Boating Skills: What did you learn this year?

Adversities suck...but boating relationships make it all work.

I got stories Coach....

..picked up this vessel in Ft. Myers this passed year and had all intentions of arriving in the C&D Canal a few days later. Went around the Keys and through Marathon, heading back north. Departed Canaveral in route to Hilton Head when I started to fell a vibration. Backed her down rapidly and felt for anything at idle. Less than a minute later, bang....both engines still running, only one side moving, dang it!
20 miles offshore, replot course to nearest inlet. Idled on one motor for sometime before reaching cell service. Called Bruce at Daytona Boat Works and advised my eta was 1800. He hooked me up with a side tie which I appreciated due to being on one engine but damn if it wasn't right in front on the Chart House Restaurant...I wanted to yell out the window to the patio patrons "brace for impact!!" but refrained, yes dear.
0800 the next morning, my bow was pointing into his travel-lift. 15 minutes later the boat is out of the water, and up pulls Ken (Flounder Pounder) in his dually with 2 new shafts for that boat model. Boat had spare props so new prop and new shaft go on, and tied the extra shaft to the swimplatform caulks..... departed early that afternoon.
After coming out of the ocean and arriving in time for a nice supper, then have the boat hauled and splashed back in less than six hours is friends indeed!


notice 3/4 of the surface of this shaft end having a rusted finish. And on the right hand side you see the 1/4 moon shape with no rust yet. That means I ran this boat from the west side of FL, around the Keys and half way up the east coast, with only 1/4 of the shaft carrying the load since the crack shows signs of not being new. Lesson learned is always have your surveyor or you, examine the shaft and look for hair line cracks. You see this one was right at the taper, aft of the strut.
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Capt. Rusty
I hate going off topic....but I can’t help myself :)...what would cause a crack that didn’t fully brake until time past.... I am in the machining and heat treating business...and this to me would be wrong heat treat...to hard, bad alloy, alignment, vibration and stress over time... what would be the reason in this situation??
 
My lesson this year was a 29kn NW wind coming in at a transient slip that I was side tied to and pushing me into the dock with 3 ft waves at 2:30 in the morning....
I broke two lines...broke two posts that you see in the pic.... and did not have long or strong enough lines to tie me off to the adjacent dock that you see in the other pic.
We made it thru the night without damage... but lesson learned on lines.
In the end I lost every line...either cutting them to get them off or stretched apart... I replaced everything with high quality lines and have 4 75ft lines in the under floor storage...
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I hate going off topic....but I can’t help myself :)...what would cause a crack that didn’t fully brake until time past.... I am in the machining and heat treating business...and this to me would be wrong heat treat...to hard, bad alloy, alignment, vibration and stress over time... what would be the reason in this situation??
That's an easy one - that propeller was installed without first fitting and marking it's location on the shaft without the key. The installer put the key in the slot and slid the prop right on. The key slid up the groove and because they didn't do a trial fit and location there was no way to know if the prop was fully seated on the taper. Because the key slid up the groove and into the groove transition to the shaft surface it placed significant lateral stress on the shaft then the eventual crack and failure. You can see in the picture where the shaft material was yielding and failing in the rings around the keyway. BTW, you can also see the installer placed the propeller nuts in the wrong order....
 
I just knew if rocket man saw these pic's he would come to a conclusion..Can't say as I detected as much as you Tom, but certainly saw the improper prop and nut(s) install as soon as it came out of the water. You are spot on once again professor.

R
 
I just knew if rocket man saw these pic's he would come to a conclusion..Can't say as I detected as much as you Tom, but certainly saw the improper prop and nut(s) install as soon as it came out of the water. You are spot on once again professor.

R
 
That's an easy one - that propeller was installed without first fitting and marking it's location on the shaft without the key. The installer put the key in the slot and slid the prop right on. The key slid up the groove and because they didn't do a trial fit and location there was no way to know if the prop was fully seated on the taper. Because the key slid up the groove and into the groove transition to the shaft surface it placed significant lateral stress on the shaft then the eventual crack and failure. You can see in the picture where the shaft material was yielding and failing in the rings around the keyway. BTW, you can also see the installer placed the propeller nuts in the wrong order....

I'll side track even further :)

I'm having our props tuned and balanced now and also having one of shafts checked for straightness. They're all original, and I believe this is the first time in the boats 18 year life they've been removed. Any reason not to lap the props to the shaft (or at least check them) prior to final installation?
 
I learned that prop shafts can break. And if they happen to fall out of your boat, and you don't plug the hole, yer gonna sink.

