Dumbest thing you ever did?

[lucyloo730]

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

There was a dumb era/time when I considered reefing blasphemy. That lasted until I was night sailing with no moon in high winds and got knocked down so bad in a gust that I swamped the cockpit (and my wife who was sitting on the lee side). Needless to say I became a convert very quickly and apologetically (to my wife that is)

Yea there seems to be a 'special' group of people who refuse to take reefs in .... My mother is a member ... :S !!!


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[dpddj]

You should always check the level of fuel before tearing a carburetor apart.
Do you know how fast a $700 sea water pump sinks?
I almost avoided that rock shown on the chart.
Having participated in a benefit race in my sailboat that was new to me, with a green crew, where 2/3 of the fleet were smart enough to retire early because of 40 knt gusts.
While on autopilot, late at night, mesmerized, almost running into a light house.
Oh, I am sure there are a few more.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Casting off from the marina after a month in Malaysia. My GF forward handling the lines, me aft yelling instructions in my best Captains Voice to the dock guys, yelling goodbye to our friends, yalling "Let Go FORARD! LET GO AMIDSHIPS! LET GO AFT!! And I gently put the boat in astern and slid perfectly out into the narrow fairway. Then to spin the wheel to port and Full Ahead and ONWARDS! Except the steering wheel wasnt there!!! I had cable tied the bastard to the lifelines so cockpit had more room. So as we drift towards every other boat in the marina I start trying to wrench the wheel off the life lines and break the cable ties. Everyone sees whats happening and starts rushing to save their boats from impending doom.

One last mighty wrench and the cable ties broke and disaster was averted....

But still in ports near and far people won't dock near me!

Mark

Thanks for sharing. I'll bet your face would have made a great port running light.

[Capt Phil]

Other than leaving the dock for a romantic weekend with a new girlfriend and forgetting the condoms until we were securly anchored in a sweet little cove, miles from anywhere...
Coming into the dock with my ex behind the wheel, holding the bow mooring line and standing outside the lifelines, I lept for the dock not realizing the mooring line was about 2 feet shorter than the distance I was trying cover gracefully in the air. When I surfaced, line still in hand, I was greeted by thunderous applause from the beach and my ex doubled over with laughter in the cockpit. Those moments are burned in my memory forever!! Phil

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

Other than leaving the dock for a romantic weekend with a new girlfriend and forgetting the condoms until we were securly anchored in a sweet little cove, miles from anywhere...
Coming into the dock with my ex behind the wheel, holding the bow mooring line and standing outside the lifelines, I lept for the dock not realizing the mooring line was about 2 feet shorter than the distance I was trying cover gracefully in the air. When I surfaced, line still in hand, I was greeted by thunderous applause from the beach and my ex doubled over with laughter in the cockpit. Those moments are burned in my memory forever!! Phil

I'm hoping both of those incidents were not on the same trip

[atoll]

trying to right a capsized hobie cat with a 20 ft mast in 15 ft of water and a muddy bottom.....................

mid-week on a lake that people only visit on the weekends!

fortunately we were rescued and the cat righted with the aid of a powerboat after sitting there for 4 hours signalling using the sun and a mirror!

[ontherocks83]

We found out a long time ago if we take the Spinnaker halyard, tie both ends into a big knot/ball and then bring it to the cockpit you can stand on the aft quarter pulpit and push off using the halyard as a tarzan swing. If you get good at it you can actually make it all the way around the bow and back to the other quarter before having to let go into the water.

Well one sunny day when I was 13 or 14 I was just pushing off the pulpit to go for a tarzan swing ride when my dad pointed to the distance and said to me "hey look at that boat of girls going by." I being 14 obviously became quickly distracted with the boat of girls even though I was swinging through the air and just as I looked back to what I was doing I smacked right into the bow of the boat with a big thud.
Needless to say there was lots of laughter from my boat and from the boat of girls. I trying to save face didn't let go of the halyard, grabbed the bow pulpit and pulled myself aboard trying to act like that was my plan all along. Nobody seemed to believe me though

[Capt Phil]

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

I'm hoping both of those incidents were not on the same trip

Nope... A few years apart, thank goodness! Different boats as well! Phil

[Cadence]

When I was going to school I'd oil summers on a 90' tug. Main job was beating the crew by an hour and have everything running. Check pneumatic pressure to insure at lease 310#, open valves fill oil cups etc. Start gen set and main. Go to upper engine room check gauges and last thing before getting the coffee going was check the overboard discharge.
OOPS, forgot to open the sea cock.

