Lets talk about being STUPID again

[trihartsfield]

I had a 21 foot runabout I loaded onto the easy load trailer (rollers) and had one friend at the winch and one in the truck. Neither were very proficient at boating. Once the boat was on the trailer I told the driver to go, without checking the winch. Lo and behold as the truck drove away but boat didn't. I was lucky to scream at the driver to get him to stop just in time to keep the boat from planting itself onto the concrete ramp.

Should have checked the winch myself to make sure it was locked in place.

 

[High Wire]

The first time I changed the CAV duplex secondary fuel filter cartridges on Irish Lady, I put the top o-ring gasket inside the edge of the cartridges instead of in the casting groove. After bleeding the engine would run 5-30 seconds and then die. Repeat and same result. Again and again. Must be the fuel pump. Pump ordered but a week away. Ok. Bought an electric fuel pump and everything to connect it. Still no go. New mechanical pump arrived and installed. Nope. Finally decided to pull the new secondary filters off when the light bulb went on. The top gasket was blocking off the flowpath. Put it in correctly, bled it and the engine started right up. At least being stuck in Ft Myers City Marina is a nice place.

 

[socalrider]

The first time I changed the CAV duplex secondary fuel filter cartridges on Irish Lady, I put the top o-ring gasket inside the edge of the cartridges instead of in the casting groove. After bleeding the engine would run 5-30 seconds and then die. Repeat and same result. Again and again. Must be the fuel pump. Pump ordered but a week away. Ok. Bought an electric fuel pump and everything to connect it. Still no go. New mechanical pump arrived and installed. Nope. Finally decided to pull the new secondary filters off when the light bulb went on. The top gasket was blocking off the flowpath. Put it in correctly, bled it and the engine started right up. At least being stuck in Ft Myers City Marina is a nice place.

Oh man I just did that, but luckily figured it out when I tried to bleed the filter housing and nothing flowed out!

The o-ring sizes provided include one that fits *exactly* inside the cartridge, blocking flow, and another that's maybe 1/8" larger diameter that fits over the top ridge. I'd like to have a discussion with whatever engineer came up with that standard...

Anyone converted their CAV secondaries to the spin-on filters the civilized world uses?https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/reputation.php?p=1012405

 

[Slowboattochina]

We had hydraulic steering repaired on our single engine full keeled 46' motorsailer. I confidently and dumbly pulled out of our slip on a windy day and found.....not no steering but VERY slow response and about a 20 second delay! Oversteering like crazy we made it out of the marina but looked very drunk as I struggled to not hit Shelter Island on one side or Greenport on the other. Finally managed to drive it back to the marina using the bow thruster. The autopilot could not control it either. The marina staff came out and side towed us back into our slip....A guy on the dock said "How did the boat work other than the steering?" I said that's like asking "Other than that Mrs. Lincoln how did you like the play?"

 

[ismar1]

On my previous boat, it had both a fuel gauge and a glass sighting tube. Back than the new to me boat was reading 3/4 to 1/2 full fuel approx. After using the boat a couple of times the reading on the gauge started getting below 1/4, after 2 more short trips it was on reserve. Decided to check the glass tube, which was quite awkward to get to, and it was still above 1/2 full. Stupid me, I thought since the glass tube is directly connected to the tank there wasn`t anything that could go wrong and it was correct while the gauge was faulty. Was really happy believing how economical the boat was. Went out for another time but on return at about 4nm away from my marina, one engine stopped. Stupid again never thought anything about the fuel but faulted the engine. Kept on going on one engine at idle speed, somehow managed the remaining 4nm, but at the entrance of a very busy port the second engine stopped. Finally it got to me that it was a fuel issue. Blocking the port entrance wasn`t very pleasant but luckily a small fishing boat came to my rescue and towed me to the marina. The following day when I went to check the sighting glass tube I realised that hidden behind some piping there was a valve which you need to open in order to see the actual fuel level, once it is closed again it keeps the level as it is than. I do smile now when I remember but I surely was not amused than especially when stuck at the port entrance.

 

[GoneFarrell]

OK, one more...

My ding, a 10 foot Caribe, lives on swing up davits on the swim platform.

Last year, leaving the dock, got kinda close easing off the dock. I have thrusters both ends, so no excuse for close. Took some effort, but cleared the dock.

Later, down the channel, I find the lower tube of the swung-up ding totally deflated. What the hell!?

Turns out I snagged the end of the tube on the dock cleat, that cast steel protuberance bolted to the dock. Score: cleat 1, tube 0.

Well not really zero. Half a boat buck later, ding is all good!

 

[Sabre602]

New to us boat, first motor vessel after a life on sailboats, still getting used to a boat that's all windage and no keel, the opposite of my life's experience. Moored portside to the finger pier, nervous and excited to have my daughter and the in-laws aboard for the first time. Went through my little mental departure checklist: check fluid levels, disconnect shore power, fire up the diesel and watch it run a bit. While it's warming up bring in the spring line. Station my wife at the stern line and my daughter at the bowline.

