The day I joined the Turtle Club

[barnakiel]

Excellent story! Great read! Happy to know you are fine!

Yep. Dinks can turn turtle unexpectedly. Always plan accordingly.

THX for sharing!

barnakiel

[Hardhead]

This is why humans invented cold beer, my friend. Been there and done that.

[Bobarris]

Great story! Now you can use your boat for its proper function, which is sailing with your mates.

[bruce v]

Pommy,
Build your own stabilizer system for the too small dink. I took a Jon boat (flat bottomed) that had a loaded capacity of 225 lbs (I weighed 345 at the time) and built pontoons out of pvc (4") and framed them onto the boat using plumber's tape and a little JB weld (marine tec will work as well). It might have looked funny - I say might as the first launching found local fisherman on the lake where we launched laughing at us to shame until we came back with limits of trout two hours later - now we were being asked where they could get one. I said us as my nephew who weighed 300 lbs was hesitant about boarding from the dock (remember the load sticker said 225 and with his weight, mine and our tackle, trolling motor, poles and battery we now ran over 700 lbs). With the double pontoons, the exta weight didn't even have an affect - so sturdy we could stand in it. And, any thoughts of it being slowed by the pontoons being capped at the ends, no problem. After the initial voyage, we used it many times in the bay's and marinas for my wife to lookie-Lou at boats there (she too is a non swimmer and I require a life vest. Oh, just to finish the tale, after several bouts with cancer and a quadruple bypass, I am down at 215 and the wife is still quite limber even though we are in your age bracket. I must say she is sometimes dangerously daring and absolutely loves boat life so some of your wife's fears do not apply to her. When I last moved, I left the Jonpon with a friend (6'6" and 340 ish and he runs around the local lakes with his grandson). It is easy enough to do, and allows the stability to keep you from turtling again. If you are hoping the wife may go with again, great if not, think about the battery you self, rougher conditions and, perhaps even your own age, agility and peace of mind. If you are interested, let me know and I can give you more specifics on "how to".

[Cadence]

Thanks for the well written chuckle. I'm guessing we know who won't be your first mate.

[grantmc]

A really nice story, thanks heaps.
Would it be ok to include in our Club Magazene here in Wellington?

[Djarraluda]

Nice story Dave.
I can add 2 further events to my version:
1. Police came along - unasked and demanded they tow us to the jetty, as a third passenger insisted on trying to swim to shore. Later discovered that the friend had probably made the photo-board, Marine Police take snaps of those they rescue and there is a wet T shirt comp on a Monday morning.
2. Trolling motor - which is the freshwater version, is still going strong some 13 years later. Just hose it off and use some Water Dispersant XX spray on the throttle.

To be fair, we were all in the dinghy, just that my wife decided to push-off from the side of the boat. AARGH, splosh!

As a closer, I will note your bravery, I would be shot if I called my beloved that name. It is classed as Worse than "Dear"!
Roger

[mawtty]

I dunked my little Seasnake trolling motor last month.
It went well for a week and died.
The motor was full of water that had entered through the hollow tube (stem) that connects it to the control head.
Advice: Unscrew the control head and seal the tube with sicoflex before using the motor. The salt water did not effect the circuitary in the control head. It did corrode the springs on the brushes in the motor.
I replaced the springs and brushed and it is a go'er again.

[44'cruisingcat]

Probably too late now, but an inflatable tender is much more stable and far easier to get into and out of. Very difficult to tip. If you can ever get her back out on the water it might help.

[PommyDave]

Go for it and publish by all means. Everyone needs a good chuckle now and again! :-)

[PommyDave]

Thanks Cruisingcat, but buying an inflatable would be more money to spend and on an aged pension I am very limited by what I have to shell out. I shall suck it and see...

[PommyDave]

Thanks Bruce V, a stabilizer would surely help and maybe one day I might add an outrigger or something on one side of the little bathtub. But without the panicked wife, I'm sure I'll be fine.

I wonder if the battery will be useable if I can fish it out... the salt water shouldn't be able to get inside, since it's a sealed battery, but the water may well have short-circuited and drained the battery of its charge -- to the state where it is and will be forever dead.

[wedivebc]

This thread needs to be deleted immediately. If my wife sees this I will get "see I told you" and she'll never set foot on my boat again.

[PommyDave]

Thanks Djarraluda. I'm glad it wasn't the Water Police, then. Great suggestion on remedying the trolling motor handle. I did wash it yesterday, but a better servicing would make more sense. Great advice in this forum. So thank you very much to everyone for your comraderie and suggestions.

[sailorjed3]

My wifes mother would hide, scream, or cry when ever she had to cross a bridge in any vehicle. Think the poor children had a jolly time?