So I have one of these now :)

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So, here goes... mine are all beginner things...
1) Learned how to get my generator running - maintenance, read the codes, unclog strainer and hoses, impeller, and get air out of coolant system.
2) Became comfortable sleeping on the hook and the prep work needed.
3) Learned a new route to get from my marina to Tampa Bay that avoids rough water when the wind is up (and it’s actually a fun ride, 2 S-curves, and one as you approach a brick wall head on and turn at the last minute...)
4) Found a new day boating location
5) A bit more comfortable getting bridges to open up when needed!
 
I'll side track even further :)

I'm having our props tuned and balanced now and also having one of shafts checked for straightness. They're all original, and I believe this is the first time in the boats 18 year life they've been removed. Any reason not to lap the props to the shaft (or at least check them) prior to final installation?
Here is my take - If you have the life history on the props and shafts and you are confident the prop installations were done correctly then lap the props after each time they are worked on. Or, as a minimum fit check with machinist's dye to make sure there are no raised areas or burrs that can occur due to handling. Easy to do right on the boat.... If you don't have the life history on the props and shafts then additionally I would dye-penetrant check that keyway area and the thread to shoulder area to make sure cracks are not beginning to form. I know, breaking a shaft is rare but it does happen and 99% of the time happens due to poor assembly technique. Prior to prop to shaft assembly always dress the keyways and key with a file to make sure there are no raised metal and that all corners are slightly rounded.
 
Here is another - Anchoring; there is a science around proper anchoring both with a single and dual. As @Todd320 earlier alluded sleeping well on the boat is hinged on a good hook.... I've learned how to better set an anchor as well as properly set dual anchors. It was a salty sailboater that taught me the finer points.
 
I learned a tip years ago, forget where.

After you anchor, let the everything settle for half an hour.

Go to your chart plotter. Zoom in to the lowest display distance possible. Turn on tracking.

Over time you will start to see a half moon on the display of how the boat is swinging on anchor. Leave it on. If the anchor slips - it will be immediately visible, the arc on the chart plotter will shift.
 
I learned a tip years ago, forget where.

After you anchor, let the everything settle for half an hour.

Go to your chart plotter. Zoom in to the lowest display distance possible. Turn on tracking.

Over time you will start to see a half moon on the display of how the boat is swinging on anchor. Leave it on. If the anchor slips - it will be immediately visible, the arc on the chart plotter will shift.
We do similar. Drop anchor, hit bottom, push man over board. Back up letting out rode when anchor is set and chain is tight push man overboard. Turn engines off. Let boat drift to slack chain, push man overboard, push man over board. With man over board you can see your drift. When you pick up the anchor you can follow the chin on the bottom.
 
We do similar. Drop anchor, hit bottom, push man over board. Back up letting out rode when anchor is set and chain is tight push man overboard. Turn engines off. Let boat drift to slack chain, push man overboard, push man over board. With man over board you can see your drift. When you pick up the anchor you can follow the chin on the bottom.
You’re cruel. Every few seconds your pushing a man overboard?
 
I'll side track even further :)

I'm having our props tuned and balanced now and also having one of shafts checked for straightness. They're all original, and I believe this is the first time in the boats 18 year life they've been removed. Any reason not to lap the props to the shaft (or at least check them) prior to final installation?
The couple times I've had props reconditioned you can see they've run something through the prop bore and cleaned it up so I always lap them to the shaft again. One thing I do if removing and re-installing the same props, regardless of whether they went to the shop or not, is mark the shaft at the front of the prop hub before removal. I know then that it should go back on at least that far.

A little warning when fitting the props. Don't ram it to hard onto the shaft taper when you check fit or you'll have to get the puller to get it back off.
 
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We do similar. Drop anchor, hit bottom, push man over board. Back up letting out rode when anchor is set and chain is tight push man overboard. Turn engines off. Let boat drift to slack chain, push man overboard, push man over board. With man over board you can see your drift. When you pick up the anchor you can follow the chin on the bottom.
Something tells me Siri was involved with this one........
 
I haven’t mastered it yet, but a friend is trying to get me to anchor while going forward. The way he does it, drive towards the beach, while going forward still, drop anchor, stop the windlass when enough line is out, the anchor will catch, which will spin the boat around, then throw out the back anchor. In theory, you can neutralize the effects of a current (or maybe use it to your advantage). I have not been successful with this, and only tried it once. I’ll probably not try again...
 
I haven’t mastered it yet, but a friend is trying to get me to anchor while going forward. The way he does it, drive towards the beach, while going forward still, drop anchor, stop the windlass when enough line is out, the anchor will catch, which will spin the boat around, then throw out the back anchor. In theory, you can neutralize the effects of a current (or maybe use it to your advantage). I have not been successful with this, and only tried it once. I’ll probably not try again...
I get the theory, but it will really matter where you are when you do this, and what the predicted tide will run until you are ready to go. Try it at Jewfish twice. You will get different results. In a large way.
 

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