stress it is malleable. Impossible to get a decent grip on it.

Bolting it is the only real solution, and makes it far harder to steal. ('tis after all approaching the boat jumble season) though I have heard a determined thief will simply take a chain saw to your transom in such cases!
Michael Brigg
Rupert
Posts: 6255
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:40 pm
Location: Cotswold Water Park

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Rupert »

The one from my experience spawned a new phrase still used by that generation of ex Aber student to this day "An adequate bowline" - that was the knot someone had tied, so it now means any knot which has conspicuously failed in its task.

There was no chance of finding it a mile or more out into Cardigan bay...
Rupert
Pat
Posts: 2555
Joined: Mon Sep 27, 2004 1:42 pm
Location: West Wiltshire (Wessex)

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Pat »

Those "Jaffa orange" things are awkward to manoeuvre having too much windage above water and too little below and difficult to get into when you are in the water - we've got one at Shearwater. A rope ladder or rope with foot loops in is a good accessory to have on board, otherwise turn off the engine and use it as a step.

As for engine thieves, they just torch everything these days and cause havoc. Happened both at Shearwater and West Wilts where they lost club boat sails and spars too in the blaze, apart from the general structural damage.
(Half Cut and What a Lark Removals Ltd)
Nessa
Posts: 2290
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 3:16 pm
Location: East Angular

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Nessa »

Hmm, we bought a new Jaffa last year with a 20hp Yamaha. It had to have more much attention than you would expect before it was possible to put it into general use. The steering was much less stiff on one side than the other, meaning it had a tendency to want to turn to one side quite sharply. Make of that what you will.

On our own boat the engine isn't bolted on, but it does have a good safety line in case of disaster.
The Peril
Agamemnon
Lovely little Cadet
OK 1954
Xena Warrior Princess
Finn 469
Laser 2
Wayfarer World
Nessa
Posts: 2290
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 3:16 pm
Location: East Angular

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Nessa »

Just to put my rya hat on for a second, if you're even remotely close to people in the water then the engine should be completely off as a matter of course.
The Peril
Agamemnon
Lovely little Cadet
OK 1954
Xena Warrior Princess
Finn 469
Laser 2
Wayfarer World
Rupert
Posts: 6255
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:40 pm
Location: Cotswold Water Park

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by Rupert »

Nessa wrote:Just to put my rya hat on for a second, if you're even remotely close to people in the water then the engine should be completely off as a matter of course.
Preferably "off" in the sense of "swiched off" than "off the back of the boat", though!
Rupert
User avatar
trebor
Posts: 961
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:53 pm
Location: West Midlands

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by trebor »

due to size of club building the safety boats are stored indoors, they go for masts in boat park, though not for a few years, since rangers fitted cameras on club to deter doggers in the public carpark next to club.
The boat was not being used for safety, just running in, so no safety issues.
Robert
Minisprint 4230
Tinker Traveller 160
Mirror 61147 Anastasia
http://www.aquabatdinghy.co.uk
User avatar
jpa_wfsc
Posts: 1188
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:52 pm
Location: Oxford (Work) Coteswold Water Park (Sailing)

Re: overboard outboard.

Post by jpa_wfsc »

I would not be happy driving evan a 15HP without the engine being bolted on... you just can not afford to be out of control due to engine movement when you are doing a safety service..

A common tip now is to paint the engine cowls in lurid colour schemes. Makes the engines much less attractive as this destroys the resale value. To be effective you must sand off the original paint !
j./

National 12 "Spider" 2523
Finn K468 'Captain Scarlet'

British Moth, 630, early 60's 'Pisces'

!!!! Not CVRDA !!!!
Comet Trio - something always ready to sail.
Post Reply