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Old 20-11-2021, 08:52   #1
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Galapagos
Boat: Nauticat 43
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Maintenance WTF moments

Have you ever had one of those WTF moments after a professional service tech has done some work for you? Please share your own experiences.

In my case, the tech told me he had moved our encased 62 pound carrying weight Sail-Rite sewing machine inside our shoe locker (presumably to get it out of his way). The dilemma he didn’t solve was getting it out because it was now in a tight jamb.

The Sail-Rite sewing machine case dimensions are LxWxH of 21 ¼ x 10 ½ x 13 ¾ in and there are ¾ in legs at each corner of the case, so the total height is 14 ½ in. There is a single handle centered on the top of the case and no handles on the side.

The shoe locker has a 4 in lip height with door opening dimensions of WxH of 11 ¾ x 15 ¾ in and inner dimensions of LxH of 22 ¾ x 21 in. There are actually two locker doors and openings adjacent to each other without any wall between them in the inside space. However, the second shoe locker does not have as great an inside length. But, this allows a hand to go in the second shoe locker door opening to touch the side of the nestled case nestled just inside the first shoe locker door opening.

The shoe locker opening is elevated off the floor with a lip that is 4 inches. This means the sewing case must be lifted vertically at least 4 inches and then moved out. Looking at each dimension of the case compared to the shoe locker, the case length is 21 ¼ inches versus shoe locker length of 22 ¾ inches. This means tilting the case backwards or forwards doesn’t permit much of an angle. The case could be tilted side to side a little. The case width is 10 ½ inches versus shoe locker width of 11 ¾ inches. This barely allows fingers on both sides of the case at once. The total case height is 14 ½ inches with a shoe locker opening of 15 ¾ inch height. This means it is impossible to lift the case by the handle since your hand won’t fit in the opening along with the case. In any case, the lever arm is too long for the weight of the sewing machine to do such a dead lift.

The solution to our tight fit conundrum was incremental blocking under the case to elevate it. Once sufficient blocking was put underneath to raise the case at about the level of the shoe locker lip height of 4 inches, then it was just a matter to move the case incrementally out the opening.
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Old 20-11-2021, 10:01   #2
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Re: Maintenance WTF moments

I was walking to the boat on a beautiful day to replace the macerator pump when I ran into a friend with a yacht service biz. So I asked him if he wanted to replace it so I could go sailing. He said "Sure, I can put a minion on it first thing tomorrow". Day after when I go to test I think "odd, sounds like it's running at half speed". Pull the cover and on my new pump is a big orange sticker says "24 volt", it's a 12 volt boat.
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Old 20-11-2021, 10:23   #3
SuW
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Re: Maintenance WTF moments

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ded reckoner View Post
... There is a single handle centered on the top of the case and no handles on the side...
Awkward. However, anticipating that this is a tight fit, you might in future make a couple of tight webbing straps to wrap around the middle of the sewing machine case and join then with a webbing and velcro "handle" that will assist you in lifting the thing.

I've made these for general use, four 4 foot long 1" tube nylon webbing straps, each with adjustable webbing clips at the end. Can be altered to almost any size up to lifting a domestic washing machine. No sewing required.

The "handles" are webbing with velcro sewn on. Hooks and loops on opposing sides and opposite ends of the same webbing about 18" long. Two are useful.

I've used these to lift batteries as well. Carefully; non-skid plastic will prevent slipping.
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Old 20-11-2021, 10:26   #4
SuW
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Re: Maintenance WTF moments

Quote:
Originally Posted by Calif.Ted View Post
I was walking to the boat on a beautiful day to replace the macerator pump when I ran into a friend with a yacht service biz. So I asked him if he wanted to replace it so I could go sailing. He said "Sure, I can put a minion on it first thing tomorrow". Day after when I go to test I think "odd, sounds like it's running at half speed". Pull the cover and on my new pump is a big orange sticker says "24 volt", it's a 12 volt boat.
Ah. Now you need a new electrical system, surely!
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Old 20-11-2021, 10:58   #5
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Re: Maintenance WTF moments

Whoever installed the rebuilt engine in my boat reversed the oil pressure and temp alarm switch wires at the engine. I didn't notice until I was upgrading the idiot lights in the panel, where the wiring was correct. At that point, the engine had been in the boat five years, and nobody, including two owners and two surveyors, had noticed that the temp, not oil pressure, lamp was lit before startup. Had a legit alarm been triggered it would have made for some difficult troubleshooting.
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