Maiden Voyage From Hell

[Freebird]

If you don't have them, call Hatteras and get the original wiring diagrams. I doubt there were ever any batteries except in the vented engine room space.

Step down transformers can be had at just about any good marine store. I bought one from Boatfix.com the last time I needed it. Usually the Newmar brand is most prevalent.

Thanks for the info. I do seem to have all the original wiring diagrams, but I didn't have time to go over all of them. I will check into the transformers. Once they are installed, I'll make you or anyone else out there a heck of a deal on a half dozen 12 volt chargers!

[Angela]

Explain to the boat you are her friend, not like the last owner, and you will do right by her. And, with any luck, she will do right by you.

Well put, Jim, and how true that is. I went through sort of a similar period of time (no, I didn't have the story we've just read above!) when I took possession of my 58MY where I kept screaming, "My boat hates me! She hates me!" and Ed kept telling me that she was just testing me to see whether I was worthy of her. And then, out of the blue, she started to come around and now she loves me!

Ang

[Genesis]

Boats are like that and it doesn't help when they're new to you and you're not attuned to how things SHOULD be.

The wise man learns this stuff in close on a new larger (and any Hatt qualifies) boat before heading off into the yonder, preferrably spending a couple of WEEKS aboard before going any significant distance.

If not, well, you will learn these things learn the other way grasshopper.....

[Boss Lady]

My hell trip looks like summer vacation compared to this one. Motored a project boat from Georgetown, Great Exuma to North Carolina. Lots of excitement but not compared to this. Good luck, and believe me there will be more excitement along the way. Boat : definition: Break Out Another Thousand.

[Angela]

Boat : definition: Break Out Another Thousand.

While I used to find that definition to be pretty accurate, since "moving up" in size, it's more like: Break Out Another Ten-thousand

Ang

[Freebird]

Boats are like that and it doesn't help when they're new to you and you're not attuned to how things SHOULD be.

The wise man learns this stuff in close on a new larger (and any Hatt qualifies) boat before heading off into the yonder, preferrably spending a couple of WEEKS aboard before going any significant distance.

If not, well, you will learn these things learn the other way grasshopper.....

Thanks for the insight oh wise one of the Hatt, but that's weedhopper to you pal! Make that Mr. weedhopper!

[Freebird]

My hell trip looks like summer vacation compared to this one. Motored a project boat from Georgetown, Great Exuma to North Carolina. Lots of excitement but not compared to this. Good luck, and believe me there will be more excitement along the way. Boat : definition: Break Out Another Thousand.

Hey, like they say, ship happens! I'll get her squared away. I've tried to make myself feel better about the expense involved in running myself out of fuel (still can't believe I did that, I'm no rookie, I just got excited to play with my new toy) I would have spent more than that on fuel if I weren't sitting in a marina for two days! How's that for boating logic?

[Genesis]

Heh, I did it on the way home. Not quite as dramatic, but close.

Here's the story....

Bought Gigabite in Ft. Lauderdale and spent about 2 weeks straightening out all the "stuff" noted in the survey. Stuffing boxes needed attention, alarm panels were all screwed up, dozens of smaller items, getting to know where everything is and how it all works, lots of crawling around, bought a full set of charts between Ft. Lauderdale and Home, had two GPSs on board (a working Loran that can read in Lat/Long + a handheld), etc.

After all this I'm pretty confident we're ready to go.

Came out of Ft. Lauderdale headed for Marathon and then up the west coast. Because I'm not familiar with the Hawk Channel I decide we're going to run outside.

New boat to me (Gigabite), so I had no good handle on fuel burn. Figured we'd stop at Marathon if there was any chance of not making Marco Island, otherwise we would fuel there.

Ok, so we go through at Marathon. I send the buddy that I had brought with me as a "boat hand" to pull the fuel lids and tell me what we had (mistake #1 - not checking it myself.) He comes back up the ladder saying "3/4ths in both tanks." We were at idle, fully settled in the water, no slosh issues here.....

Ok, that's cool. We can easily make Marco Island. I'm quite impressed with what the new girl (to me) consumes; indeed, I'm downright giddy with the apparent decent consumption (mistake #2 - believing something is better than it should be!) We go through.

