This weeks blunder

[CalebD]

Thanks for that Hertfordnc, as we also use a stick to check the amount of the dreaded gasoline fuel the makes our engine run. I will check the tank for a depression but we usually keep it filled to the top.
I will try to make this short and sweet (which is not my way).
This Spring we loaded on the main and did some minor maintenance on our Atomic bomb 4 engine and were too tired to sail after being launched. Left boat at mooring. Came back one fine sailing day (nice breeze 10 -15) with a guest (lubber) with the intent of a first sail. Raised main while motoring and attempted to raise the genny on the furler. It would not go up as smoothly as we thought it should (2 owners, 2 captains has its drawbacks) so we used a winch to crank the genny. It only went 3/4 the way up before it would not come down, nor would it go up any further.
So there we are on the Hudson river with the genny beating about the fore deck. I guess we are getting old enough where our eyes can't see what is going on at the top of the mast even with binos. Speculation about what was wrong: the furler track jammed, the jib halyard wrapped. My money was on the block at the top being out of sorts but we still had the problem of he jenny catching wind and/or beating itself to death (only 5 years old). I thought of cutting it off but that was a really bad idea as we could only cut the lower portion and then what? More windage aloft?
We wrapped the damn genny around the furler by making about 20 consecutive turns and tied the sail up with an unsightly bunch in her panties at the bottom. This gave us time to think and come back at it another day with clearer heads.
Somehow we had conspired to use the spinnaker halyard to raise the genny on the furler: D'oh! No wonder the halyard wrapped and the block also jammed. I sent co-captain up the mast while at dock to free the sail which came down as if nothing had happened. We had to replace the 40 year old block for the spinnaker which meant another trip up to the top.
I knew the jib halyard was supposed to be about 10 degrees off line from the fore stay and as soon as we had our boat tied up at the dock by the crane I could see it as plain as day. Wrong halyard. D'oh.
All was set to right and no sails were injured during this exercise of ego deflation. Five + years with the same boat and mistakes still seem to happen. Humility and learning are our friends.

[tjaldur]

Originally Posted by capttb

Everyone here who hasn't tried to back away from the dock with the shorepower still attached like a drunk at a drive-in movie raise your hands. Nobody ?

One hand raised.

The most interesting part was all the theories I imagined as being the cause of why the boat would not move.

[EO32]

The other day, after two weeks in the boat yard, I had her put back in, started the motor and shoved off, then I realized the wheel was not on the helm. That was fun...

[CharlieCobra]

Sounds familiar. Got aboard, cleared all lines, starting backing and then realized the tiller was still tied off. Talk about a record speed in knot untying.

[teshannon]

Originally Posted by EO32

The other day, after two weeks in the boat yard, I had her put back in, started the motor and shoved off, then I realized the wheel was not on the helm. That was fun...

That was a really good one! Where was the wheel?

[djodenda]

In a similar vein.. On a friends boat and they had put the tiller on the stock BACKWARDS.... which is how the boat steered.

I was able to fend off and prevent damage to another boat while they figured that out!

[Joel73]

Originally Posted by EO32

The other day, after two weeks in the boat yard, I had her put back in, started the motor and shoved off, then I realized the wheel was not on the helm. That was fun...

That is hillarious! Yes... inquiring minds want to know: Where was the wheel?

[EO32]

The cockpit is tight with the wheel on, so we always store it in the sailbin, so it wasn't that far, but I was in a marina, moving and heading for some boats.