OK, guys, cast off! No reverse...WTF? Give her more revs...we're not going anywhere. Damn! Transmission problem? Give her forward...nope, that works fine...back into reverse...it seems like it wants to back but really just sits there. Damn...WTF?

I'm totally distracted, aware of everyone staring at me in silence, and my mind is blank. That transmission is in wonderful condition! What the heck is going on? My magical thinking engages and tells me that the solution is simply to put her in reverse and really give her the revs. So I do. Belches of smoke, boiling prop wash, and we swing to starboard and crash our starboard quarter into the neighboring finger pier. Happily, my slip neighbor was out. I am COMPLETELY confused. I throw a line around the cleat on the neighbor's dock and step off, scratching my head...

...and notice the STARBOARD bow line securely tied off to the main dock.

We departed the harbor in silence, my face burning crimson with embarrassment.

 

[janice142]

Replaced the oil heat exchanger hose as it was weeping. This is starboard engine starboard side which requires an upside down contortionist performance.
Start up and good pressure, shut down and go inspect for any issue.
Not sure who forgot to tighten one end of new hose as I checked and confirmed my end.

I learned that is a fast way to change oil having put a gallon into the tray below. No harm done, cleanup, tighten, test and add oil.

Just a suggestion, you may already have a better solution: at the Dollar Tree they sell toy syringes. Those are ideal at removing oil from under the engine or in cramped spaces.

There are two sizes. These are the bigger/longer of the two.

The smaller is the same diameter and shorter.

These are sold as water toys. Mine will also sometimes blast out a recalcitrant supper drain, empty the last bit of water from a bilge, and shoot water quite a distance if someone annoys you. Not that *I* have ever done that. Grandchildren love them too.

 

[Nancy and Bud]

Confession is good for the soul.

I bought a Seaward 25 sailboat that had deck compression issues. The V Berth bulkheads were supposed to carry the load to the hull but needed reinforcement at the cabin top end. Made some nice pieces out of teak and then went to epoxy them in place. March, cool weather. Mixed up epoxy and filler. Got both of them fastened in place. Excess was in a plastic dish made from plastic coated foam. Left it in the boat along with all the other trash I had laying in the bilge. Epoxy kicked, too thick to flow out, exothermic, looked out window and the boat was on fire.

After the fact, I heard from my sailing friends on how the started grass fires when the pitched the extra epoxy outside the boat and walked away.

Don't even ask why I now own a SawStop table saw.

 

[hollywood8118]

HA, That's nothing..its an inflatable it barely settles. I once launched a 25 ' vdrive daycruiser at Havasu on a Saturday morning in July ( boatloads of folks in view) and about 5 minutes later my feet were getting wet about the same time the alternator started spraying water. Grabbed the plug and dove over the side. Small bilge pump took over a hour to pump out the water.
Surfaced to applause from the nearby boats.
Hollywood

 

[Zetec7]

I have a Cooper Yachts Prowler 28' with a Volvo Penta TAMD-41B turbo diesel & 290DP leg. I had just done a bunch of work on her, put her back in the water, and went out for a short test run. She ran great!! Except that when I got the revs up a bit, the temp shot up, steam out of the engine house, alarms going all over. Nursed her back to the slip, temperature cooling to normal. Got the revs back up a bit (1500 RPM), and the temp shot back up again.

Had her hauled out, and started tearing apart the entire cooling system (very complex in this engine!!), one piece at a time, and took them home for cleaning & rebuilding, returning each piece to try it again (these parts are VERY expensive to rebuild, so I did it one piece at a time, hoping each time to find the issue).

I went through the raw water pump, heat exchanger, oil cooler, aftercooler, (in that order, as they were said to be the most likely culprits, in that order), each time finding no improvement.

Frustrating!! Not to mention, just the O rings to reassemble those parts, alone, cost over $1200 CDN.

Finally, I was poking around inside the leg mechanism (boat was on the hard....again) and I saw something that looked like a piece of aluminum casting I'd never seen before. I started prodding it with a long screwdriver, and discovered it was....a huge oyster. It had seeded on the side of the rubber "S-hose" that feeds raw water from the leg through the transom to the cooling system and, as it grew, it forced the "S" into a tight "V" - enough to let only a trickle of water through. In other words, enough for cooling at idle, but no more.

I've got to say, I felt like an idiot when I found that!!

Not a single mechanic I spoke to (and there were many!) familiar with this engine had ever seen anything like it. Murphy is my co-pilot....

Anyway, since the aluminum fitting on the leg that the S-hose feeds was getting corroded, I decided to bypass it entirely. I drilled a 1 1/4" hole through the hull ahead of the transom & installed a bronze through-hull (with a grilled bronze scoop pickup on the bottom of the hull) & a stainless steel ball valve on top. Brand new hose to the aluminum cooling pipe that feeds the raw water pump, and problem cured. It now runs at a constant 175*F, no matter what the load or speed.

