Nightmare in Weymouth

dj43

dj43

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Just arrived at Weymouth ,weighting for the 6 pm bridge to open,wind got up so switched on our new bow and stean thrusters ( they only stay on for a short time then auto switch off for some reason) boat started to go sideways so nudged one stick forward then a touch in reverse on opposite, boat was then ferry gliding to moored up boats ,spun the boat around in a 360 to miss them,then went into neutral but boat kept wanting to do 360 degree turns only way to stop it was split throttles forward and reverse,to hold it stationary, all this in front of the bridge with a raggy right up my chuff. Managed to get along side a fishing boat, before we rafted up controls seemed to be working ok. But thrusters had stopped,
Bridge then opened so went through only for the boat start wanting to do 360 turns again ,with my raggy friend trying to overtake .which he did giving swmbo a mouthfull ,managed to nudge it forward in a crab like fashion to our allotted pontoon,only to be asked by swmbo if I was going to stean berth it ,:) just as we were tying up stean thruster came on again, this had been course of problem,runs flat out for several mins then cuts off.checked controls all switched off,but stean thruster keeps going. Going to have a look after a beer ,as I need one,
First look and the company that fitted the stean thruster have cut away the plastic casing for the electrics , and some water has got in, could this be he cause of he problem,sorry for the rambling
 
dj43 said:
Just arrived at Weymouth ,weighting for the 6 pm bridge to open,wind got up so switched on our new bow and stean thrusters ( they only stay on for a short time then auto switch off for some reason) boat started to go sideways so nudged one stick forward then a touch in reverse on opposite, boat was then ferry gliding to moored up boats ,spun the boat around in a 360 to miss them,then went into neutral but boat kept wanting to do 360 degree turns only way to stop it was split throttles forward and reverse,to hold it stationary, all this in front of the bridge with a raggy right up my chuff. Managed to get along side a fishing boat, before we rafted up controls seemed to be working ok. But thrusters had stopped,
Bridge then opened so went through only for the boat start wanting to do 360 turns again ,with my raggy friend trying to overtake .which he did giving swmbo a mouthfull ,managed to nudge it forward in a crab like fashion to our allotted pontoon,only to be asked by swmbo if I was going to stean berth it ,:) just as we were tying up stean thruster came on again, this had been course of problem,runs flat out for several mins then cuts off.checked controls all switched off,but stean thruster keeps going. Going to have a look after a beer ,as I need one,
First look and the company that fitted the stean thruster have cut away the plastic casing for the electrics , and some water has got in, could this be he cause of he problem,sorry for the rambling
Click to expand...

Something similar happened to us some years ago inside a 102ft deep lock. It had been raining savagely and water had gotten into the thruster joystick micro switch behind the helm dash board. When I restarted the engines to leave the lock into the tidal river, the bow thruster locked on full starboard. No circuit breaker would disable it, only switching the engine ignition switches off would do it which obviously wasn't an option for long. I discovered by holding the joystick to port it stopped, so helmed down to city moorings with one hand stuck on the joystick and the other juggling between the throttles and wheel. When I got tied up I cut the wires to the bow thruster switch with a snips as a quick fix as I don't really need the bow thruster anyway for the coastal passage.

Later that night when we arrived at our designation port, I took the micro switch out and bathed it in WD40, blew it out, left it to dry, reconnected the wires and it's worked perfectly ever since.
 
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Yes I think water in the works is the problem,swmbo had turned off the thruster switch on dash and I the breaker,but it still kept running.
Anyhow we had a great trip over from the isle of white boat ran faultless 23 nots at 1700rpm, what a difference a clean bum makes :) just on my second beer, and this is only the first day of our holiday :)
 
On the subject of Weymouth we were there two weeks ago, for anyone wanting to go there do not moor in the town, the ferry to guernsey has its genny on all night and deposits black soot all over the boat, seems they have no shore power for it anymore , I bet the local hotels are real pissedoff with it, we were sick of it after 1 night.
 
Glad you made it safely buddy, I was enjoying Spottypup, on the way back I was poping along a 30 knots.

I've just reread you post, was it just the stern? or both your thrusters ?
 
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dj43 said:
Just arrived at Weymouth ,weighting for the 6 pm bridge to open,wind got up so switched on our new bow and stean thrusters ( they only stay on for a short time then auto switch off for some reason) boat started to go sideways so nudged one stick forward then a touch in reverse on opposite, boat was then ferry gliding to moored up boats ,spun the boat around in a 360 to miss them,then went into neutral but boat kept wanting to do 360 degree turns only way to stop it was split throttles forward and reverse,to hold it stationary, all this in front of the bridge with a raggy right up my chuff. Managed to get along side a fishing boat, before we rafted up controls seemed to be working ok. But thrusters had stopped,
Bridge then opened so went through only for the boat start wanting to do 360 turns again ,with my raggy friend trying to overtake .which he did giving swmbo a mouthfull ,managed to nudge it forward in a crab like fashion to our allotted pontoon,only to be asked by swmbo if I was going to stean berth it ,:) just as we were tying up stean thruster came on again, this had been course of problem,runs flat out for several mins then cuts off.checked controls all switched off,but stean thruster keeps going. Going to have a look after a beer ,as I need one,
First look and the company that fitted the stean thruster have cut away the plastic casing for the electrics , and some water has got in, could this be he cause of he problem,sorry for the rambling
Click to expand...

