[H and E]

I finally did it-got the spinnaker sheet in the prop while dousing the sail.
I have a diver coming out to remove the line from the prop and inspect for any damage. Engine was low RPM so not sure what kind of damage I can expect, if any. I think if there is any vibration that is new, I will pull the boat to check things out. If all seems normal I will keep going for now.
Your thoughts?

PS: I was able to sail through the marina into my slip without incident.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

Boat I was on refused to let me yell "physically check for lines overboard" before we started the engine after a long race.

Bent the prop shaft. Cost $2,000 to be machined.

So remember to yell "physically check for lines overboard!"


Mark

 

[Faster]

There's a good chance you'll be OK, as you say any odd vibration now will be an indicator.

We've always had a 'lines on deck' check once the spinnaker came down.. ever since, that is, we did the same thing!!

 

[Ajax_MD]

My buddy sucked his dinghy painter into the prop and nearly wrenched the strut out of the hull. He did have a vibration as an indicator.

I hope your damage is nil.

 

[knuterikt]

I finally did it-got the spinnaker sheet in the prop while dousing the sail.
I have a diver coming out to remove the line from the prop and inspect for any damage. Engine was low RPM so not sure what kind of damage I can expect, if any. I think if there is any vibration that is new, I will pull the boat to check things out. If all seems normal I will keep going for now.
Your thoughts?

PS: I was able to sail through the marina into my slip without incident.

Why have the engine in gear while dousing the sail?

We got the sheet lazy sheet (asymmetric) into to the propeller once while sailing (engine off)
We have a feathering (kiwi) prop, thee sheet got hung on the propeller got hold of one of the wings and gave it enough pitch to start rotating..
When I discovered this i put the engine into gear to stop the prop.
Then released the sheet from the sail and put a spare sheet in place so we could do a gybe.
Manged to undo most of the twist from the dinghy (still sailing) but could not get the last turns off the prop.

Had to anchor under sail.

After we dropped anchor we used a gopro cam attached to a boat hook to film. Managed to clear the prop without going into the water.
Used an extra line and weight to carefully get the rope off the prop.
Here it was it looked like under water - the extra line is the one used to untangle the spinnaker sheet.

 

[SHNOOL]

Finally a proper use of a go pro.

 

[knuterikt]

Finally a proper use of a go pro.

It worked quite OK
I remote controlled the gopro from my phone (wifi), problem is the wifi don't work below water..

So I started filming with the camera above water.
Filmed under water and took the camera out of water to review.
The picture is a screenshot from the phone app.
Then plan next step in the unwinding & repeat.
The pic was taken after we had got some turns off the prop.

 

[Skipper Jer]

Ahhhhh........something to look forward to this summer.

 

[MarkSF]

The previous owner of my boat wrenched the prop shaft out of the transmission, and the engine off its mounts. Stripped the internals of the transmission. The prop wedged against the rudder, and jammed that. Also ripped the jib in two, and damaged the furler. Boat was taking on quite a bit of water. Oh, and a crew member was MOB while this was going on.

Bill for new furler, repair jib, new transmission, new prop shaft & packing gland, repair rudder, straighten / repair prop, fix engine mounts and align everything - $14,000, in 2008.

I heard that it took the crew several days in hospital just to warm up.

Hopefully you have none of these problems.

I always check for lines in the water before starting the engine.

 

[sandy stone]

Wow, you have me beat. A friend was racing his C&C 34 in a gusty 20 knot or so breeze when a puff caught them, boat rounded down, boom swung over & knocked a crewmember into the water, sails in a mess. It was cold, so MOB had on foul weather gear, but no PFD. They cranked up the motor to recover the MOB & promptly wrapped a spin sheet around the prop, pulling the strut out of the bottom of the boat. Another competitor picked up the MOB, just in time BTW, and the RC scat boat towed my friend in for an emergency haulout, narrowly avoiding a sinking. Ain't racing fun!

 

[SloopJonB]

Starting the engine to pick up a MOB is a pretty common cause of wraps on the shaft.

If ever there was a vivid example of "never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it over" that has to be it. You sure ain't going to be picking anyone up with a wrapped shaft and the rigging in the predictable mess. Take the 10 seconds to check for lines over the side.

I've been crew on boats twice that wrapped dinghy painters and it made me religious about checking for lines over the side.

 

[MarkSF]

I tell people that if you are sailing when you have an MOB, pick them up under sail. It's just too much happening at once to drop sails, start the engine, keep an eye on the MOB, and not screw up.

 

[albrazzi]

Had a Jib sheet in the water and as it was being pulled in the Captain saw it, threw it in reverse and just pulled it back into the boat. He saw me see him doing the whole thing and nobody else on the boat had a clue. We simply couldn't believe how it turned out, good luck on your snag.

 

[Capt Len]

I bet we've all got similar tales. Here's one .Gibsons BC. Man on maiden trial run of his newly self built and launched 40 ' sail boat. Mast up ,boom on and end lashed to the backstay.No sheets or sails. Took15 yr son and his friend as crew. Outside the gap found some wave action and the boom lashing broke. Boom took the man in the back of the head and he was likely dead before he hit the water. Boys turn the boat around and throw a rope.....Into the wheel and boat drifts up on the rocks and is holed /sinks.

