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Yesterday I took my Fortress anchor apart to try to straighten the stock that was bent from striking a dock support while docking in powerful current. I carefully put the parts on my dock steps out of the way. Then I got distracted and decided to wash the boat. While pulling on the hose, you guessed it, I heard a splash....
Oh well, back to the Bruce.
Sorry you lost the Fortress. But any boater who says they haven't done something like that (probably more than once) is lying or has memory issues that need to be addressed! :)
I feel your pain. A couple of years ago, I removed a main engine sea strainer to repair a leak. the Big strainer has a bronze cap which is held in place with a long bolt going down the middle of the cap. I took the strainer to the dock to take apart the strainer. in doing so I drop the bronze cap in between the dock planks and into the dark muddy abyss. after a few colorfull words, I set out to find a replacement. Of course, nobody carries that replacement part. Finally after two days of looking, i resort to having one machined. I pick it up, looks nice, and head back to the boat. since the other parts were still on the dock I figured I'd just rebuild the strainer right there. What happend next cannot be made up, I was back at the machine shop the next day for another one...
Installing Marquipt davit on bow. Had stand pipe in hand and was fitting pipe to hole in deck. As I got off the bow I said to the person assisting that I hope I do not drop it. Laid it down on the dock, safely. Walking away and I heard it start to roll. Tried to reach it before it went in, no luck. Called the diver to recover that afternoon.
RR
Last month I replaced the 250 of 3/8 chain on the boat I run. So after loading the new chain in the locker I removed the end shackle from the old one, get distracted by a phone call, and attach the new chain to the 6' line tied to the bottoms of the locker.
Then I decide to run the chain thru to make sure there are no kinks.
Yes you guessed it... End of the chain runs out of the hawsepipe thru the windlass and in the drink! I had reattached the line to the old chain! Glad i did a test in the slip!
It was only 12' deep but I saw a diver across the fairway so I asked him if I could just swim across and pick the end for me. He said "no problem that will be $150". When I asked if he was joking he brings it down to $100. I thanked him, got my snorkeling gear and fetched my own chain... $100 for 2 minutes? I don't think so!
Usually right when I hear the "plunk" of the splash and look over my shoulder to see what it is, my mind is going "sunuva....you dumbass". On the old Potomac we can't see through the water and the mud swallows everything!
I was spoiled on the tropical island where the water is clear and I could see where whatever I dropped went.
Sometimes it seems to defy the laws of physics.
This wasn't particularly bad -money/time wise but I'm still amazed when I recall it: a couple of years ago i was working on something on the back deck of our previous boat. I had a Snap-On screwdriver in my hand and walked to the center of the back deck area - plenty of deck in all directions. I dropped the screwdriver. It landed directly on the tip of the handle in the middle of the deck and somehow bounced up and over the bargeboard 4 feet away into the water as if it had some sort of mini JATO bottle attached. I think I just stood there for at least a minute thinking "How the #$%@ is that possible?" I was wondering if I had discovered some sort of perpetual motion thing...
But watching an entire open-array radar antenna that I was carefully unbolting "pop" itself off the mast mount, bounce off the inflatable dink, cannonball into the water, and float away into the marina fairway was probably my most expensive screwup. But I have to admit that I laughed for 5 minutes before I started the recovery operation. I was surprised that the antenna part would keep the machinery part afloat. I was planning to replace the radar at some point but not necessarily then.
On my previous 36 ft boat, we had it in a shed, I also stored our 50 CC Honda scooter there (new), had the anchor on the dock for repair etc and you guessed it, up came the anchor, down went the scooter, quick retrieval and off to the shop, all fixed up, back in the shed, one week later a kid stole it and wrecked it.
Several years ago had my cellphone clipped to my belt (dumbass) and while docked to pick up ice and bait for a nice fishing trip came down the dock's ladder.
The phone caught on the ladder and went exactly through the roughly 3" gap between the gunwale of the boat and the dock. 1" either way and it was either on the dock or in the boat.
As it was, it was a splash.
I swear there was a homing device in that damn phone that sought water.....
That's not the only time.... but it's the most-memorable.
This is a great "man-up to splash events" thread. While doing the Great Loop, we were anchored in the Mississippi in a side channel cutoff. My anchor rode got wrapped around the windlass with the last wrap jammed between 2 other wraps so tight it wouldn't move and was pulled completely tight against the 60 lb CQR anchor on the roller. After trying in vain to loosen it, I figured I'd just take the shackle off, pull the rope out backwards and put the shackle back on. You guessed it... when I took the shackle off the anchor roller did it's job and deposited the anchor on the bottom of the Mississippi. New 60 lb. CQR cost me $968.
Doug
Dang Pascal !! Guess I should feel gratefull. We have a diver that cleans most of the hulls here in Southport (Deep Point). Heck if he's already here, he will gladly swim over and recover something easy for free. If he has to spend a great deal of time looking and looking, he'll charge a small fee, but usually he'll check your prop or running gear at no charge. Thats the difference between someone out to make a buck and someone who just likes his job. I should say he stays booked up too. I guess we are lucky to have him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pascal
I have found over time that the more the value of what hits the water the more distict the "bloop" sound will be. No real good stories here, just the normal phones, pagers, & fill caps.
