What would you do, when your engine fails coming into Berth?

[prv]

I'd certainly not do what I heard unfolding a few weeks back. Someone had lost their engine, 2 miles north of Egypt point, and wanted the coastguard or harbourmaster to come all the way out so they could tow them back in...in a good Easterly F4. They were going to sail around for a bit whilst they waited for them to turn up. OK so you probably would not try to sail into any Cowes marina short handed in a larger boat (which it was from the description the skipper was giving) but at least sail into the river and make it easy for people rather than calling the CG the moment your donkey wouldn't start!

Yep - think I heard that one too, and quite agree. Calling for help fine, but only for the last bit, not all the way home. And a nudge that calling the harbourmaster direct may have been more appropriate than the Coastguard. Although, as always, it's easy to nitpick after the fact.

Was it just me, or did it sound like he'd made zero effort to get the donk going? Not suggesting people should start stripping the head gasket before asking for help, but I got the distinct impression he'd pressed the starter button, nothing had happened, so he'd picked up the radio. The Coastguard asked him a couple of times what was wrong, and he just said "I pressed the button and it won't start". Even something as simple as switching to the other battery may have got him going.

Pete

 

[Seajet]

Yep - think I heard that one too, and quite agree. Calling for help fine, but only for the last bit, not all the way home. And a nudge that calling the harbourmaster direct may have been more appropriate than the Coastguard. Although, as always, it's easy to nitpick after the fact.

Was it just me, or did it sound like he'd made zero effort to get the donk going? Not suggesting people should start stripping the head gasket before asking for help, but I got the distinct impression he'd pressed the starter button, nothing had happened, so he'd picked up the radio. The Coastguard asked him a couple of times what was wrong, and he just said "I pressed the button and it won't start". Even something as simple as switching to the other battery may have got him going.

Pete

We've all heard some favourite VHF moments, from " The Rubber Band has broken ! " to a bloke on a mobo offering any crew of the U.S.S. Forrestal coming ashore he'd buy them a pint - there were 5,000 people on the Forrestal ! - I rather suspect that the CG, while professional in public, must have parties now and again, playing their favourite tapes.

 

[little_roundtop]

Call the Coastguard and then wait for the free tow to arrive. Its an amazing service, tax pounds well spent: a tow boat arrives with all the gubbins, a competent person comes on board, takes over, attaches their tow, steers your boat and hey presto, your back in the Marina; absolutely no effort from me or my wallet at all. I would then pay someone to fix my engine.

For those who don't know, don't ever try this in Greece. If you call the Greek coastguard or even issue a pan-pan nothing will happen - until you make port. Then the coastguard will arrive, they will arrest your boat and refuse to let you leave until you have had a survey to prove the seaworthiness of your vessel. You can expect the survey to be conducted from the dockside, to last about 5 minutes and to cost anywhere from €600 to €1000. And I'm serious!

 

[PhillM]

Not sure if its the "done thing" and it may be because we have an v.old and rusty MD7B but I never pull the sails down until the engine is running. I tend to drop the forsail, lift the boom with the topping lift and pin the main in centre. Then it stays like that until I am well up the river or into harbour.

I had a "moment" when my novice crew had not pushed the engine stop lever back in (decompression?) and left the ignition on. Of course, engine would not start and it looked like we have flattened the start battery. We were just outside the Hamble river on a busy Sunday afternoon in April. Pulled the headsail back up and went for a sail while I thourght what it could be.

Pushed the lever in. Switched to the leisure battery and it fired up fine.

Plan B was to wait for break in traffic and sail onto the visitors pontoon at Hamble Point. Then work it out from there.

 

[snowleopard]

Short answer - do it on one engine. I did have the embarrassment of having one engine stick in reverse while changing berths in a marina. It took a little while to realise why I wasn't turning when I put the lever to ahead and she turned the wrong way, then I shut it down and rafted onto the nearest boat, a police launch, fortunately unoccupied.

 

[Sans Bateau]

Twice we have lost our engine, or to be more precise, the engine failed once and the previous time we had no water from the exhaust and it was not the impeller.

On both occasions, Yarmouth and St Peter Port, there was very little wind, very little, but we sailed back toward the port and called them up on the radio asking for advice of a berth we could sail onto, in both instances we were advised to radio once in the port entrance and a dorry was there to take us in.

I would and could sail into either in the light condition that existed.

 

[Kukri]

I'm not sure that I understand the question.

I keep the boat on a mooring and normally sail onto and off it; I do sometimes use marinas.

In my limited experience, marinas don't like you to sail into a berth, because they think you are going to bend somebody else's boat. They may well be right.

Having a biggish boat, with a very feeble and unreliable engine, my normal practice is to describe the boat over the squawk box, and ask for a hammerhead; since she is a very pretty boat, I usually get one.

So going back to the question; I never ever motor anywhere near a port or harbour or marina without the mainsail and a headsail ready for immediate hoisting and an anchor immediately available for dropping , warps bent on forward and aft and fenders available.

