The 'Jesus Christ, don't do that you idiot!' advice thread.

[Hydrozoan]

+1

 

[dylanwinter]

the biggest safety factor on any boat is an engine that starts easily and drives the boat along at four knots

that is always your first way of getting out of trouble

don't be shy of asking local blokes for advice

they will be only to happy to see you safely off the pontoon and away from their boats

However, you must have an outboard that will start and push the boat

after that everything else is a luxury

A well maintained seagull will run for decades

but if you want to abuse an engine then get a more modern four stroke

D

 

[VicS]

A well maintained seagull will run for decades

but if you want to abuse an engine then get a more modern four stroke

D

A Seagull will run for decades with minimal maintenance.

A modern 4 stroke will require much more routine maintenance to run trouble free for a fraction of the time.

 

[NUTMEG]

I do not see why the OP's seagull would not push his boat against even a strong tide. Not wishing to teach OP to suck eggs but is the sheer spring in good condition? i.e. Not broken or bent?

It may well turn the prop but could slip under load. One nut removes it to check. Just a thought.

Steve

 

[dylanwinter]

I do not see why the OP's seagull would not push his boat against even a strong tide. Not wishing to teach OP to suck eggs but is the sheer spring in good condition? i.e. Not broken or bent?

It may well turn the prop but could slip under load. One nut removes it to check. Just a thought.

Steve

excellent point

the seagull should cut the mustard on an 18 footer

 

[paul-essex]

do you think because he was going with the tide he felt he had not got control = to his ground speed might be a idea to do a test against the flow to get the feel for it and to see if he has the power

 

[davidpbo]

O.P.
Well done for trying, realising things not going as expected and altering your plans. Better than pressing on regardless and getting a nasty scare or worse.

 

[Cloona]

the biggest safety factor on any boat is an engine that starts easily and drives the boat along at four knots

that is always your first way of getting out of trouble

don't be shy of asking local blokes for advice

they will be only to happy to see you safely off the pontoon and away from their boats

However, you must have an outboard that will start and push the boat

after that everything else is a luxury

A well maintained seagull will run for decades

but if you want to abuse an engine then get a more modern four stroke

D

i try and assume that the engine WILL fail and try and make sure I can sail or paddle out of the situation.

this greatly affects where you position the boat in restricted tidal waterways but as I have rarely had reliable motors its a necessity

It is possible that if you are betrayed at a bad moment by a motor your reliance on this will leave you snookered by tide and wind.

I am always surprised by sailing vessels leaving without sails rigged, mainsail cover on, no genoa sheets - what do they do if the donk goes phut ,,,,,,,

 

[Cloona]

whats the wind doing on the medway - light ? probably easier to sail the whole way -ebb out, flood back in

 

[dylanwinter]

whats the wind doing on the medway - light ? probably easier to sail the whole way -ebb out, flood back in

he is trying to get from one marina to another

 

[cliff]

If there is a bale of straw hanging under one of the bridge spans, don't go through that one.

OK I'll bite - why not?

 

[Talulah]

OK I'll bite - why not?

It's a traditional sign that someone is working on that span of the bridge higher up.
Consequently that section should be avoided.

 

[NickRobinson]

It's a traditional sign that someone is working on that span of the bridge higher up.
Consequently that section should be avoided.

On my Dayskipper theory I was told it was acceptable to use a burning tar barrel on the foredeck instead of a flare....:ambivalence:

 

[Rum Run]

It's a traditional sign that someone is working on that span of the bridge higher up.
Consequently that section should be avoided.

That's the bunny.
Coincidentally, Rochester bridge was the first place I saw it.
As an aside, once upon a time, a very long time ago, I was walking across that bridge rather after beer o'clock in the morning and was surprised to see lots of chaps in cammo gear clambering all over the structure stringing charges. As the bridge was there next day and they weren't, I suppose it was a training exercise.

