Motor sailing causing fuel air-lock

[cpthook]

We were recently motor-sailing a charter yacht into a 4/5 very close to the wind.
The boat was crashing about and we were making very little headway. Suddenly
the engine spluttered and coughed and the revs dropped. Smoke billowed out the
exhaust. The fuel tank was half full. We spoke to the charter company who suggested fiddling with the batteries. We tried that without success. Eventually a
RIB came out and bled the diesel system and we were up and running again. At
the end of the week we were presented with a bill for 200 UKP and told we
shouldn't have had the engine on. As novices we paid up. Should we have paid or
disputed the charge?

 

[Karlvw]

I would have disputed the charge. When you hire anything you are paying for it to be in working order. It seems to me that for you to be told that you shouldn't use the engine is rubbish. What's next? Would it be your fault if there was a big hole in the hull and the boat sank? Sorry sir you shouldn't have taken the boat on the water, it didn't leak when it was ashore.

 

[ccscott49]

or you've ripped the sails, that'll be £1000! Utter bloody nonsense, if they don't want you to use the engine, they should have had it disconnected and told you! But I wouldn't have hired the thing!

 

[cpthook]

Points taken. I thought we'd been shafted.

However we also tangled the main furling it downwind so it wouldn't unfurl,
knackered the heads bin (fell over and plastic lid smashed) and I somehow
managed to snap a piece off the outboard casing which meant the little
steering swing-arm bolt kept coming loose..so we thought we'd got
away lightly (however with hindsight this seems like reasonable wear and
tear?) They also reminded us that had we ripped the sails we would have
had to have paid!

 

[ccscott49]

who are these cowboys?

 

[andy_wilson]

I think you chartered my yacht once too, bandits.

NM

 

[cpthook]

Re: I think you chartered my yacht once too, bandits.

eh?

 

[Stemar]

Two things bug me about this story.

The first is this business about you shouldn't have the engine on if the sea's rough. That is total B**LL*CKS!!! Progress to windward under sail rapidly decreases in small boats as the wind and sea pick up. What are you supposed to do - drift onto the nearest rocks?

The other is that, while I'm no expert, your decription of the circumstances of the failure sounds very like poor maintenance. Over a period of time, crud collects in the bottom of the tank, and lurks there waiting for a rough sea to stir it up, when it clogs the filters, so the egine dies just when you need it most. Water in the tank can do the same. If you do decide to fight it, ask when the fuel tank was last cleaned.

Leaving aside the other bits and pieces, my reply to any attempt to charge for an engine breakdown on a charter boat would be "See you in court!", unless I'd let it run out of oil or something similar that was clearly my fault.

Please do name this company. While a breakdown can happen to anyone, I would hate to charter from anyone who has that attitude.

 

[andy_wilson]

I realy like this thread.

I have to keep looking at it!

Best put it all down to a learning experience, 'specially as the yacht you chartered belonged to someone else, but pretend for a moment it was your own, in which case learning from experience can often lead to B.O.A.T syndrome....

Break Out Another Thousand (£'s).

Firstly if it was your own engine you would be very careful if motorsailing close hauled, that you were within the permitted angle of heel for the oil pick-up, and if 'crashing about', you would work a healthy margin into that too, thus avoiding risk of serious engine wear, or seizure due to oil starvation.

That was a luck escape then (for the owner).

If the tank was 1/2 full and you were heeled and 'crashing about', you would of course be waiting for the diesel to foam in the tank, the foam to be sucked down the supply line, and the engine to stop.

Then you would have simply reefed, cracked of the wind a bit to stablise the yachts motion, bled the system ('cos you knew how to), and then not bothered starting up again because you realised that it was actually far more pleasant a motion, and very nearly as quick to sail efficiently, rather than motor sail while pinched.

Unless of course you had forgotten to check the tide tables, and handover time was approaching and you just had to go sack-out and sod the consequences to get back to base.

Still you won't try and furl the main without coming head to wind in you own yacht will you, after all, sometimes that means you would have to pay for a rigger to go up the mast and dismantle the top mechanism to drop it down and fix it.

No, your way is much better, keep quiet about it and the next charterers will find the mains'l stuck solid so they get an extra bonus learning experience free of charge. Even better they will be novices too so after an hour or two pulling and tugging this way and that, they will have sore and blistered hands - guaranteed - to prove how good a sailing weekend they had.

And don't worry about the outboard thingy 'cos it's a right laugh when you are crossing the main channel and the swing arm comes off in your hand, just as the ferry is bearing down on you. Another valuable and character building lesson for the next person to use it perhaps.

I thought it was a wind-up until I read you previous postings, eg

"When to reef".. including flying off on some "hair raising reaches" which I can confirm is a "novice special" technique. Still, getting her heeled "to the extent that the saloon table
plopped out of its socket" is more of an advanced technique I believe. (Words in quotes are indeed quotes).

"Med moor shorthanded".. "We would gently bump into adjoining yachts causing a few Italians to shake their fists! ".. Bloody cheek I'd say! Still "the stern never touched the pontoon"....honest!!

"Furling Genoa in moderate winds"...in a moderate 23 knots "Couldn't winch in Genoa (sheet kept slipping on winch)" They clearly should have fitted an even bigger winch for the furling line!

"rudder control with severe heel".. "water up to the lee rail and was a little worried about this" Pah, thats nothing, and don't worry about getting "caught out heading for a shoal", it's not you boat is it? As for a "How about a broach downwind? Will she gybe? ...nothing to worry about there 'cos if the mainsheet bursts you can put it carefully back together and they won't notice until the next client takes the yacht out.

I must say your girlfriend sounds like a bloody good sport, what a gem, even picks up the weedy mooring lines. Does she scream when she wants to go faster?

I'm sure you will pick up some valuable hints and techniques on this board, but can I respectfully suggest that you go to sea school.


No No No, it's all a wind up isn't it?

 

[andy_wilson]

Only two things bug you?

NM