The day the diesel died ...

[hamburking]

One more vote for no main, sail with jib alone.

If I'm sailing off the wind, I find this much more controlled and comfortable. It takes a lot of effort off the autohelm. And if you jibe, nothing is going to hit you in the head.

If you had doused the main, then maybe the autohelm would have been sufficient. 6 foot waves don't sound that bad, but I wasn't there.

It sounds like you had a tough time, but managed and arrived safely. Well done. I'm sure you learned a lot. For example, I bet you will double check the key every damn time now! I have a long list of things I check and double check when sailing. My kids and crew hate it! They are all like "whats the chances of that happening?" Although the chances are slim, the consequences are serious...so I keep checking and rechecking.

I'm guessing you are going to add a spare starter to your parts kit as well.

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm tired of the stories about beautiful beaches and what fancy drinks were served in the cockpit. I like stories like yours...smoke in the engine room, big waves, sailing all night...thats the good stuff!!!!

[zeehag]

i know well the starter burnout half way between bfegypt and ohellimagonnadieville.
btdt.
so i now keep spare starter and i have racors not requiring my breaking prime to change cartridges. i am also replacing in full my fuel delivery system from deck fitting to engine, and my engine has been rebuilt. hoping my fuel system in full is subsequently adequate for this boat.
i hope your issue was only starter burnout. speeedy repairs and smooth sailing.
i hear your sailing grounds are gorgeous.
can you make your ignition system more like a sporty car with a key then a push button for engaging engine? might prevent the lil connection defect that caused the initial event...mine uses a 2 stage key. must hold over for engaging starter. many ways to separate the devil from the electrickery.

[jamesdavis]

Hey Gord, I assume that remote switch connects to the ignition switch behind the panel? Are those wires really heavy enough to carry the current? I trust you have one and have used before... Jim

[akprb]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Seems like you did a good job of making the best of the situation. One other thing that might have helped you is to have struck the main entirely and gone on however much of the genoa as was appropriate. Many boat will go broad reaching/running much more stably without the main trying to drive the bow up and broach the boat. Might give that a try sometime convenient!

Jim

Jim, did we meet in Guanaja, Honduras and sail to the Vivarillo together back on 05? Taught me how to clean a conch?

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by jamesdavis

Hey Gord, I assume that remote switch connects to the ignition switch behind the panel? Are those wires really heavy enough to carry the current? I trust you have one and have used before... Jim

A mechanic's remote start switch controls the small solenoid on the starter motor. It does not carry a large current as that is the job of the starter solenoid. These things are very simple and quick to hook up. If you get one try it out before you need it. Every engine is a little different and this is not a task suited for on-the-job-training. They connect to terminals near or on the starter, not the key switch panel.

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by hamburking

6 foot waves don't sound that bad, but I wasn't there.

Well I was there, and they were a bit intimidating ... so I took a short video to show the harsh scary death-defying conditions I was enduring ...

but viewing it here in the comfort of the harbour, it just looks like a boat sailing happily along, I didn't catch one of the bigger (6ft) waves on video, but the video just shows what looks like great sailing conditions. It was only rough conditions because I am inexperienced, not because Neptune was out to punish me. After all I survived 14 hours of it, 4 of them in darkness, without going mad or anything else going wrong.

I always thought that this little boat was a better sailor than I am, and that night proved it.

prepare to be underwhelmed by the severity of the sea state...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9...HdERE9vYVZRWGc
(excuse the squeak in my wheel-brake).

[Don C L]

I haven't seen a Hullmaster in person, but from the specs she looks like a well-designed boat.

[alaskaflyfish]

Welcome to Alaska, where everything tries to kill you.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by akprb

Jim, did we meet in Guanaja, Honduras and sail to the Vivarillo together back on 05? Taught me how to clean a conch?

Nope, must have been my evil twin... we've never been in that area, only the Pacific and its near neighbors.

Jim

[Compass790]

Loved yr tale & well written I might add. Another tip for you if you have an inflatable dinghy with outboard and are stuck trying to get into harbour with no wind is to lash the dinghy alongside & use the outboard to push her. Don't try & tow from the bow with a towline from the dinghy as u'll drive yrself insane trying to keep the inflatable on a straight track. We have done this a few times in a 7ft inflatable with a 2hp outboard to tow our 26ft keeler. Love that Pacific Northwest but you shure need your diesel for those narrows. It's all a learning curve cobber

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by alaskaflyfish

Welcome to Alaska, where everything tries to kill you.

But apart from all that ... cruising here is still "rainbows and unicorns"

[jeepbluetj]

Bye bye, that Alaskan sky
Drove my boat to the anchor but the water was high
The starter was gone, I'm sure it did fry
This'll be the day the diesel dies, oh this i'll be the day the diesel dies....

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

A mechanic's remote start switch controls the small solenoid on the starter motor. It does not carry a large current as that is the job of the starter solenoid. These things are very simple and quick to hook up. If you get one try it out before you need it. Every engine is a little different and this is not a task suited for on-the-job-training. They connect to terminals near or on the starter, not the key switch panel.

Also very handy for when you can't find the key. Of course that has never happened to me... [emoji849]

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Kelkara

Well I was there, and they were a bit intimidating ... so I took a short video to show the harsh scary death-defying conditions I was enduring ...

but viewing it here in the comfort of the harbour, it just looks like a boat sailing happily along, I didn't catch one of the bigger (6ft) waves on video, but the video just shows what looks like great sailing conditions. It was only rough conditions because I am inexperienced, not because Neptune was out to punish me. After all I survived 14 hours of it, 4 of them in darkness, without going mad or anything else going wrong.

I always thought that this little boat was a better sailor than I am, and that night proved it.

Now that you've been through it is probably starting to seem in retrospect a bit like a non-event. That will be true as you sail more and more. What was once anxiety provoking, simply because it was new and seemed fraught with the unknown, will be just another "Oh bother..." inconvenience.

Sea states and boat handling in particular becomes much less of an issue as you learn how to rig the boat for conditions.

[fuentes]

Originally Posted by hamburking

One more vote for no main, sail with jib alone.

If I'm sailing off the wind, I find this much more controlled and comfortable. It takes a lot of effort off the autohelm. And if you jibe, nothing is going to hit you in the head.

If you had doused the main, then maybe the autohelm would have been sufficient. 6 foot waves don't sound that bad, but I wasn't there.

It sounds like you had a tough time, but managed and arrived safely. Well done. I'm sure you learned a lot. For example, I bet you will double check the key every damn time now! I have a long list of things I check and double check when sailing. My kids and crew hate it! They are all like "whats the chances of that happening?" Although the chances are slim, the consequences are serious...so I keep checking and rechecking.

I'm guessing you are going to add a spare starter to your parts kit as well.

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm tired of the stories about beautiful beaches and what fancy drinks were served in the cockpit. I like stories like yours...smoke in the engine room, big waves, sailing all night...thats the good stuff!!!!

I am sooo glad that I have been enjoying the "good stuff" all this time. Every time we are out, good old Murphy is lurking around just waiting for us to get complacent and careless. If I am ever on a trip that has only beautiful beaches with palapas, fancy drinks, and beautiful woman on the beach (as shown on travel posters), I will figure it is time to get out of the hot sun!