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Old 11-12-2012, 21:36   #1
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The WTF are they thinking thread

A guy in a 26' - 30' sailboat ran aground in the channel into the marina today. Marina saw him went out & asked if he had a problem, he said he needed a tow & that his prop shear pin needed replaced. The marina sent out the work boat & towed him to the fuel dock. He had 3- 5 gallon fuel cans & filled 2 of them. He had removed the diesel inboard & had a 20 HP merc outboard, had not removed shaft & prop maybe he tightened the packing to keep it from falling out. He had left Minnesota over 4 weeks ago. No generator, batteries dead, no heat & no showers along the way. Was using nails for shear pins on the merc & towing a kayak 2/3s full of water & ice, did I mention no heat. When it was time to settle his tab he had no cash only credit card & after paying for the gas the marina was only able to get $13.00 for the tow before maxing out his card. He had already went way farther than I would have in his boat & his distinaction was the gulf & then the Caribbean. He's anchoring out no batteries mean no anchor light, no bilge pumps, no cabin lights etc. the boat overall looked pretty rough. No $$ less than half way to his goal in a boat I wouldn't go on a daysail on. I wasn't sure if I should feel sorry for him or admire his resolve. One last thing he also wanted to know if there was a sailmaker between here & the gulf, maybe he had another credit card he was saving for that. I'am sure there are others out there with similar stories but there is something about the Mississippi river that attracts people from all over the world who will ride anything down it that will float. Hope he has a safe journey.
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Old 11-12-2012, 22:06   #2
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

He might want to consider buying used sails and adapting them for his use, probably cheaper than having new ones made.
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Old 11-12-2012, 22:30   #3
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

I met a guy in Turtle Bay who has terminal cancer. He and his wife agreed to drain their meager savings, he flew to Sacramento and bought a small Catalina, and sailed it out SF Bay not knowing anything. He hand steered from SF to SD with a tiller. When he got exhausted he'd just bob up and down in the swell and sleep. Also ripped the diesel out and did the outboard trick. There's a million things wrong with his boat. He puts up both jibs at once (hanked on) by interlacing them on the stay (mainly a downwind ride for him).

This guy wasn't doing anything bad to the local community and it's not like he's going to live long anyway.

He "sets" his anchor by throwing the entire mess of chain and danforth-knockoff out over the bow, then calls it good.

There's a guy at my old marina who always tells people about **** they need to do on their boat or else it's not safe or whatever, and I kind of laughed realizing that mr. "do it the right way" is still sitting at the marina and the guy who doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground is pounding out serious mileage.

Here's a picture of the guy with cancer by the way. I had Thanksgiving with him and a few others in Turtle Bay (Baja coast) this year:

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Old 11-12-2012, 22:33   #4
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

In short: I have no idea who's a good sailor and who isn't, and at least I can't really tell anything by looking at someone. My friend from Costa Rica was going through the Panama Canal and had some cruisers helping him as line handlers. He said half of them didn't know a damn thing about docking a boat (like the use of fenders, how to tie any one of several knots, etc). It blew him away that folks on fancy boats that managed to go really far actually had no clue what the hell they were doing.
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Old 11-12-2012, 22:50   #5
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

Working in a chandlery soon makes you feel somewhat nervous about being out there with some of these folks. These are genuine cases that i have had said to me.

"Need an anchor for a 40' houseboat, the smallest that you have" Me, "why the smallest?" He, " It does not go very fast"

"Give me 40 metres of rope and the regulation one and a half metres of chain" Upon explaining to him that he would need more than that length of chain to hold his 40' powerboat he told me," You don't know anything about boats do you? The only reason that you need the chain is to hold the rope vertically down so that the sun does not weaken so much of it."

"I want a pump to do both the galley and shower AND the toilet. I will just put a Y valve on it to change from one to the other"

Many more, but my all time favourite is this. " I have a 42' powerboat, i wish to tow an 18' speedboat behind it at planing speeds. If i have a sea anchor tied to the back of the speedboat, will that stop it from running into the back of the big boat when i slow down?"

Makes you nervous does it not?

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Old 11-12-2012, 23:09   #6
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

Quote:
I want a pump to do both the galley and shower AND the toilet. I will just put a Y valve on it to change from one to the other"
Hahah! I can just imagine him sitting down to dinner, taking a bite, turning to his wife and saying.. "Does this taste nutty to you?"
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Old 11-12-2012, 23:18   #7
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

As a teenager in the 80ies I attended a few courses at the Les Glénans sailing school in France. This school is actually quite famous/notorious over here. My parents wanted me to brush up my French, I wanted to sail.
So I ended up two weeks on a 8m plywood (double!)centreboarder with 6 other trainees and an instructor. No engine. No electricity. Cooking was on a primus stove (and with all those Frenchman on board actually quite good). A petrol lantern served as anchor lines. The boat was cutter rigged, and had no winches, so we really learned to be fast so we had the jib and the yankee sheeted in before they would draw wind during tacking.
You learn you can do without a lot, and still have fun. Sometimes I still long for those times...
Alas, harbours are a lot more crowded now, and all those AWB owners really don't like it when you come in on sail. Even Les Glénans now has engines on their boats.
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Old 11-12-2012, 23:34   #8
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

When you sail parts of the world where the cost of living is lowish and regulations are lax there are these type of people out there.