*Turns out this exact setup was an "optional extra at additional cost" for this power unit. Guess the original owner should have ponied up the extra $$!

 

[Bizsoft]

Before moving up to sailboats and eventually my 42' Uniflite DC I had several smaller ski/fishing boats. I bought a 19 footer that needed new seats. No big deal.Unscrewed the old ones, replaced the old rusty screws with stainless screws an installed the new seats. Apparently the new screws were juuust a bit longer than the old ones. We woke up at the lake the next morning with the boat all but sunk. I got towed to the ramp. It took a while to notice that there were 8 tiny "bumps" where the screws had just broken through the gelcoat enough to allow enough water intrusion to ruin the weekend.

 

[KlepsAK]

Really stupid

A late start resulted in arriving in the dark at the spot we were anchoring for the night. Coast Pilot specifies that it’s a poor anchorage anyway but we’ve done it several times. This time however our sonar had quit working so I was using the chart and previous experience to drop the hook. To top it off, I was exhausted. Later that night, wevwere startled awake as cabinet doors began flying open and suddenly realized the boat was falling over. The tide had gone out and left us high and dry and the boat, 38 foot wood hull fell completely over on its side. We were totally exposed till daylight and in a brown bear infested bay. When morning came, the incoming tide righted us with no damage or any other problem so we just motored out. The boat was 10 feet from a steep drop off. Stupid because (1) when the sonar failed I probably should have turned back and got it repaired but even so (2) I should have lowered the anchor and depth checked to determine if the depth was suitable before dropping the hook.

 

[rgano]

A late start resulted in arriving in the dark at the spot we were anchoring for the night. Coast Pilot specifies that it’s a poor anchorage anyway but we’ve done it several times. This time however our sonar had quit working so I was using the chart and previous experience to drop the hook. To top it off, I was exhausted. Later that night, wevwere startled awake as cabinet doors began flying open and suddenly realized the boat was falling over. The tide had gone out and left us high and dry and the boat, 38 foot wood hull fell completely over on its side. We were totally exposed till daylight and in a brown bear infested bay. When morning came, the incoming tide righted us with no damage or any other problem so we just motored out. The boat was 10 feet from a steep drop off. Stupid because (1) when the sonar failed I probably should have turned back and got it repaired but even so (2) I should have lowered the anchor and depth checked to determine if the depth was suitable before dropping the hook.

It is hard to say how really lucky you were because once a boat lays right over, the incoming tide can find all sorts of places to come aboard and just sink you before she ever rights. A friend in a Defever 49 almost lost the boat when this happened to him. They were frantic to get all the holes plugged and water pumped clear as the tide came into the boat, but they eventually won.

 

[FWT]

Joke of the day, from social media:

Person: "What's the dumbest thing you've ever done?"

Response: "Awfully bold of you to assume I've peaked."

 

[Turtle Blues]

Ummm, Yeah,
Jumped down into the engine room to do a quick fluid top off for a cruise last night and poured 2 quarts of anti-freeze into the oil fill. 50 years of boating never done anything that stupid... well there is still time....

 

[slowgoesit]

Ummm, Yeah,
Jumped down into the engine room to do a quick fluid top off for a cruise last night and poured 2 quarts of anti-freeze into the oil fill. 50 years of boating never done anything that stupid... well there is still time....

Isn't that called "Water Injection?" Supposed to give you more power . . . . briefly

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Missjudged the tide. The stupid parts? I tied my new inflatable tender to the swimstep and went aboard. Coffee pot had spilled, the only real damage. Tide was coming back in and all was okay. Once afloat, I reset the anchor out deeper. When I backed down on the anchor, the painter wrapped on the prop, pulling the tender under the swimstep until it tore the D ring off. First day I had even used the inflatable. Got to put on my wetsuit and go swimming with a sharp knife. I found out that my down time when excited and free diving in cold water is about 6 seconds. What a day.

The good parts? Starboard fuel tank level was low enough not to leak out the vent. Scuppers stayed a few inches above the waterline. Only one neighbor was home.

 

[rgano]

Missjudged the tide. The stupid parts? I tied my new inflatable tender to the swimstep and went aboard. Coffee pot had spilled, the only real damage. Tide was coming back in and all was okay. Once afloat, I reset the anchor out deeper. When I backed down on the anchor, the painter wrapped on the prop, pulling the tender under the swimstep until it tore the D ring off. First day I had even used the inflatable. Got to put on my wetsuit and go swimming with a sharp knife. I found out that my down time when excited and free diving in cold water is about 6 seconds. What a day.

The good parts? Starboard fuel tank level was low enough not to leak out the vent. Scuppers stayed a few inches above the waterline. Only one neighbor was home.

Marco, you need a thicker layer of mud! When I did something dopey like that in a bayou, the old boat just squished down in there level. Of course there was not starting any engine while thus indisposed!