New Year's Day Ordeal

Here you can discuss Chrysler Sailing across all makes of Chrysler sailboats.
Post Reply
jsa
Posts: 89
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 4:17 pm
Location: North Carolina

New Year's Day Ordeal

Post by jsa »

So, 2018 decided to throw the wife and me a bit of a curveball. Just as we were arriving to my family's annual New Year's Day Pig Pickin'... the smell of slow cooked pig, collards, and black-eyed peas wafting through the air, I got the dreaded "Your boat's loose" text.

Long story, shorted... everything ended up OK:

Long story:

We keep our boat on a shallow lake at a small sailing club. We've got a mooring there on the outside of the field and sail often enough that she stays on the water. We have enough freakishly warm days in the middle of winter that will encourage me to get in some tiller time despite what the calendar says. My wife isn't quite as die-hard. Earlier in the year, the sailing club installed a webcam (youtube Waccamaw Sailing Club) that we live feed.. (Great sunrises, btw. My wife and I put it on as we get ready for work.) We've had some ripping winds and low temperatures here in Eastern NC for the past few days.

I couldn't believe it. A trustworthy friend checked my lines just two days ago just because he was there and is a good guy. But alas, after frantically getting my hands to a device that would stream the image she wasn't in the screen. Of course there is always the worry of damage to your boat, but the thought of what a 2500lb floating, pointy tank was possibly doing, or had done, to other people's property was quite troubling. We dropped everything and started the 1 1/4 drive like a bat out of hell.

On the drive my wife was able to back up the video. The images going through my mind... I knew the wind was onshore in respect to the club, and moving our Miss Marian through the mooring field of about ten tightly moored boats.... right into the direction of my friend's Corsair 24. Fortunately, she'd only been adrift for half an hour. My wife described as the boat suddenly began to move away from her tether, "She's loose... I think it missed the Corsair.... I think it missed the Catalina.... I think it missed the O'Day.... I think it missed the campground pier....It's off screen."

Ladies and Gentleman, we did get a little luck out of the ordeal. She missed the boats in the field, threaded the needle between the campground pier and no wake poles, and grounded her keel in mud just four feet shy of a seawall.

Things like this will remind you that there are a lot of good people out in the world. A member of the club just so happened to be watching the live feed and just so happened to also be at his townhouse at the lake. He was able to locate our boat and flagged down the help of a bass fisherman. The fisherman took my friend out to the boat. We called another close-by friend and he dropped everything to come help and started his drive. We are still on the way at this point.

Oh... mind you.... it is about 28 degrees true temp and falling with 15-20 kt. winds. It's the literal coldest day within the last year here. I know many of you are probably shrugging your shoulders at this.... but this is cooooold for us. Luckily we had dressed for the cold and I had my thermal overalls with me. (There's a two hour delay for schools due to frigid temps in my county... again laugh away. It's mostly that they aren't equipped to get the diesel buses going because temps in the teens are rare and very infrequent. My wife and I are both teachers, so we aren't complaining.)

So... my friend gets onto my boat, the fisherman tries to maneuver around, and inadvertently backs into a wave. He floods his boat and it grounds out next to mine. That's the scene I showed up to. One boat jumping on its keel and another half submerged in the water.

The fisherman was able to call on the help of another local, and we got the bassboat out of the water first with their 20 foot skiff. The skiff was willing to help me as well, but we agreed that the conditions were too rough.

Now came time for the sailboat. Well, the wind was ripping so much at the time that any attempt at floating her was just going to move her closer to danger. Again, we are about four feet from a sea wall and another fifteen from someone's pier with 15-20 blowing us into the corner of the two. We had no choice but to wait the conditions out and began a plan to leave her overnight.

We started to set out a stern and bow anchor to hopefully keep her where she was and after the process we suddenly got a little break in the wind. We quickly got a long line on a halyard and started the process of rolling her over and using the anchor lines around the winches to get her nose into the wind, drag her through the mud, and float her. It was a several hour ordeal. Winded, relieved, and covered in a bit of frozen spray I go to pull the rudder down line and.... you've got to be kidding me... shredded from the mud.

I don't know about y'alls C22's but we've got a very floaty rudder. It certainly doesn't clear the prop when it isn't locked down. (Another point of conversation perhaps) Eventually I was able to get enough ice off the outboard bracket, and outboard itself, to get it into the water. Fortunately she fired right up after a few pulls on the choke. I was able to limp back to the club using my boat hook to keep the rudder from disturbing the prop.

After a long day, with the sun getting low in the sky, we were finally back in home territory. For one last point of humiliation... as I was heading out to put her on a friend's mooring for the time being the dang dinghy got loose and I had to go chasing her down, floaty rudder and all.