About 50nm out from Marco I note that the house side electrical system's voltage is low - and dropping. Not good. 30nm out I lose the house electrical; we are obviously not charging on that side and the battery is dead. For unknown reasons the AC charger is not working either! Oh, and its about 6:00 and will be dark soon (how much fun is it to run with no lights?!) I figure no problem - we'll be in within an hour and I can figure out what's up overnight and fix it; I've got a good bearing on the inlet and my handheld and compass are fine, plus the paper charts. The pucker factor is getting a bit higher, but still - no real problem.

We're motoring along about 2-3 miles out of the inlet approaching Marco Island, with the inlet clearly visible and the port engine sputters and dies. I immediately back down the starboard engine to 1000 RPM to keep from overloading it, then sent my boat-bud down to look at the fuel gauges - he shouts up "BOTH ON EMPTY!"

Oh oh.

So I decide to make the remaining 2-3 miles to the inlet on the other engine. Once safely inside the inlet, I instruct my buddy to go down to the cockpit and throw the fuel manifolds over to select STARBOARD for both engines. He disappears, and 30 seconds later the STARBOARD engine dies! Of course he threw the valves all right - the WRONG WAY!

Now we've got a real problem. I've got a running generator and ONE good battery bank (generator/engine start starboard), but that generator won't be running for very long! If I kill the starboard battery trying to re-prime I'm totally screwed, given that I have no idea why we have no AC charger output - getting the generator running again may not help me!

I toss the anchor, safely inside Marco Harbor, and TURN OFF the genset.

I then use the parallel relay to get enough power to call TowBoat/US (unlimited towing policy which I've had for many years and not yet needed!) and request fuel. They ask how much - I tell them "as much as you can get in the towboat please; we're in the harbor."

They bring it about 2 hours later; 30 gallons in 5 gallon Jerry Cans. We pour it in the STARBOARD tank. Now, with a secure generator fuel supply, I attempt to re-prime and start the Starboard engine.

No dice. The "fuel out" condition sucked SOMETHING into the starboard side's fuel system - it won't pull fuel. It pulls a very nice vacuum on the system, but no liquid. Damn.

We call the TowBoat people back and tell them we need a tow in as we can't get the starboard engine up and are not about to kill our only good battery and perhaps the parallel relay playing games attempting to parallel-start into a dead bank. They comply - a couple of hours later. Its now about 10:30; they tow us to a local marina where we tie up for the night.

In the AM I find that the starboard positive alternator lead was loose and burned completely through, which is why we had no charge. The AC charger had a fuse fail due to vibration, which is why IT didn't pick up the load. The fuel situation? Best as I can figure my "boat buddy" read the gauge wrong..... I've no other explanation as on 3/4 of both tanks we certainly had enough fuel to make Marathon to Marco Island.....

The fuel restriction was cleared with a vacuum tank and $300 later (I wasn't about to argue with the mechanic who owned the vaccum tank as we did not have one nor a vacuum source!) we were back underway......

[Paul45c]

Gee, you guys gotta be more careful! OK, OK, I'm glad I'm out of range of any thrown tools!

It doesn't have to be your delivery ride home or shakedown to have the trip from hell. We've all been there at one time or another, of course. I had a pretty memorable trip to Key West from Hillsborough Inlet a couple of years ago where I thought it couldn't have gotten much worse. From surprise microsqualls to all kinds of little (and BIG) problems with the boat. After coming home to my familiar dock on day 6, tired, sweaty and rung-out, I almost hung a for-sale sign on the boat right then and there. And that's after I'd really been through the boat for over a year and several trips. In fact, that's even more demoralizing because you feel you've been prudent and checked over just about everything! And it still lays a big turd on you.

But, then you can have 3 nice trips in a row without a single niggly fault and you wonder if life can get any better. That's boating.

All we can really do is deal with probs as soon as we see them, and always travel with good tools and lots of spares of the common items that can ruin your day. Roll the dice and hope mother ocean and mother Hatteras treat us gently. Oh, and enjoy your beer looking at that nice sunset or a fishbox full of dolphin!

[Traveler 45C]

I must be one of those extremely lucky people. Being a novice boater and not even knowing how to start a diesel when I bought Traveler, I made the 80 mile trip from Panama City to Pensacola through the Gulf without incedent. This was my first big trip in any boat.

I guess I didn't really know what I was getting into and I don't know what I would have done if I had problems like that happen.

Just head North, I guess...

I learned a few lessons on this Forum though. I would never attempt that now. I realize how lucky I was. And if I had known then what I know now about Traveler's issues...