First trip getting my boat home nightmare!

[zeehag]

under 10k, survey per self.
sounds like you had an adventure. you will have more.
next time try hydrating day before departure. keep gatorade of electrolit and water on boat, drink every hour.
many folks become sodium depleted and blame the resultant illification on seasick.
try licking some salt out of your hand., it you feel better in less than 10 mins, you need to take some care to rehydrate and suck down electrolites.
potato chips will give salt and something for your willbe dry heaves to call substance until they stop completely. .

what make is your boat...

[2xcrash]

27' Catalina

[GILow]

Originally Posted by zeehag

...many folks become sodium depleted and blame the resultant illification on seasick.
try licking some salt out of your hand., it you feel better in less than 10 mins, ...

Now this is interesting. On our 7 day delivery trip I got a serious craving for "Twisties" and must have eaten a couple of packets of them. Usually I wouldn't touch them.

Never thought of the salt aspect.

[cwyckham]

That is one heck of a maiden voyage. Thank you for giving us all a laugh. Believe me, we're laughing with you, not at you. We've all had days like that.

Like everyone else, I'm very concerned about where the water was coming from. You need to figure this out very soon. I would also strongly suggest considering installing an automatic bilge pump. They aren't that expensive.

The stuffing box is a possibility. What about the rudder post? The boat will sometimes "squat" when being towed at speed and the stern may have been low, allowing water to come up and past a failed seal? Worth a look as I don't know the rudder arrangement.

There could also be deck or cockpit drains that are hoses that normally terminate in a through-hull that's above the waterline. If a hose or fitting has failed and the stern is low, you could bring in water that way.

As far as seasickness: I and many other sailors get sick. It tends to improve over time, and there things you can do to help (stay hydrated, eat crackers, stay on the tiller). I agree that the bands don't seem to do much. Here's an article about how to minimize seasickness in yourself or your crew.

[2xcrash]

With the sea sickness I was a big dummy there too. I didn't get a patch or bring any other medications. I will next time. Go Science !

And about the water. My engine compartment gets about a cup of water every 4 days and everything else is staying dry.
Going to pick up the sump pump and wore it up this week.

[cpt_757]

And about the water. My engine compartment gets about a cup of water every 4 days and everything else is staying dry.
Going to pick up the sump pump and wore it up this week.[/QUOTE]

Where is water coming from??

[lifeofreilly57]

When we picked up our new/old boat 3 years ago I was able to fill 3 pages with punch list items that needed to be fixed, this in just a short hop from Maine to Rhode Island. Its the same with every used boat, even those in good shape. usually by the time the previous owners sold it they had lost interest in it or no longer have the ability to maintain it due to age or other commitments, so there'll be a million little things that need attention, usually the big things are picked up during the pre-sale inspection.
Of course when I pulled into our mooring field I could see our old boat, which needed NOTHING because it had been completely gone through during our ownership. Of course, just for a moment I thought what the hell was I thinking? That boat was solid and sorted, but of course it no longer filled our needs with our expanded family.
OK, back to work, gotta keep getting the new boat sorted.
Good luck, I think getting a used boat up to snuff is half the experience, it also allows you to become intimately familiar with your boat, which is a good thing should you ever have a real emergency while at sea. I'm a little worried when I run into relatively new sailors with brand new boats who are only vaguely familiar with their boat and it's systems, when something does fail, which happens even on new boats, they may not know where to look.

[2xcrash]

So I'll put this post to bed with what we found that was wrong with the motor and why we were taking on so much water at the end.

After getting her back, cleaned up and had a few days to clear the head. I check ed the motor oil (not milky and at proper level) replaced the water hose going to the back of the exhaust and fire her up...
No squealing, so that's good, but when I run to the back of the boat to check if shes spitting water it's just flowing. By the time I get back to the cabin the engine compartment is filling with smoke. I shut her down, I can see some smoke and water coming off the elbow of the exhaust where it meets the hose to go out the back of the boat.
I give it a wiggle and "thump" it falls off... The wrap is the only thing holding it together.
So $100 in galvanized pipe, fittings and wrap I bolted it up and ran her for an hour. No issues. I went from idle to what I would run her in drive and I ran her with the drive engaged. One of the other issues we had was that the trans felt realy hot when we shut the motor down. Figured out after watching a few videos that the trans needs to be pushed forward till you feel a "click" I'm positive I didn't do that in the first trip.
So I did the same thing again a couple days later and she ran great in the slip. So I texted Dubble D and asked if he wants to go for it again.
Got her out last night and she purred right out the harbor, all the sails worked like they should and no water was taken on and my stomach didn't turn once! We shut the motor when we got far enough out of the harbor sailed for a couple hours and when we got back in she even started back up!
So I'm hooked! Lots more to learn but I'm stoked to learn.
Thanks Double D for all the help too!

