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Guest
Guest
Re the embarrassing moments thread of about a month ago before the forum was (embarrassingly?) withdrawn, I had a little incident last weekend.
I have an Avon Rib 280 with a Suzuki 8hp. My wife and I had an Australian friend staying with us for a few days and last weekend we went off on the boat for a couple of days. Anyway we are ashore in Lochranza in North Arran. Dinghy will normally plane with two up but three is a bit problematic. Anyway we'll try. I am perched on tube aft, next to engine, wife and Oz friend on bench seat facing forward. Open throttle. Nose in air. Put your weight a bit more forward, orders the captain. Wife and Guest perch on tube forward of seat. Dinghy goes a little faster but, 8hp + three people is a bit too difficult for it and we just proceed at a reasonable lick towards boat, nose still in air but not quite as high. We close boat and it is time to throttle back and this is where it all went wrong. I really should have ordered them to resume their seats on the bench but did'nt. Throttle back and combination of of weight forward and our own wash lifting stern causes dinghy to try to emulate one of her majesty's submarines. Nose dives under and water fills dinghy to level with seat. Petrol tank is now floating along with everything else in the bottom of the dinghy. Move your weight aft I say. Water sloshes to stern and we take on more over the transom. Wife is reverting to her roots and using stronger language than usual and my guest is saying something Australian.
Anyway engine keeps running and boat is more or less adjacent. Wife leaps for bathing platform and partially misses resulting in one leg being immersed to the thigh instead of just the knee. That was my fault also. No amount of saying "its a rib - the tubes just will not let it sink" seemed to convince Mrs Robinson who now requires a pontoon berth at all times before embarking or disembarking.
Oh well!
Nick
I have an Avon Rib 280 with a Suzuki 8hp. My wife and I had an Australian friend staying with us for a few days and last weekend we went off on the boat for a couple of days. Anyway we are ashore in Lochranza in North Arran. Dinghy will normally plane with two up but three is a bit problematic. Anyway we'll try. I am perched on tube aft, next to engine, wife and Oz friend on bench seat facing forward. Open throttle. Nose in air. Put your weight a bit more forward, orders the captain. Wife and Guest perch on tube forward of seat. Dinghy goes a little faster but, 8hp + three people is a bit too difficult for it and we just proceed at a reasonable lick towards boat, nose still in air but not quite as high. We close boat and it is time to throttle back and this is where it all went wrong. I really should have ordered them to resume their seats on the bench but did'nt. Throttle back and combination of of weight forward and our own wash lifting stern causes dinghy to try to emulate one of her majesty's submarines. Nose dives under and water fills dinghy to level with seat. Petrol tank is now floating along with everything else in the bottom of the dinghy. Move your weight aft I say. Water sloshes to stern and we take on more over the transom. Wife is reverting to her roots and using stronger language than usual and my guest is saying something Australian.
Anyway engine keeps running and boat is more or less adjacent. Wife leaps for bathing platform and partially misses resulting in one leg being immersed to the thigh instead of just the knee. That was my fault also. No amount of saying "its a rib - the tubes just will not let it sink" seemed to convince Mrs Robinson who now requires a pontoon berth at all times before embarking or disembarking.
Oh well!
Nick