Now, if the engine fails a mile out I will:

1. Talk to the marina and explain things, and ask them if I can go onto a hammerhead initially. If no hammerhead is available, I will choose to go somewhere else!

2. If there is any wind, I will sail as far as I reasonably and prudently can; it may be possible to get onto the hammerhead using a roller furling headsail

3.. Have the dinghy alongside, secured fore and aft with a spring as well, on the side that I don't intend to berth on, with the Seagull ready to go and a crew member in the dinghy.

4. Having sailed as far as possible (into shelter) I will finish the passage using the Seagull and the dinghy; this works quite well and will give us maybe two knots.

5. Once secured on the hammerhead, take a look at the engine; if it is not fixable and the hammerhead is needed, use the Seagull again and warp into the indicated berth.

6. If things start to go pear shaped, drop the hook, pronto.

 

[Vega1447]

Not sure if its the "done thing" and it may be because we have an v.old and rusty MD7B but I never pull the sails down until the engine is running. I tend to drop the forsail, lift the boom with the topping lift and pin the main in centre. Then it stays like that until I am well up the river or into harbour.

I had a "moment" when my novice crew had not pushed the engine stop lever back in (decompression?) and left the ignition on. Of course, engine would not start and it looked like we have flattened the start battery. We were just outside the Hamble river on a busy Sunday afternoon in April. Pulled the headsail back up and went for a sail while I thourght what it could be.

Pushed the lever in. Switched to the leisure battery and it fired up fine.

Plan B was to wait for break in traffic and sail onto the visitors pontoon at Hamble Point. Then work it out from there.

Agree. I have an old (but largely rust-free) MD6A and *never* drop the main till it is running..

Also keep main halyard on sail as posted above..

If engine failed completely I'd sail into marina with main dropped and some headsail rolled out and depending on the wind strength either:

1 sail into my berth
2 raft up alongside someone convenient and warp my way back to berth
3 anchor in fairway and do clever things with long pieces of rope to get boat secured and me ashore...

 

[Seajet]

Twice we have lost our engine, or to be more precise, the engine failed once and the previous time we had no water from the exhaust and it was not the impeller.

On both occasions, Yarmouth and St Peter Port, there was very little wind, very little, but we sailed back toward the port and called them up on the radio asking for advice of a berth we could sail onto, in both instances we were advised to radio once in the port entrance and a dorry was there to take us in.

I would and could sail into either in the light condition that existed.

Galadriel,

I would just say you have a quite reasonably performance minded boat; when we drifted up alongside a chums' Macwester one day just under reduced jib - the crew holding a scrap out by the leach, he was astonished by the 'rudder authority' we had at low speed.

He was a fighter then airline pilot, but suffered the thick barn door, unprofiled & high wetted area drag hydro-dynamics apparently without really thinking about it.

Though the disciplines would seem similar, I've known really good Test Pilots to be pretty clueless while keen about sailing; while I'll obviously never be as highly regarded as they were for flying and my tiny bit sailing it was a lesson re design and mentalities, we can't all be good at everything but realising that is a good thing, so I decided not to be a pilot, mainly for the sake of people on the ground below !

 

[northwind]

Happend to me going into mayflower marina,Both engines stopped when we were around 30ft from the berth,Just waited for the crunch.Inflicted a bit of damage to the stern of another boat but there was absolutley nothing i could do to stop it

Fenders... shoving a spare one in the gap before you hit?

 

[Seajet]

Fenders... shoving a spare one in the gap before you hit?

I'd suggest an anchor - maybe a kedge, if in problems this should be ready - and a toolkit.

One might get the anchor fouled on pontoon wires etc, but it should be mortifying to damage someone elses boat, not just " sorry Guv I couldn't avoid it, insurance will pay, ta ta ! "

 

[prv]

Not sure if its the "done thing" and it may be because we have an v.old and rusty MD7B but I never pull the sails down until the engine is running.

I would say it's very much the done thing.

Caught me out one time though - the engine was running nicely, I took the sails down, and only then discovered that we had no drive because the back of the gearbox had fallen out.

Pete

 

[Neil]

I'm surprised that so few posters advocated sailing on to a berth, conditions permitting; I know there are many on the forum with considerable experience under their belt. I understand you wouldn't want to try and sail the boat onto the innermost finger pontoon in the far corner of the marina! But an open visitors berth, or an empty hammerhead pontoon? Give advance warning for someone to take your lines?

I have to admit I've only done it the once, and at that, conditions were very amenable - slack water and a light wind in the direction of the pontoon. I'd certainly try a dry run or two before either doing it for real or giving up and asking for a tow.

How many of you practice MOB, or mooring pick-up under sail? Certainly, this gives a certain confidence without running the risk of hitting the pontoon or another boat at ramming speed!

 

[wotayottie]

Hypothetical Scenario:-

You have a Yacht, and your a mile out of harbour. You drop your sail and switch to engine ready to come in (number 5, your time is up). Your engine then fails after a few mins and you can't get it started.

