rollocks, rescued by the RNLI

[simonfraser]

rowing back from the mooring today, with the wind and tide, but a choppy one. then the plastic rollock broke on my 6/12 old bic 252.
floated off to the muddy shore, littered with barnacle encursted oyster beds, happy i now have a SOLID dinghy!

rnli fished me off the lee shore within 20 mins, they somehow got round mersea before the shore part got there by car

so, get metal rollocks i guess ? or is there a problem with that too ?

yes, i did take a spare rollock with me, but in the swell i could not get the broken pin out the socket :-((

very professional job by the rnli, well worth the sub !

 

[toad_oftoadhall]

Glad all is well!

If you were rowing with the wind and tide, didn't the wind and tide take you more or less where you wanted to go?

Who called the RNLI?

 

[simonfraser]

haha, more or less, i did not fancy a swim, however short, bit chilly out there, i called them.

 

[toad_oftoadhall]

[ QUOTE ]
haha, more or less, i did not fancy a swim, however short, bit chilly out there, i called them.

[/ QUOTE ]

...but why was there a need to swim? Didn't you end up on the shore you were aiming for? Was the mud too thick to walk on?

All's well that ends well.

 

[simonfraser]

ha, definately, you sink into it to your crutch at least, as demonstrated by the suitably equiped rnli chap.
we was warned by the owner of the hard that the mud was a little unreliable.

 

[toad_oftoadhall]

[ QUOTE ]
ha, definately, you sink into it to your crutch at least, as demonstrated by the suitably equiped rnli chap.
we was warned by the owner of the hard that the mud was a little unreliable.

[/ QUOTE ]

All understood! Glad all is well!

 

[NormanS]

One of the features that I really like about my Avon Redcrest (inlatable) is its moulded rollocks, which cannot fail, unlike some of the modern cheaper alternative inflatables with flimsy plastic "oar swivels".

 

[simonfraser]

yep, good idea, but the inflatable would have been cut to pieces on the old oyster bed posts covered with barnacles :-(

 

[Heckler]

Thought I was going to have to do something similar, stayd on the boat last night, pile mooring Pwllheli, wind went easterly late afternoon yesterday, ie its straight up the chuff from the harbour entrance. The waves were slapping the sugar scoop so we went in the forward cabin, well we bumped and banged, the wind howled, the dink kept bumping us, I got up several times to check it, nothing I could have done it was that rough. Anyway the sun came up and the wind was still howling and everything was bumping around, wind was between 27 and 37 knots, colder than a witches tit. Had a fry up and finished a few jobs then popped out to have a look, dink was like a wild horse and full of water, [--word removed--], says to swmbo, might be stuck here for a while, the shore by the way is only 20 yards away and the slip maybe 100 yds. Anyway waited and the wind eased a bit so I bailed the dink , bloody freezing, the donk started straight away and swmbo loaded the bits and pieces in to me. Then we took off, OK, downwind but with the wind over tide v lumpy, anyway we bounced to the shore, if the donk had stopped we would have been in the poo like you.
Stu

 

[neil_s]

I'd recommend metal rollocks any time - I fitted them to my Tabur Yak dinghy. You might need to make up a couple of wooden filler pieces to get the rollock sockets to the correct height, but these can be secured with some hefty s/s woodscrews through the flange joining the top and bottom mouldings of the dinghy ( I presume the bic is made in the same way as the yak). With metal rowlocks, you can put much more effort into rowing. Success with the yak inspired me to do the same with an Avon Redstart and again, the rowing power is much improved. With the Avon, I made wooden blocks which bolted to the rubber, stuck on, oar locks and set the metal rollock sockets in the top. The slightly higher pivot point for the oars makes it much more comfortable for the rower, too.

Cheers! Neil

 

[nickf]

Once had a metal rollock shear so may be the quality is more important than the material.

 

[OGITD]

One day I will probably be caught out and have to eat my own words but.

Safety and good seamanship must be key at all times otherwise do not take responsibility of any vessel, inflatable’s included.

No one should ever have to say this unless instructing a novice shore based course.
If the weather (wind and tide) is a little rough and you are not a 20 year old Olympic rower, always use a lightweight, well maintained and reliable outboard + a spray hood or at least a bailer. A spare rollock and the correct tools in your boat bag. If you assess that you can row in any specific conditions and there are two of you, the oars can always be used a paddles assuming that you are both fit and able.
Yes these plastic rollocks do tend to fail (two so far) the answer is planned maintenance which brings me back to good practice/procedures. And at £6 a pop there should never be an issue.

 

[graham]

I smugly carry a spare plastic rollock .Never considered that without the top bit it would be impossible to get the rest of the pin out. I do have a sculling notch in the transom though so wouldnt be completely up poo creek.

Mud is more dangerous than water you did absolutely the right thing asking for help.I once got stuck up to my thighs laying a mooring and even though help was to hand it was scary.