My scariest moment yet, shouldn't have been that scary...

[Nicholson58]

Wow,

So happy to have ancient monster quadrants, cable and chain.

Glad you got out OK

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by gordonhinds

Get rid of the hydraulic steering. Check the fluid that escaped - it’s very corrosive.

Hydraulic steering on a sailboat that small is a bit odd, but if it's a good system then it's not necessarily a big deal. Depending on what the system is, the fluid may just be a common hydraulic oil (which wouldn't be any more corrosive than spilled engine oil or diesel).

[nofacey]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Hydraulic steering on a sailboat that small is a bit odd, but if it's a good system then it's not necessarily a big deal. Depending on what the system is, the fluid may just be a common hydraulic oil (which wouldn't be any more corrosive than spilled engine oil or diesel).

Totally agree - go over the system & fix whatever is wrong (= catch up on maintenance?) but once it’s there, there’s nothing wrong with hydraulics.
Frankly I’ve seen more cable systems fail than hydraulic…can’t ignore either forever.

[JPA Cate]

To me, one is more likely to be able to rig around cables than hydraulics in a seaway. The other downside to hydraulic steering is it's lack of feel. The boat is a 30 footer, and a regular positive tiller steering would seem an easier system to live with.

Ann

[nofacey]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

To me, one is more likely to be able to rig around cables than hydraulics in a seaway. The other downside to hydraulic steering is it's lack of feel. The boat is a 30 footer, and a regular positive tiller steering would seem an easier system to live with.

Ann

If he was building new, I wouldn’t fight you - but the boat is built & he’s obviously figured it out and got it back together. He’d be better off working on items that need improvement (preventer?) or just enjoying more sailing.
Changing out a steering system is work!

[Bowdrie]

Several others have already posted that it is good to "slow down", giving some time to "gather your thoughts".
About 100 years ago, the old lawman Wyatt Earp, during an interview, was asked the secret of success in a gunfight.
Now I suppose that the prospect of a gunfight might get your nerves on edge, and you'd want to act quickly for sure.
Anyway, his reply was priceless, "You have to take your time, in a hurry".
That was some choice wisdom.
Taking that little bit of time to "sort things out", whether it be less than a second or even a few minutes, (depending upon circumstances,) and then acting quickly is a good way to proceed.

[AKA-None]

There’s an old saying
Fast is slow
Slow is fast

[Dehler98AK]

Thanks again for all the replies, it's made for some interesting reading.

In relation to the hydraulic steering. I'm not a huge fan, but actually, the system wasn't the problem. I would say the problem was caused by me not carrying out routine checks to ensure that all connectors and couplings were tight before setting off. I have probably now checked them 10 times since, but in the future, they will definitely be part of my routine checks, such as checking the rigging etc.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending how you look at it, there was another incident yesterday evening. This trip is really a crash course in dealing with all manner or incidents.

Last night, around midnight, while motoring out of Gothenburg, Sweden, into the wind, just outside the shipping lane, I suddenly got very pronounced vibrations through the boat. I immediately thought that there was something wrapped around the propellor so I immediately cut the engine, turned the boat 180 degrees and let out a little bit of foresail to make some way down wind while I figured out what to do. I got onto to my chart plotter and once again headed for the closest harbour. Unbelievable....

Anyway, as I got more and more confident about my situation I let out more and more foresail and picked up a little speed downwind before turning onto a broad reach and in towards the harbour. At this point I decided not to try and enter the harbour, as I was afraid that what ever was around my propellor would of course tighten up as soon as I got into the harbour and cause me all sorts of trouble. Instead, I decided to anchor just outside the entrance.

Gradually I began to reduce my sail area as I approached my preferred anchor spot, and until I had just the smallest piece of sail out. Then in one smooth move, I rounded up directly into the wind, furled in the rest of the gib, calmly walked forward, dropped the hook, and paid out the chain as the wind slowly pushed me backwards...

So I know that sailing boats, are in fact that, and sailing into a bay and anchoring without a motor is nothing special, but it's not that, it's just how calm I was about the whole situation. No tripping over, no nearly dying, no stress.... such an improvement over the last incident. It looks like I'm already learning

This morning I dived down and removed a whole load of seaweed of barnacles from the propellor, along with noticing that my shaft anode was loose, and probably also adding to the vibration. I took down a hex key and tightened it up...