 

[SloopJonB]

Thankfully I got nuthin' like that.

When was that? What was the boat?

 

[Stephanfeb]

As I'm reading the above comments a cold shiver is running down my spine. As a newbie I made a newbie error just two weeks ago. However I had NO IDEA just how bad things could have turned out. Bent shaft. Engine mountings failing. Gears stripping. Packing gland failing. *sinking*!?

My propwrap was precipitated by a anchoring error. I payed out all my chain into 20m (65ft) depth, attached the snubber and as I payed out the chain while holding onto the snubber the last bit of chip slipped off the gypsy and I was now holding onto the weight of all that chain, while being blown backwards by a 10knot breeze and with a 1 knot current in same direction as wind loading up on my shoulders. I had neglected to tie off the snubber's loose end. idiot. I finally wrestled the snubber onto a cleat but now I still had my chain dangling overboard.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uccy0fhchq3v6dk/Screen Shot 2015-03-12 at 1.18.09 pm.png?dl=0

So I head back into the cockpit. The idea is that I'll motor forward a bit, take the load off the chain, get it back onto the gypsy and reset my snubber. That's when I wrap the dinghy's towing line around the prop. >.<

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q51a6fkgw868pj8/Screen Shot 2015-03-12 at 1.18.59 pm.png?dl=0

A few scrapes and cuts later I had the line cut free and everything back onboard so I don't inadvertently lay a trap for another yachtie.

Lesson learnt.

 

[knuterikt]

As I'm reading the above comments a cold shiver is running down my spine. As a newbie I made a newbie error just two weeks ago. However I had NO IDEA just how bad things could have turned out. Bent shaft. Engine mountings failing. Gears stripping. Packing gland failing. *sinking*!?

My propwrap was precipitated by a anchoring error. I payed out all my chain into 20m (65ft) depth, attached the snubber and as I payed out the chain while holding onto the snubber the last bit of chip slipped off the gypsy and I was now holding onto the weight of all that chain, while being blown backwards by a 10knot breeze and with a 1 knot current in same direction as wind loading up on my shoulders. I had neglected to tie off the snubber's loose end. idiot. I finally wrestled the snubber onto a cleat but now I still had my chain dangling overboard.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uccy0fhchq3v6dk/Screen Shot 2015-03-12 at 1.18.09 pm.png?dl=0

So I head back into the cockpit. The idea is that I'll motor forward a bit, take the load off the chain, get it back onto the gypsy and reset my snubber. That's when I wrap the dinghy's towing line around the prop. >.<

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q51a6fkgw868pj8/Screen Shot 2015-03-12 at 1.18.59 pm.png?dl=0

A few scrapes and cuts later I had the line cut free and everything back onboard so I don't inadvertently lay a trap for another yachtie.

Lesson learnt.

Some tips

1. Before doing any harbor maneuvers - shorten the dinghy's towing line so it can't get in the prop.
2. The dinghy's towing line should always be made of rope that floats (reduce the risk if you forget 1. above)
3. The bitter end of your anchor rode should always be secured to the boat

Note: I have an all chain anchor rode with a rope tail spliced to the chain, the rope tail is secured in the anchor locker but is so long that if it's run out all the way it can be cut from deck.

 

[pdqaltair]

Why not have the gear (wet suit etc.) to dive and cut the prop loose on the water? It has always seemed more seaman like to be able to fix small routine problems. To me, being able to dive and clear the rudder or prop of fouling is basic seamanship. What if it had been around the rudder and the boat had been way out?

I've unwound a few lines and a lot of fishing gear while bobbing in the ocean over the past 25 years. No big deal, most of the time, if the engine was at low revs.

Easier too.

 

[Capt Len]

Sloop, Ithink it was late summer '70.Had just moved to Gibsons .Never met the man but looked the salvaged hull over.Well made glass . Salvagers had made quite a mess ,tore the mast off trying to lift with it. One could probably write a book about all the simple little screw ups and their cascading effects. (sort of like horse loses nail, war is lost). I've got lots of tales of more personal scewups and stuff in the wheel which I will avoid mentioning here ,but will say that I always had a wet suit ,sometimes tanks,and paid for it by assisting others solving their particular s.ups.Even dove on my own vessel 40 miles offshore to remove a drifting seal net (Arctic)

 

[MarkSF]

Why not have the gear (wet suit etc.) to dive and cut the prop loose on the water? It has always seemed more seaman like to be able to fix small routine problems. To me, being able to dive and clear the rudder or prop of fouling is basic seamanship. What if it had been around the rudder and the boat had been way out?

I've unwound a few lines and a lot of fishing gear while bobbing in the ocean over the past 25 years. No big deal, most of the time, if the engine was at low revs.

Easier too.

Might not be a bad idea. But it wouldn't have helped one jot in the situation my previous owner encountered.