user error

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lionelz

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Well as some of you may have seen an earlier post about how my boat would not start due to flat batteries and them not charging when connected to the mains.

Well today the engineer was down checking it out, it turns out that one one of my batteries may not be functioning at 100%. However here comes the user error. He said that my charge switch was turned off at the main switch panel ?. Now in my defence I didn't not even know I had this switch ? (how stupid am I) also think I suffered from the general man thing of failing to read instruction before using an item. So I have now incured a charge for an avoidable fault although the positive way to look at it is I have learnt something.

Whilst making confession I would also like to confess the first time I did start the boat this season, I could not turn it of as I forgot that for my boat to do this you have to use the emergency stop button, turning the key does nothing (this is how it's designed). Its fair to say I had a red face of embarrassment on that occasion to.

So what's you user error then?
 
Dropping outdrive drain plugs into large oil collecting cans seems to be a yearly favourite of mine.
As is failing to release the "other" mooring line on the port side before setting off, if extra lines have been deployed 'cos it was windy previously.
 
Standing on my flybridge last Tuesday listening to both DDs cranking with no spark.

Checked fuel
Checked fluids, pressures
Checked everything I could think of

After about 15 minutes remembered I'd turned off some breakers in a cockpit locker.

Turned them back on

Engines started
 
I regularly try to start the engine in gear. Nothing happens, I run around checking batteries, leads, fuel and then my kids normally point out the throttle lever. Must have done it ten times!
 
ah, my favourite is trying to stop the engines by turning the key, instead of pushing the big red button first.
Good thing is that it's not embarrassing, as no-one notices ;)

At least a dozen times in a couple of months and counting :D

V.
 
Pouring diesel to water tank (my brother, honestly).

Detaching the hose from the macerator pump with the seacock open (me).
 
rafiki_ said:
Have to confess my worse to date is casting off. All mooring lines off. Shorepower cable still connected. Tw@t ��
Click to expand...

Glad I'm not the only one then. Happened to me on the warmest of days with a very attentive audience as I was the only boat leaving. Well, worse things happen...
 
Sounds a common theme. Was waiting to pay my for my service in the Darthaven Marina office a few years ago and a bertholder came running in announcing they had cast off with the shore power cable attached, the tower was dangling in the water, mentioned in to the dockies at Torquay later in the day and they said forgetting the "orange mooring line" is not uncommon...
 
Fortunately little damage done, just to the lead, nothing to the boat or tower. Doesn't stop me cringing every time I think of it.......��
 
matm said:
makes a nice "ping" noise when it disconnects itself though? Apparently..
Click to expand...

Happened to a friend, then? :)

Fortunately, the neighbour warned me off before getting to that point. I quickly reversed the boat back again and went to retrieve the cable (from the very far end of the pontoon, of course). In my defense, I had two kids under three to keep me company so on this occation was slightly distracted.
 
Dropped the bow anchor at cruising speed. The boat at the time did not have an anchor winch, only a cleat, The deck crew (yeah...) did not use a proper knot and at the first wave the anchor fell straight down. The bruce design luckily steered it away from the stern gear...
 
Where to start? I think with my first day out with the family on my first "proper" boat - a sailboat which had an engine control like this:



I thought the red knob needed to be pushed in and for the life of me I couldn't work out why there was no drive: the engine was running fine. But it was as if it was in neutral.

Anyway, as we drifted towards a crisis I gave it up as a bad job and put the sails up and sailed back to the marina.

Next day, I figured it out. :encouragement:
 
A sailboat was approaching a busy city marina in my home town when I heard some loud voices. It was a young family consisting of a man, woman and a small child. When they approached the dock the man ran to the bow and jumped ashore with the bow rope in his hand. Now despite the succesfull jump he unfortunately had left the gear lever in reverse and the yacht started pulling slowly but strongly away from the dock. The captain tried to pull the boat back but failed miserably. He then shouted to the woman to put the boat in neutral but she had no clue att all what to do. The captain ended up in the water after the woman managed to put the boat in full astern. The situation looked really nasty, the sailboat was now doing rounds backwards closing in on other moored boats and the captain was in the drink. Everybody was paniking, also 10s of people on the dock shouting instructions to the poor woman. Like a miracle she managed to stop the engine before anyything serious happened. The learning: make sure other people on the boat knows how to stop it, not only tell them how to do it, make them do it...
 
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rafiki_ said:
Have to confess my worse to date is casting off. All mooring lines off. Shorepower cable still connected. Tw@t ��
Click to expand...

I have done something very similar, except that I pretended that leaving the shore power cable attached was meant to keep the stern tucked in as the rest of the boat was gently moving away from the pontoon.

It's all part of the plan! (errm, mostly).
 
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