Crazy stuff....

[JPA Cate]

Not crazy. Man, you were so lucky! Such a quick opportunity to see that you were able to keep calm, and work out a solution that pleases you. Well done!

Fwiw, sometimes if you've caught a bunch of seaweed, put the transmission in reverse: sometimes you can spin it right off. I know this works with folding props, you can sometimes just slither the seaweed off, but the spin and close works well with them. If you have a big 3 blade, it may not work as well. Just pop up and look/see if you're towing a rope of kelp. If you see the kelp, you know for sure what you have to deal with. ....and, if you see it in front of you, try and avoid. Neutral, with the folding prop, and nothing hanging down to snag it. You won't coast far if the wind is strong and dead on the nose, but it may be enough. [There are downsides to folding props, but we've run them for years, on our boats, and put up with the lack of power, especially in reverse, for the gain in light air performance, and the ability to safely glide through seaweed. As you say, it IS a sailboat.]

Ann

[rslifkin]

With my big 3 blade fixed props (powerboat) I've often been able to throw seaweed off them with reverse. The trick is to go into reverse idle while the boat is still moving forward, but switch from reverse to neutral before the boat stops moving forward. That way there's still water flow to help pull the weeds off of and away from the prop.

Basically, while moving forward, throttle back and go to neutral. Wait 1 - 2 seconds, then go to reverse (idle). Wait about 2 seconds, then back to neutral. Wait a couple of seconds before returning to forward. Often when doing this after going through a weedy area and feeling the drop in speed from weeds on the props I'm able to see the clump of weeds float free behind the boat.

[JPA Cate]

^^^^^

Yes, we've seen that, too. Glad to know it works with 3 blades.

Ann

[Dehler98AK]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Not crazy. Man, you were so lucky! Such a quick opportunity to see that you were able to keep calm, and work out a solution that pleases you. Well done!



Fwiw, sometimes if you've caught a bunch of seaweed, put the transmission in reverse: sometimes you can spin it right off. I know this works with folding props, you can sometimes just slither the seaweed off, but the spin and close works well with them. If you have a big 3 blade, it may not work as well. Just pop up and look/see if you're towing a rope of kelp. If you see the kelp, you know for sure what you have to deal with. ....and, if you see it in front of you, try and avoid. Neutral, with the folding prop, and nothing hanging down to snag it. You won't coast far if the wind is strong and dead on the nose, but it may be enough. [There are downsides to folding props, but we've run them for years, on our boats, and put up with the lack of power, especially in reverse, for the gain in light air performance, and the ability to safely glide through seaweed. As you say, it IS a sailboat.]



Ann

Thanks for the tip about trying reverse!

[Dehler98AK]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

With my big 3 blade fixed props (powerboat) I've often been able to throw seaweed off them with reverse. The trick is to go into reverse idle while the boat is still moving forward, but switch from reverse to neutral before the boat stops moving forward. That way there's still water flow to help pull the weeds off of and away from the prop.

Basically, while moving forward, throttle back and go to neutral. Wait 1 - 2 seconds, then go to reverse (idle). Wait about 2 seconds, then back to neutral. Wait a couple of seconds before returning to forward. Often when doing this after going through a weedy area and feeling the drop in speed from weeds on the props I'm able to see the clump of weeds float free behind the boat.

Thanks for the tip!

[Greatest Lakes]

As far as learning to not panic, fight or flight is a very primal instinct. Various militaries run drills and practice the fight response. With a sailboat, you can't really run most of the time, so the fight response needs to be adapted. If you have to, a checklist may be the way to go. Checklists are what pilots use in emergencies most often to quickly assess problems and attempt solutions. First step in the checklist for any boat is "keep the water out". After that depends on the size and type of vessel and nature of the problem. Checklists are great for helping people to remember often simple things they wish they had recalled or done in hindsight, even if you are a person who generally does well in emergency situations.

[Lou-In-NJ]

Aside from not panicking, I think you did the right right thing, and that is: go for a known solution before troubleshooting the failure. Now if for some reason you didn't have an emergency tiller, you would have been forced immediately into troubleshooting, and there it is all a matter of your familiarity with the system. Which is why I think it is important to crawl around the nooks and crannies of your boat, cleaning and inspecting things as you go, and becoming more familiar with all the potential points of failure.
Good job!