Those Tender Moments?

[Corona Mia]

Hi everyone……I’m sure some of you must have also ‘enjoyed’ them?

Mine happened yesterday when we took some friends out for a day on the boat.

Before Lunch…….I decided to test out my new little 3D tender and Mercury o/b.

Carefully launched it from the bathing platform (no davits I’m afraid) and successfully mounted
the little outboard with an extra line around the carry handle……………… ‘just-in-case’!

Opened the fuel cock and fuel-tank vent, and the little motor burst into life on the first pull.

Told my mate Derek……..gently step into the dinghy on the port side, and moved to the starboard
side to balance his weight.

As he stepped in he lost his balance, fell across the boat and tried to grab the biggest thing he saw.
Which happened to be Me!

Don’t really remember much of my naval architecture these days……..

But I’m sure that even before Metacentric calculations had been ‘invented’, most people had realised that 2 big blokes
‘embraced’ and hanging over one side of a small, light boat was not very ‘seaworthy’.
(Even if it was a noble attempt to try to save each other!)

Anyway all ended well………..Once the ‘Ladies’ had stopped laughing.

They helped us to ‘right’ our capsized dinghy.
The water was warm, clear………and the little engine burst back into life on the 4th pull.

Gave it a 15 min run after restarting, then turned the fuel-tap off to stop it, squirted lots of WD40 over.
And to be safe I’ve drained the 2 pints of fuel that was in the tank.

But I’m an amateur………and sure you‘ve all got some much better stories to tell?

 

[ST840]

??
Great postcard image I have in my head. Somebody brighter than me could possibly come up with a witty quip to ad as a tag line!
Glad you're both ok!

 

[BruceK]

When I was new to boating, and after a typical marital spat caused by docking, I had to enlist the help of the water taxi driver to take my boat from mid river to the harbour wall to fill up with water. He being the more experienced boatman was skipper while I crewed. This was a mistake of gargantuan proportions because all his experience was on a single screw tiller steered boat of sub 20 foot. Now in control of something twice as large, twin engined and rudderless he was out of his depth which became painfully apparent as soon as we tried to dock. Despite me being on the pontoon with 60 foot of bow line in my hand he managed to stuff both engines into full reverse taking all 60 feet and me nearly with it. Realising his error he and impending collision with the boats behind he reversed his manouver and the boat shot forward reering like a stallion determined to unseat him. I had brief visions of my boat climbing over the docking pontoon and ending her days in a shower of splintered fibreglass when her engines just as suddenly stopped dead with the trailing end of 60 foot of bowline wrapped around her props. Nice as you please she coasted up to the pontoon where she was made fast. Embarrassed over his error the ferryman elected to climb into the tender and cut free the ropes while I raised the drives for him. As it was we had a poor selection of knives for him. Serated steak or butter knife from the galley. The poor chap spent the next 3 hours hacking away until well after dark before I heard him gleefully say, " Done! Fire her up" and the last few strands below his reach should tear away. What he failed to say was drop the drives first. So it was my turn to start the engines and slam some welly into forward throttle to break those final strands free . Well he was still in the tender looking at the props when the rooster tail flipped him plus tender at least the length of his usual ride leaving him holding on for dear life to an overturned inflatable in the 3knt current of Conwy river. His wife, who had by this time joined us looking for her wayward husband, and I, were powerless to help him such was the mirth that overtook us. Bent double, crying with hysterical laughter it was all we could do to wave him on his way as he hurled choice and angry adjectives back our way.

 

[SC35]

Came into dock once, Mrs SC35 on the helm.
It was breezy, and it wasn't quite working.
I leaned overboard with a boathook, and managed to hook it around a pontoon cleat.
At the same time, Mrs SC35 decided it wasn't working and put the boat in reverse.

Quite why I held onto the boathook as the boat reversed away from the pontoon is still a mystery to me even today.
Fortunately there was a little ladder bolted to the pontoon which made climbing out of the water with an inflated lifejacket a lot easier.

 

[Martxer]

Coming in to berth last week it was the last hour of flood tide, attempt 1 and 2 taking it slow and steady went totally wrong.
3rd attempt fully committed got lined up and gave a fist full of reverse looked like I was drifting too close to my neighbours boat. I then heard a horrible grinding noise, I thought my swim platform had dragged the full length of his hull and got that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. We got tied up and I asked the missus what happened, turned out the grinding noise was coming from a raggie messing about with rigging ?