Stemar
Well-known member
The oil level in the old MD1 has been going down a bit, so I diligently topped it up before we left.
The good news is: I now know how long a sump full of oil lasts me.
The bad news is: It's not quite from my mooring to Newport when motorsailing (not enough wind, and we had a tide to catch.) This proved by clouds of black smoke and loss of even the semblance of power we'd previously enjoyed.
The trusty dinghy outboard got us the last half mile, but getting alongside the pontoon was, er, interesting, with me trying to steer and control the OB throttle leaning over the back of the boat while SWMBO called directions which I couldn't hear. Not pretty, but she got the mid spring on and we didn't hit anything. Stop OB with the kill cord and drop it on the cockpit seat to be safe while I organise the the rest of the lines. The stern line was on the cockpit seat, so as I pull it out, over the side goes the kill cord, about 6 inches out of reach. Now I've got 2 dead engines.
Next morning job 1. Cobble a kill cord. Job 2. Buy a couple of petrol cans and fill them for the return journey, 'cos there's no wind. A couple of litres in the can plus some in the tank was fine until the dinghy OB got promoted to main engine. "Oh, no sir, you can't fill up your own can as well. it's the rules sir, they're for your safety. You can only buy 10 litres in plastic containers." The risk to my safety of running out in middle of the Circus Maximus, I mean Portsmouth Small Boat Channel, didn't faze the little jobsworths at all.
Still, there was some wind out there, albeit in the wrong direction, so we had a cracking beat back. Snapdragons can go to windward, after all - as long as the tide's helping - our first tack with wind and tide against us took us west of Bramble! Highlight of the trip, apart from getting back safely, was being overtaken by Bear of Britain who pinched up around us to windward about a foot from the inflatable we tow, and at about 14 knots to our 4. And I thought we were doing so well, sniff, sniff, inferiority complex...
And I didn't need that fuel which worked out at about £1.75 a litre. If it ever happened again, I'd still buy it, though.
I've been offered a Volvo 2003 at a very interesting price. Anyone got a large shoehorn they can lend me?
The good news is: I now know how long a sump full of oil lasts me.
The bad news is: It's not quite from my mooring to Newport when motorsailing (not enough wind, and we had a tide to catch.) This proved by clouds of black smoke and loss of even the semblance of power we'd previously enjoyed.
The trusty dinghy outboard got us the last half mile, but getting alongside the pontoon was, er, interesting, with me trying to steer and control the OB throttle leaning over the back of the boat while SWMBO called directions which I couldn't hear. Not pretty, but she got the mid spring on and we didn't hit anything. Stop OB with the kill cord and drop it on the cockpit seat to be safe while I organise the the rest of the lines. The stern line was on the cockpit seat, so as I pull it out, over the side goes the kill cord, about 6 inches out of reach. Now I've got 2 dead engines.
Next morning job 1. Cobble a kill cord. Job 2. Buy a couple of petrol cans and fill them for the return journey, 'cos there's no wind. A couple of litres in the can plus some in the tank was fine until the dinghy OB got promoted to main engine. "Oh, no sir, you can't fill up your own can as well. it's the rules sir, they're for your safety. You can only buy 10 litres in plastic containers." The risk to my safety of running out in middle of the Circus Maximus, I mean Portsmouth Small Boat Channel, didn't faze the little jobsworths at all.
Still, there was some wind out there, albeit in the wrong direction, so we had a cracking beat back. Snapdragons can go to windward, after all - as long as the tide's helping - our first tack with wind and tide against us took us west of Bramble! Highlight of the trip, apart from getting back safely, was being overtaken by Bear of Britain who pinched up around us to windward about a foot from the inflatable we tow, and at about 14 knots to our 4. And I thought we were doing so well, sniff, sniff, inferiority complex...
And I didn't need that fuel which worked out at about £1.75 a litre. If it ever happened again, I'd still buy it, though.
I've been offered a Volvo 2003 at a very interesting price. Anyone got a large shoehorn they can lend me?