The ones out sailing (as apposed to those tied to dock) seem to have a great time. They are often quite good sailors ( otherwise they don't survive) and surprisingly intelligent and educated despite their boat appearance.

Many years ago, when a cruised in a very small yacht, a big motor sailer came over and invited me and my wife for dinner.
They said "it is duty of the largest boat in the anchorage to invite the crew of the smallest boat in the anchorage over".
I have tried to repay the favour.

They will often appreciate a bit of fresh water as well.
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Old 11-12-2012, 23:34   #9
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

HMS Bounty. Crew for not thinking independantly, captain for not thinking of his crew first, and the ships owner who also signed off on all of it.
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Old 11-12-2012, 23:48   #10
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by River Cruiser View Post
A guy in a 26' - 30' sailboat ran aground in the channel into the marina today. Marina saw him went out & asked if he had a problem, he said he needed a tow & that his prop shear pin needed replaced. The marina sent out the work boat & towed him to the fuel dock. He had 3- 5 gallon fuel cans & filled 2 of them. He had removed the diesel inboard & had a 20 HP merc outboard, had not removed shaft & prop maybe he tightened the packing to keep it from falling out. He had left Minnesota over 4 weeks ago. No generator, batteries dead, no heat & no showers along the way. Was using nails for shear pins on the merc & towing a kayak 2/3s full of water & ice, did I mention no heat. When it was time to settle his tab he had no cash only credit card & after paying for the gas the marina was only able to get $13.00 for the tow before maxing out his card. He had already went way farther than I would have in his boat & his distinaction was the gulf & then the Caribbean. He's anchoring out no batteries mean no anchor light, no bilge pumps, no cabin lights etc. the boat overall looked pretty rough. No $$ less than half way to his goal in a boat I wouldn't go on a daysail on. I wasn't sure if I should feel sorry for him or admire his resolve. One last thing he also wanted to know if there was a sailmaker between here & the gulf, maybe he had another credit card he was saving for that. I'am sure there are others out there with similar stories but there is something about the Mississippi river that attracts people from all over the world who will ride anything down it that will float. Hope he has a safe journey.
Perhaps he is happy.
If he is, he gets my vote to continue doing as he chooses.
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Old 12-12-2012, 00:42   #11
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coops View Post
Working in a chandlery soon makes you feel somewhat nervous about being out there with some of these folks. These are genuine cases that i have had said to me.

"Need an anchor for a 40' houseboat, the smallest that you have" Me, "why the smallest?" He, " It does not go very fast"

"Give me 40 metres of rope and the regulation one and a half metres of chain" Upon explaining to him that he would need more than that length of chain to hold his 40' powerboat he told me," You don't know anything about boats do you? The only reason that you need the chain is to hold the rope vertically down so that the sun does not weaken so much of it."

"I want a pump to do both the galley and shower AND the toilet. I will just put a Y valve on it to change from one to the other"

Many more, but my all time favourite is this. " I have a 42' powerboat, i wish to tow an 18' speedboat behind it at planing speeds. If i have a sea anchor tied to the back of the speedboat, will that stop it from running into the back of the big boat when i slow down?"

Makes you nervous does it not?

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Yes, but also really smart!
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Old 12-12-2012, 04:18   #12
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

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Originally Posted by River Cruiser View Post
A guy in a 26' - 30' sailboat ran aground in the channel into the marina today.

I'm wondering how this is going to play with the "go simple" and the "cruising on $500/mo" CF crowd.
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Old 12-12-2012, 04:27   #13
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

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Originally Posted by Auzzee View Post
Perhaps he is happy.
If he is, he gets my vote to continue doing as he chooses.
Ditto.
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Old 12-12-2012, 05:19   #14
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

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Ditto.
Only as long as he doesn't get other people into trouble trying to save him from his mistakes when it all goes pear shaped.


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Old 12-12-2012, 05:45   #15
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Re: The WTF are they thinking thread

Years ago when we were running a large M/Y through the Bahamas we had a partially empty freezer, which I would fill with water jugs to eleminate air space. Whenever we shared an anchorage I would take the ice around to the other cruising boats. It always surprised me that several would refuse the ice! They were simply used to doing without.
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