Edit: I do have a good one. Just before we left for the Keys on our first trip ever I pulled the plugs on the dink to let the water out. dropped 1 and it made a very distincive "Bloop". With no time to replace my diver actually found it. $50 well spent.
Pete
Most divers do that here too... I ve had guys that were working on a nearby boat clear a line or something, it's always "don't worry about it". They know they'll get a couple of twenties plus some business in the future
Im usually good for dropping one or two cell phones from my shirt pocket when bending over on the boat, it always seem to bounce once on the deck or dock before splashing into the water.
I now only wear shirts that have button pockets.
The button didnt help last winter when i slipped in the water. (that is a whole different story)
I can attest to the fact that those adjustable, aluminum, long-poled brush handles they sell at West Marine to wash your boat with sink really fast....even with the wooden brush attached.
My worse "ker-plunk, spash" was years ago when I went fishing in Long Island Sound. I just bought a nice new rod with a fine Penn Reel. The rod was in a holder on the gunnel. Just below the rod holder was a hinged storage cover.
Get to the fishing hole, open the cover which caught the rod just right and launched my new rig over the side into the deep. I see it happen in slow motion and just sat my butt down on the cockpit deck and shook my head in disbelief.
Let's see... nice Ray Ban sunglasses- gone........... TMobile cell phone- gone.......small Fortress anchor- still in Eastern Bay attached to a snapped anchor rode (I had a diver friend search for that one as I hit the MOB button as soon as it happened, but he never found it). ChannelLock Hatteras screwdriver- gone.............
And that's just the stuff I remember.
I think MikeP gets the prize here. I remember when the radar went overboard, but I wasn't there to see it. That does pretty much bear the bell away, I would say. It's hard to top that.
I do remember that when my cell phone went overboard, out of my shirt pocket, the first thing we did was dial it from my girlfriend's phone to see if we could hear it ring down there- it was only about four feet of water. Guess what? We couldn't.
So far I've been lucky rather than good.
Dropped my sunglasses at the dock once. I could see them but couldn't get them in a net so I ended up taking a quick and cold swim in October to get them back. Lucky.
One memorable oops was while underway trying to remove the lens from the dome light above the helm that was full of water and dripping on me. One of the tiny screws went bouncing off the bridge and as I watched it ricochet off the eyebrow I just automatically asssued it was going overboard but then it ended up on the foredeck stopped by the toe rail. Lucky.
I haven't lost an anchor (yet) but I did manage to pretzel one fairly well once. I always get a chuckle out of the picture:
http://i53.tinypic.com/2ew0hgm.jpg
Sort of lucky. :rolleyes:
A friend who's a diver walked into the shop one day and handed me a new gaff that he found on a wreck. Lucky for me.
And there was that poor guy in the Sea-Ray at an airshow whose anchor ended up in the shallows when the tide went out and he had to leave. He was trying to pull it out with power when I finally suggested he try an alternate approach before he hurt someone. He ended up cutting the anchor off and had no sooner gone when one of the guys I was rafted with swam out and got a free anchor. Lucky for him.
So thanks everybody who's dropping free stuff overboard. :D
Hi All,
I can attest to the fact that Bimini panels sink really fast....Searay next to us dropped both side curtains overboard on a windy day......they flew quite far really before sinking like a rock.
Speaking of items going overboard defying the laws of physics, I had a heck of a time removing a cleat from my Connie. I suspect somebody used 5200 to bed it. With the bolts out, I tried reefing on a securely fastened spring line in all different directions--from straight up to completely sideways--and she wouldn't budge. It wasn't until I removed the spring line and inadvertently tapped it with my bare foot while sitting down that it sprang free and went chasing Neptune.
Ditto for a Danforth anchor in a roller pulpit. It was nestled in its home, lying completely slack along the pulpit. All I did was remove the shackle and WHOOSH..kersplash!
The thing is, there's that brief moment after these things take flight when time stands still and they defy gravity JUST LONG ENOUGH to make you think you could lunge and save them from the deep. Don't be fooled. That's just mermaid magic trying to lure us into the deep. But don't ask how I know that...
Two weeks ago I had a S&S (how about "splash and sh*t" moment) when I opened the gas cap on my speed demon 3hp machine and the chain broke and it went ka-plunk. Of course there is that second where you see it hit the water and start to sink and can almost grab it...but by the time you reach it's already out of view. And this is in the middle of the Mohawk river which I have no idea how deep it is, but definitely too deep to go after it!
But the day wasn't ruined. A little bit of clear tape over the tank and only fill it half full and boating resumed. $14 for a new cap off the internet that didn't come in time for the next weekend of boating....but that tape worked mighty fine for over 60NM of cruising!
Please don not hate yourself ..Everyone has their advantage......
somebody please zap this spammer