I'm happy to say that she was riding pretty at sunset, and we feel very fortunate for things to have turned out as well as they did. Upon inspection, both the heavy-duty pennant and saftey line were shredded in two. I can only speculate, but something must have gotten wrapped up among all the tackle and caused the lines to fray. To those of you that are far more experienced than I, what ya think? How do you old salts moor your boats? My lines were a little long for the depth I'm in.

... and as my wife reads this over my shoulder she would like for you all to know that she is tough, she sucked it up, and she only cried a little. :wink:

Happy New Year Everyone! Wish me luck... I never got around to eating any black-eyed peas or collards. I should have had them for breakfast!!! And thanks to everyone for creating a place to share about our Chryslers. Admin, the site looks fantastic!!!
brigadoon
Posts: 171
Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2017 8:58 pm

Re: New Year's Day Ordeal

Post by brigadoon »

:P Just read of your ordeal and am so glad your boat and everyone else stayed safe.HAPPY NEW YEAR ! I had the same floaty rudder problem this year when I took Brigadoon out for the first time. A poorly rigged down line came loose enough that the rudder floated up and could not be pulled back down without great difficulty, we had just left the marina and were about 20 ft from the stone breakwater with a gentle breeze blowing toward shore. After a frantic few minutes with the boat hook we were able to secure the rudder in the down position and continue the sail. The rudder would not clear the motor at all and the PO had the motor bolted down permanently . I have since pulled the rudder and put 11 lbs of cast lead in the foot of the rudder, this is just enough weight to make the rudder float with about four inches of the top out of the water (fresh water). Now if the rudder line is loose or breaks the rudder goes to the down position, put a little speed on and the rudder comes up and a line can be looped around it to keep it up. By the the way I did change the motor mount to be able to raise the rudder. I posted some of this under a previous members user name (number 1). Now that I can get on the website I will post some pictures. And thanks again to captain scott and bob for all there work getting the site back up and running!!!!
Skipper Dan
Posts: 106
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2017 11:33 am

Re: New Year's Day Ordeal

Post by Skipper Dan »

I am not sure if you keep your keel down or not. I keep mine down so that if it grounds I can just raise it and move out of trouble.
User avatar
DizzyG78
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2017 5:33 am
Location: Ten Mile, TN

Re: New Year's Day Ordeal

Post by DizzyG78 »

My rudder is a complete DIY replacement, made of heavy hardwood coated with resin/enamel. I installed two high density plastic "cheek pieces" inside the rudder assembly that gives it "positive friction", and an eye on the trailing edge that I can hook into with my boat hook to raise/lower as needed. I've never had it "float" since. The downside is of course that if it ever came loose...I'd be be done a rudder. But it's so beefy...I doubt anything short of a hard ground would result in that.

Your pennant breaking is of much greater morbid fascination to me though...I've read about these breaking in high seas from "slamming", or parting due to age, but thinking that it could be parted by a run-in with the mud, or the rubbing of a mooring line within a short period has me wondering about my pennant :O
Joshua "Dizzy" Gillespie
S/V Lady Anne
Euchee Marina, Ten Mile, TN
User avatar
CaptainScott
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 3111
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:46 am
Location: Washington State
Contact:

Re: New Year's Day Ordeal

Post by CaptainScott »

WOW! Quite the story!
Glad all is well!

As far as that rudder,
On one of my C22 boats I had to put a small "T" handle on the lines to pull the rudder up and down.
I also changed the lines to red and green lines. Green down and red is up. The idea is to always know I am pulling the correct line!
A proper fitting and new jam cleat on the tiller made for a more secure holding of the lines while sailing.

Also confirm the rudder cleanly and easily rotates while out of the water and you should have a good working tiller!


Scott
jsa
Posts: 89
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 4:17 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: New Year's Day Ordeal

Post by jsa »

Here is a pic of the shredded lines.... I think [img][IMG]http://i1319.photobucket.com/albums/t663/jsautry/001_zpskuudb0vs.jpg[/img][/img]
User avatar
DizzyG78
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2017 5:33 am
Location: Ten Mile, TN

Re: New Year's Day Ordeal

Post by DizzyG78 »

Thanks for the pics...I must have misunderstood; thought you meant the keel winch cable.
Joshua "Dizzy" Gillespie
S/V Lady Anne
Euchee Marina, Ten Mile, TN
jsa
Posts: 89
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 4:17 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: New Year's Day Ordeal

Post by jsa »

Yeah, these were the lines that kept the boat attached to the mooring system. The larger line was used around the deck cleat on the bow and the smaller line was for the bow eye. I'm now questioning if the safety line is necessary or if it may have caused the problem.
Post Reply