[oldragbaggers]

Originally Posted by sully75

I'd love to confess some. But they are too painful and too fresh to say at the moment. Could you share a few so I can feel better about myself?


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Gee....where do I start.

Quit school at 16, that was the first in a very long list of monumentally stupid things I've done. And it gets much worse than that. At least that one was fixable with a GED and on to college.

I'd like the think I've gotten smart enough over all these long years that I don't do dumb things anymore, but that's not the case, by a long shot.

So...I hope I have made you feel better.

[Tayana42]

Since we learn mostly by trying things and making mistakes I'd usually say the only dumb mistakes are the ones we make twice, but there are some on this thread that don't needed repeating.

[sully75]

Originally Posted by accomplice

I wouldn't consider that for a permanent repair. Others would know better then me about a permanent repair, but I would think that you need to grind away a few layers of the glass/resin several inches around the hole to a shallow bevel (12:1?), patch inside and out with several layers of new glass (and resin), stacking smaller diameter patches on top of larger ones, and then build up resin on the outside and fair it. Obviously you need to haul the boat to do this.

Yes absolutely. For the record despite this insanity I'm pretty good with repair work. Occasionally an impulse gets the better of me. I just don't want the boat to sink in the meantime.

Initial repair appears totally adequate. I think I'm going to pull the bolt and glue it in with jb weld underwater epoxy. Then a piece of fiberglass over the bolt head to hold it in. When I haul the boat I will grind the bolt down below the surface and then scarf in new glass.

Truth is I bet it's the sort of thing that would probably last forever the way it is but it's totally disconcerting.


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[mikeguyver]

Dumbest thing I've ever done....... probably telling everyone what the dumbest thing I've done........

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by oldragbaggers

Gee....where do I start.

Quit school at 16, that was the first in a very long list of monumentally stupid things I've done. And it gets much worse than that. At least that one was fixable with a GED and on to college.

I'd like the think I've gotten smart enough over all these long years that I don't do dumb things anymore, but that's not the case, by a long shot.

So...I hope I have made you feel better.

Yep, don't we all.

[socaldmax]

Do they have to be boating related? I've been married twice...


OK, I was on the lower Colorado river in a very shallow section with 2 buddies in a flat bottom jet boat. It was nice and hot, we had plenty of beer, we were doing about 55-60 mph and I suddenly realized we were in about 1 ft of water. About the same time the driver noticed the same thing and instinctively slowed down, which caused us to come off plane and snag the bottom on the big sand bar we were on. The guy in the bow area flew off like he got snatched by a ski boat, I instinctively kicked upward as I felt the boat lurch so I flew from the passenger seat, cleared the bow and landed in the water near the guy from the bow. The driver hung onto the wheel, so he flipped over the console and landed head first into the bow area, giving himself a few crushed discs, but since we were all drunk and young, he just laughed it off as a sore neck/shoulders. Another boat full of guys saw us do our high speed dismounts, so they stopped to help us drag the boat about 150yds to the nearest channel. Of course as all of the other boats thundered by, they would yell out, "Hey, there's a sandbar over there!!" LOL


A few months later, I bought my own jet boat with a big block Olds 455. Filled up both tanks with about 30 gal of premium gas and did speed runs up and down the river with the GPS, doing about 67 down and 63 mph up river, so I was satisfied that it was a 65 mph boat. We went upriver and floated around, etc. Halfway back downriver, the engine died and I was convinced the carb was gummed up from sitting. I kept spraying starting fluid and carb cleaner in it and it would run for a few seconds, but eventually sputter out again. My friends towed us back, and the next day I discovered that a big block jet boat really sucks the fuel and my little boat could really use some fuel gauges. LOL