What would be your actions to get back to berth?

I was wondering what everyone would do if this happened to them. This of course could also include MoBo's ;-)

Depending on the berth location / design - sail the boat in. Done it many times both onto a swinger and onto a marina pontoon. In fact got a prize for it on one flotilla holiday. Needs two people though simply to have one to use fenders and to fend off

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

If the engine fails, naturally i will attempt to put the sails up and at the same time I will grab the 6hp long shaft outboard that leaves permanently inside the yacht for this purpose and put it on the outboard bracket; hope will start quickly and off we go again.

 

[Bobc]

I've had a few of these instances over the years.

First one on my first boat bringing it home (so didn't know it that well). Engine failed in Soton Water. Sailed it into the Itchen, dropped the anchor just off the fairway, called Solent CG and they got Itchen Marine to come out and tow me home (at my expense, which seemed fair).

Scond one, lost all drive in the Hamble (prop bust). Put the sails up and sailed it back. Couldn't get onto my berth under sail, but managed to get it onto the outside pontoon (to a round of applause from a group watching from their boat).

Third one, major engine failure about an hour after departing Gouvia Marina (Corfu). Headed back to the marina under sail, got the anchor ready (plan was to anchor and dinghy ashore to contact the charter co.), but managed to sail it onto the quayside without a scratch (that's dinghy sailors for you). By the time the charter co tured up, I'd identified the problem, been to the chandlers and got the bits to fix it (on their account), fixed it, and was ready to go again (charter companies eh?).

There's always a way, and what you need is a plan B, C, and D.

If in doubt throw the hook out while you sit there and think about it.

PS. Even if you're in a marina and the engine fails, chuck the hook over. At least you won't drift and start hitting stuff. Then you can radio the marina and ask for help.

 

[SolentBoat]

If the engine fails during the final approach then it's in the lap of the wind and tide gods - modified only what you can manage by scattering fenders like confetti.

Power loss in the harbour area gives you more options. This has happened to me; right in the mouth of the Medina. I called up the harbour master who gave me a tow to a nearby pontoon.

Sailing into berths and general manoevering in that busy patch of water was (and still is) beyond my capabilities and nerves. The alternative would have been to turn around and head back to the Hamble - where I'd have had to call the HM for the same reasons.

I asked the HM about the protocols of requesting a tow in such a non-emergency and he was clear that he'd much rather be called early than after I'd caused chaos in the river mouth; "it's what we're here for".

 

[Kukri]

I'm surprised that so few posters advocated sailing on to a berth, conditions permitting; I know there are many on the forum with considerable experience under their belt. I understand you wouldn't want to try and sail the boat onto the innermost finger pontoon in the far corner of the marina! But an open visitors berth, or an empty hammerhead pontoon? Give advance warning for someone to take your lines?

I have to admit I've only done it the once, and at that, conditions were very amenable - slack water and a light wind in the direction of the pontoon. I'd certainly try a dry run or two before either doing it for real or giving up and asking for a tow.

How many of you practice MOB, or mooring pick-up under sail? Certainly, this gives a certain confidence without running the risk of hitting the pontoon or another boat at ramming speed!

I regularly sail onto hammerheads; no big deal. As a young student, "cruising" with a very clapped Dragon I routinely sailed into finger piers - having no engine there was limited choice, and you can spin a Dragon on a sixpence. I used to "show off" by sailing backwards out of the berth the next morning. Ten tons of teak, oak and iron is a different matter..

 

[stav]

Sail back to mooring and depending upon conditions go for it or ask for help as necessary.

The engine has failed 4 times in 33yrs of sailing.

Entering Brighton, decided to sail in to entrance and then ask for help, but found a detached wire from the starter solinoid whilst Dad helmed and problem solved.

Ran out of diesel leaving L' AberWrach for Spain, sailed back on to mooring and found diesel tank empty and miss read the dipstick by looking at the residue at the top. Hand a couple of jerry cans of diesel so topped up and off we went.

Engine failed just as i engaged astern going in to berth, she rode up on the pontoon quite well. The glass water trap had broken, had over tightened it. The really scary bit was the chap who tried to stop her. All done iin a 9T hillyard.

Engine oil alarm came on after a cross channel trip to Plymouth whilst waiting for diesel. Stopped the egine and was about to hoist sail and go and anchor when the marina dory offered to take us in and a very good job he did off it. Very shocked when he asked for £45 though! The oil pipe to the sump pump had come detatched. This was on a Nic36 and would regularly sail her on and off mooring and pontoons whenever safe and OK to do so.

Interestingly now with the Conway and family aboard more often would be keener to ask for help sooner.

 

[alan_d]

I know you're being facetious, but the Coastguard don't have any tow vessels. Short of slinging a line to a CG helicopter, or a passing warship or UKBA cutter, there's nothing funded by "tax pounds" to tow you home.

Pete

Point of information: UK CG do have boats. Picture of one HERE.