Transmission Died - sailed to mooring in Edgartown

[Bene505]

Our transmission died, in Vineyard sound. No forward, no reverse, and the shaft no longer spins when sailing. (Yes, we had the proper dipstick back in place.)

We sailed into the harbor and picked up a mooring. So now we are in Martha's Vineyard contemplating our next moves. I called Vineyard Haven Shipyard a little after 6:00 PM and left a message. I plan on calling them in the morning.

By the way, up until this afternoon, the trip has been a "10". Perfect weather, plenty of spinnaker time. We landed at Tarpaulin Cove for a picnic and a short day at the beach, enroute from Cuttyhunk. Dan Goldberg is a gem and the rest of the Sheldrake Yackt Club are a total bloast.

Regards

[midnightsailor]

ouch Bene , that stinks!!! Sorry about your transmission. and things were going so well. Now you really get to test your sailing skills! Too bad you can't borrow my "guardian ANgel".. because I know I must have one and a great one at that when I think of the situations I get out of and the good luck I have. I just sailed my new boat , single handed for the first time today and took it over to Shelter Island..It is a CAt Ketch and not being used to all the lines involved I had my hands full, not to mention my dog charlie came along and of course was underfoot all the time!! ANyway I for got to secure my laptop and left it out on the Nav station...After one big gust that really set me heeling I heard a loud crash and you guessed it my laptop crashed to the sole and across the cabin... I was sure it was destroyed but here I am all tied up in port and connected to sailnet!!! I acn't believe the thing is OK!! I reeally wish I could send you some of my good fortune!! Good luk with getting yur tranny fixed and to keeping to your nearly perfect trip. Rick

[timebandit]

Have you tried removing the shift cable and moving the lever by hand??

[Bene505]

Originally Posted by timebandit

Have you tried removing the shift cable and moving the lever by hand??

While my son shifted the transmission into forward and reverse, I watched the lever move back and forth properly. So I don't think that's it.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[smackdaddy]

Aww jeez Bene - that totally sucks. I'm sorry. Nice work on picking up a ball under sail, though, dude. That's some nice helmsmanship on any boat - much less your big ass Fitty!

Sounds like you guys have been having a great time. Hang in there dude.

[DropTop]

did you check if the prop is fouled?

[erps]

I destroyed a transmission three summers ago. The oil leaked out faster than I was putting it in. Are there any band adjustments that can be made in the field? Can you pull the shift lever cover off and confirm the linkage inside isn't broken? If you have a big enough dinghy and motor, you can always tow yourself in and out of anchorages and wait for some wind to start getting closer to home. I feel your pain. We broke down the second day out on our vacation this summer.

[Bene505]

The mechanic came. The shaft turns, so it must be warped plates within the transmission. We got an estimate of almost $3,000 and a week from Friday optimisticaly for the repair.
We decided we want a reliable, fixed transmission and were bemoaning the cost and arrangements we'd need to make. Before calling them back with a decision, I decided to do a load test to see how long it took to fail.

In forward at 1K rpm, the shaft was turning. In reverse, hardly any pull on the mooring buoy though. Hmmm. Forward at 1400 rpm and not overrunning the buoy. We should be really lurching forward. Nothing. Smile come to my face. NO PROP !!

Avid sailnet readers will remember that I sent my prop out for servicing at Brewers Marina and had them put it back on and launch the boat.

So I just dove on the boat and looked with my own eyes. Sure enough, the threads on the end of the empty shaft were not big enough to move the boat.

Needless to say we are relieved, if still stuck. Not sure if I should pay for the mechanic that just came and almost had us going down the wrong and expensive and time consuming path.

I have a call into them and into Brewers.

[smackdaddy]

Well there's a $3,000 bullet-dodge! Great job Bene!

Obviously you need bigger threads on your shaft.

In the mean time, I'd recommend getting in your dinghy and slowly retracing your exact sailing route for the past few weeks. Just put on a dive mask and a snorkel and look down. I bet you'll find that prop in no time.

[bubb2]

Another story of a Brewer repair that goes bad. I don't know why people think so highly of them.