[JPA Cate]

2xcrash,

Well done, sir! Now go play some more. ;-)

Ann

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by 2xcrash

So I'll put this post to bed with what we found that was wrong with the motor and why we were taking on so much water at the end.

After getting her back, cleaned up and had a few days to clear the head. I check ed the motor oil (not milky and at proper level) replaced the water hose going to the back of the exhaust and fire her up...
No squealing, so that's good, but when I run to the back of the boat to check if shes spitting water it's just flowing. By the time I get back to the cabin the engine compartment is filling with smoke. I shut her down, I can see some smoke and water coming off the elbow of the exhaust where it meets the hose to go out the back of the boat.
I give it a wiggle and "thump" it falls off... The wrap is the only thing holding it together.
So $100 in galvanized pipe, fittings and wrap I bolted it up and ran her for an hour. No issues. I went from idle to what I would run her in drive and I ran her with the drive engaged. One of the other issues we had was that the trans felt realy hot when we shut the motor down. Figured out after watching a few videos that the trans needs to be pushed forward till you feel a "click" I'm positive I didn't do that in the first trip.
So I did the same thing again a couple days later and she ran great in the slip. So I texted Dubble D and asked if he wants to go for it again.
Got her out last night and she purred right out the harbor, all the sails worked like they should and no water was taken on and my stomach didn't turn once! We shut the motor when we got far enough out of the harbor sailed for a couple hours and when we got back in she even started back up!
So I'm hooked! Lots more to learn but I'm stoked to learn.
Thanks Double D for all the help too!

This is the strangest exhaust set up I've seen. Galvanized pipe should not be part of your exhaust system.

[2xcrash]

If it's good enough for Don Moyer it's good enough for me.

[bruce v]

Happy all ended well and you found the culprit causing the problem. Sometimes, as you experienced, the seemingly overwhelming problem is resolved by an easy fix of a not so obvious cause (when it is found, the obvious appears stupidly simple). Good sailing lesson and now you are ready for more. Not putting a negative connotation on the future but there will be more drama to come. Being prepared and thinking things through before acting whenever possible are almost alway the best remedy (especially the pre prep part). Fair winds and following seas. Bruce V

[exMaggieDrum]

Well done on your successful shake down cruise. You identified many problems that might have taken you a year to find all in a couple of days.

We all (well, most of us) have had similar experiences in some fashion or another. Including many that we inflicted on ourselves through carelessness, poor choices, ignorance, etc. It's when it happens every time you go out that gets to you.

I'd be very careful with galvanized pipe as an exhaust. You will need to put taking it off regularly and inspecting the insides of the pipe and the outside without the wrap. It will corrode from the inside out and you will have a complete failure all of a sudden. Yeah, it will probably last a long time. But no one (usually at least) carries a spare exhaust piping with them.

The hot exhaust gas mixed with salt water is extremely corrosive so beware.

But well done on your learning experience. Good call on getting the tow. One thing I learned with my first (and only to date) tow was to close all through hulls first.

Happy sailing.....

[Cheechako]

I cant really tell what all that pipe is attached to, but if it is just hanging off the motor, that's not good... to much suspended weight. Is it after the water injection? If so you could just use rubber, which is a lot more forgiving. Oh well, you are done now.
I used a galvanized elbow and nipple on my old MD2B Volvo. It lasted years. Actually it was there when I sold the boat. Stainless is terrible in that application.

[2xcrash]

The exhaust has two hangers that attach to the boat so there is very little resting on the exhaust flange. Also the wrap on the old pipe was asbestos so I'm assuming that this was the original header and it was galvanized. So a 43 year run ain't so bad. I don't see me being in this boat more than 2 years anyway. The plan is to start on this one and decide if we like it or not.
And I'm hooked!