 

[prv]

On my Dayskipper theory I was told it was acceptable to use a burning tar barrel on the foredeck instead of a flare....:ambivalence:

The instructor on my VHF course said he had once used it - or something very similar, anyway:

A tea-towel and a little diesel in a galley saucepan will apparently produce modest flames and a plume of black smoke. You can quickly douse it by putting the lid on, and if it does all start to get out of control, simply drop the whole lot over the side.

I think they were trying to indicate to the helicopter which of the hundreds of white boats in the Solent needed an injured casualty lifted off.

Pete

 

[onesea]

For the OP do nto take seaman ship lessons from the movie "All is lost" setting your liferaft on fire is not the way to go....

 

[Searush]

Simple engine test; just start it up while still tied to the pontoon & put in gear, fwd & rev. You will feel the boat move & hear the ropes take up, you may even move the pontoon bit.

If that doesn't happen
- is the prop deep enough in the water? (it can also be to deep)
- is it turning?
- is there a clear movement of water from the prop?
- does the engine rev up freely & increase the drive?

If any one of these is wrong, fix it & try again.

Moving a boat in a congested space with a strong tidal stream is an advanced skill, start by pottering around at slack water first & then discover the effect of a little tide before moving on to advanced manoeuvres.

 

[Toutvabien]

Why not?

Simple basic ruggedly built engines requiring minimal maintence to keep them in good running order.

Main objections are that they are noisy and messy and awkward to handle.

I have two. Never any trouble, totally reliable, despite now being 40 years old.

I gave up with the Volvo because it was so temperamental.

The Evinrude which replaced it failed totally after about 10 hours.

If one owns a Seagull that is well maintained and reliable then that is all well and good, the question that I was asking, in a very lazy way, was that somebody new to the game, and therefore not necessarily able to easily distinguish between a fine example and a dodgy one that takes ages to start, cuts out at inconvienient times, uses large amounts of fuel and oil and has a number of amateur repairs over the last forty years is a Seagull to be recommended? It is my personal predudice I admit as I had at least two Seagull outboards that despite hours of effort energy and expenditure could never really be relied upon in difficult situations and as soon as I was able to do so they were passed on (at no cost to the recipient) to somebody else who wanted to try and sort them out. Once I replaced the Seagull's, with a more relaible device, I found my confidence in going places increased significantly. A long time ago now but the experience still resonates.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I do not see why the OP's seagull would not push his boat against even a strong tide. Not wishing to teach OP to suck eggs but is the sheer spring in good condition? i.e. Not broken or bent?

It may well turn the prop but could slip under load. One nut removes it to check. Just a thought.

I used Seagulls on my 21', 1 ton Westerly. Both the 40D and Silver Century would happily shove it along at 4kt, so I agree that it sounds as if the OP's Seagull has something wrong with it.

 

[VicS]

To get away from substitue tar barrels, bales of straw and dodgy engines what ever their make and look again at the OP's plan.

I'm thinking that a day when the spring tide was close to being the biggest of the year and with only one HW during daylight hours may not have been the best timing anyway

Suppose he chooses a day ( next week perhaps) when we are on neap tides and HW is around 6 or 7 oclock morning and evening.

The tidal streams will be weaker thant they are at springs.

There will be enough depth at Rochester bridge even at LW to take that out of the reckoning.

Plan then to leave Cuxton after the morning HW but while there is still enough water to do so without problems.

Head down river, towards the bridge, with the ebb tide but pick up a mooring in deep water somewhere, have a late breakfast and generally kill some time and aim to get under the bridge after about mid-morning when there will adequate clearance but still enough of the Ebb to carry it down to Hoo.

Then spend the afternoon potting about the river in the Hoo area and a little further down to return late afternoon on the flood tide when there is sufficient water to access Hoo. Or simply pick up a mooring for a brew and a nap.

It makes a long day out of a 7 mile passage but allows departure and arrival during day light hours without rushing to do it all on the one tide with the risk of missing the tide at Hoo and ending up out there after dark. It also avoids the stronger spring tides. I don't think the Medway tides are particularly ferocious but the weaker they are the better it will be for a novice.