Your blonde boating DIY moments....

I drove off the quay, turning right around a couple of parked cars, then I started to lose power, and as I got slower noticed the parked cars were cosying up to each other. The end of a rope had caught under my truck, and the tied-up coil was following, caught the wheel of the parked car.
A salutary lesson: my crewman left a loose box on top of a load of crab in the truck. It blew off as I pulled away from a roundabout, and landed in front of a car queuing on the other side. I stopped, and was waiting to cross to get it, the driver got out, picked up the box, gave me a dirty look and hoyed it over the far hedge. When I could I crossed, jumped up the hedge, didn't quite make it to the top, stepped back. There was a bramble round the back of my ankle half way up the hedge and I heard the bang, split tibia from the joint up and out of the back, fibula two places, knocked off some other bits. Thanks, pal! The truck was still running on the opposite verge, but on the bright side I was within crawling distance of the hospital. (although I did get a lift in a car in the queue).
 
Kingfisher 3 said:
How many times have you rowed ashore and left the car keys on the boat? Have you done this more than once?
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Never (yet), but I do have a colleague who parachuted into the (IIRC) Irish Sea to be picked up by one of Her Majesty's war canoes in order to deliver some (exercise) vital 'stuff'. On arrival on board he discovered that he had neglected to pack said 'stuff'.
 
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first nice sunday of spring idly watching some poor sod getting more and more redfaced trying to pull start his outboard---suddenly--a huge bang----large hole in outboard casing---plugs weren t tight and had shot out
 
After looking at thread about the earthing plane anodes under the boat I decided that I should not have antifouled over it.
I scrubbed away with a wire brush to slowly reveal the three words..... DO NOT PAINT
Doh!
 
Montemar said:
After looking at thread about the earthing plane anodes under the boat I decided that I should not have antifouled over it.
I scrubbed away with a wire brush to slowly reveal the three words..... DO NOT PAINT
Doh!
Click to expand...

Funny that, I saw one a couple of weeks ago in the yard - best bright red anode I've ever seen! He'll have a nice pink shaft to compliment by next year I suspect! :rolleyes:
 
I managed to lose three anchors in one season.

1.) I told Mrs FP to let out all the anchor line. Turns out the end was not attached to anything.
2.) The Great Newtown Creek anchor fiasco. Three large boats rafted on one anchor swung down on our anchor line, so I had to cut the line to Anchor II. No time to attach a fender.
3.) Had a minor overheat. Dropped anchor. Cleared overheat. Tried to raise anchor, and it was stuck fast attached to something very heavy that gave a little, but not much. Consulted chart: Submarine Cables, No Anchoring, and there went Anchor III.
 
Today I moved my boat from its winter mooring to it summer moorings. Perfect day, went into the river mouth and no matter how I tried I could not line my boat up. Kept looking at the palm trees but the wind was dead calm. Finally realized that there was a lot of rain last week and even though the water looked calm it was the moment that Med Boating Man met a current. And he didn't like it
 
this weekend carefully sorted grease gun - grease and set to with greasing the folding prop (raggie) - increasingly frustrated as could not get grease nipple to screw in one hole and in the other could not get grease to go in - got (very) messy reloading grease gun and still couldn't get prop hub to take any grease - as last resort read prop instructions and then remembered (ie read) that grease nipple socket holes in prop are plugged with very small allen socket plugs - aha - removed plug - screwed in grease nipple and eureka it worked - my wife NOT impressed!
 
A few years ago whilst working at Hamble Point I received a phone call asking me to change a stanchion base on a Sigma 33. As there were six of them lined up together, I asked which one it was. "It's the second one in with the loose portside stanchion base" I was told. Yes the second one in definitely had a loose stanchion base so I set to work. It involved a lot of dismantling of the interior to get to the nuts as it was in the shroud plate boxing. Four hours later the job was done and invoice subsequently sent to owner. The following Monday I received a call asking why hadn't the job been done? Turns out it should have been the second boat in from the other end and it is common for that stanchion base to be loose on Sigma 33's as it is so difficult to get to. Lesson learned, always check and double check which boat you're supposed to work on !

I also recall a well known Hamble boatyard having to collect a Beneteau from its moorings to lift out, de mast and load onto transport. It wasn't until the transport company was lashing the boat down that they realised the name of the vessel didn't tie in with the paperwork. You guessed it, there were two near identical boats on adjacent moorings and the wrong one was taken. Red faces all round !
 
Applying a sacrificial patch about a metre square, below the WL, 3x2oz mat, over a five hour low water, I finished the job then realised I had mixed 0.1% not 1% catalyst. Managed to get it all done again, but interestingly the wrong stuff I stripped off and binned went off all the same.
 
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