The plastic casing isn't waterproof neither is the thruster. If its been done properly they should have built a waterproof dam around the motor, otherwise any bilge water soaks the thruster when you get up on the plane. If they haven't done this, download a copy of the installation instructions and send them the relevant page!
 
Elessar said:
The plastic casing isn't waterproof neither is the thruster. If its been done properly they should have built a waterproof dam around the motor, otherwise any bilge water soaks the thruster when you get up on the plane. If they haven't done this, download a copy of the installation instructions and send them the relevant page!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice,will be speaking to the company that installed them tomorrow, hopefully they will come and sort it out, as the electrical connection block is fried,
 
I had exactly the same issue just after the stern thruster was fitted, sounds like you did a better job than me catching it with the engines and avoiding spinning into another boat. At first I thought I had lost an engine, but a glance at the rev counters showed both running, but that's as much coherent thought as I could managed as we were now spinning round in a Swanwick fairway and had already (gently) swiped out stern quarter across the bows of one boat. As we swung around by an empty slot I tried to push the boat back in to it, just to avoid damaging anything more, when a young man on the pontoon tried to help but dropped a line in the water at the stern. I stopped the engines, but the line was still 'snatched' then made an ugly noise, then everything went quiet. I can remember I was quite shaken. Turned out the same as you, the stern thruster had jammed on due to water at the thruster, not at the control panel. We had to get a diver to remove the line and replace the thruster propeller, then old one was down to just one blade left, the rest had disintegrated. The cabling was relocated and it hasn't happened since.
 
lanerboy said:
hi
what boat are you on and where were you berthed as we are permanently in Weymouth would have been nice to say hi but we are back home now

cheers shawn
Click to expand...

Hi Shawn
Walked around to your boat this morning to see if you were there but you must have already left, we are on the hammer head B, might catch you in on our way back after our long weekend :) boat's a fairline squadron named Too Calm .
Merlyn
 
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dj43 said:
Hi Shawn
Walked around to your boat this morning to see if you were there but you must have already left, we are on the hammer head B, might catch you in on our way back after our long weekend :) boat's a fairline squadron named Too Calm .
Merlyn
Click to expand...

oh that's a shame we left at 9am today and wont be back down till the end of the week typical been there since Friday as well maybe next time
 
Hi Merlyn,

Sounds like you all had a bloody nightmare on arrival but at least no harm done to any boats except your pride in front of a raggie ...

Enjoy your trip - it's a great shame you did not take any photos or video @ the time to share with us all :rolleyes: - keep the camera & gopro ready :D - Catch up soon Terry & Babs
 
Should the installers not have fitted a breaker to completely isolate all power from the thruster unit? It does not seem safe to me if your stuck dpinning with no way to turn off the thruster without turning of the engines. I think it's time you called back the installers and asked questions of them.
 
cryan said:
Should the installers not have fitted a breaker to completely isolate all power from the thruster unit? It does not seem safe to me if your stuck dpinning with no way to turn off the thruster without turning of the engines. I think it's time you called back the installers and asked questions of them.
Click to expand...

We have this fitted as a standard factory fit in the lazarette on Lions Den - I assume that Too Calm had a bowthruster as an original fit and this would have also bee fitted as a standard so bit surprised that this facility was not retained on the upgrade.
 
LionsDen said:
We have this fitted as a standard factory fit in the lazarette on Lions Den - I assume that Too Calm had a bowthruster as an original fit and this would have also bee fitted as a standard so bit surprised that this facility was not retained on the upgrade.
Click to expand...

hacked out for access and not reglassed in a destinct possibility even if it was factory........
 
She was fitted with bow and stern thrusters from new, but only 8 months ago the stern one was replaced and front one upgraded by a well known reputable installer, not good news. A fine testament to Merlyns great boat skills to have prevented what could have been a great deal of damage or serious injury (especially if he had been drinking scalding tea at the time :)).
 
cryan said:
Should the installers not have fitted a breaker to completely isolate all power from the thruster unit? It does not seem safe to me if your stuck dpinning with no way to turn off the thruster without turning of the engines. I think it's time you called back the installers and asked questions of them.
Click to expand...

In my case there is the 'big red button' in the lazarette which did work to cut out the thruster, trouble is that almost by definition if you are switching on the thrusters your in a close quarters situation and so there is little time to react.
 
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