garyd
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2005
- Messages
- 774
- Hatteras Model
- 41' CONVERTBLE-Series II (1986 - 1991)
There were several threads that I started to share this story, but didn't quite fit, so I'll share it here.
We took 13 boats to a boat show in Michigan City IN. I believe it was 1987. When we started back from the show in Lake Michigan it was 2-3 foot waves then got up to 4-5's steady but once in awhile they would combine to give you a rouge.
I guess we had at least 100nm miles up to grand Haven, waves were about 20 degrees off port bow wind about 20MPH.
We had to stop to relieve ourselves. It was so wavey that I had to crawl on my hands and knees from the doorway across the salon to the head. And hold on with both hands, and crawl back. I was running the boat by myself. You couldn't pea off the side cause you might fall in. LOL
These were not monsterous waves but close together realatively and steady with a biggy thrown in now and then for good measure.
Well in the lead boat was a guy by the name of Jim Geerlings, he and I would blast around in our go fast boats all the time, these waves were kinda fun.
Of the 13 boats were one Hatteras one bertram one viking then carvers, wellcrafts and a few others I can't remember. These were all brand new boats.
The 40 MY had gas engines and that was good because every 5 to 7 waves the boat would come out of the water. Since I was use to jumping waves at 70+ MPH I did what I always did snatch the throttles back and then just as the props starter to rebite set the RPM's back where I wanted them. This went on for hours.
Every about 10 minutes or so I would duck as a sheet of water would blow over the boat. There was no bimini or hardtop.
It was a riot. Nothing like the feel of a 30,000lb+ boat launching itself off a good size wave just to reenter and have a hugh spray blow out and over It was great.
Well the first boat to cry uncle was the 44' viking. they begged to stop, we were less than half way home. Jim calls me on the VHF and says "Gary what do you think?" I said" I thought it was fairly calm at this point and we should press on
" and so we did.
Hour after hour launch snatch the throttles back bite reset the throttles. We only had to stop and pea the one time because after that there was nothing to pea since it was impossible to drink anything. Remember we were still trying to maintain about 20KTS.
Boats were leaking water coming in where it wasn't supposed to from the spray. You really couldn't focus on any other boat and conversing on the VHF was next to impossible. you were just toooooo busy.
I felt a shudder from the port engine and then the starboard. The port shut down and the starboard was running rough. As I settled down to about 6 kts and got a steady easy cruise going the starboard settled down a little, port off line for now. Every once in a while the starboard would shudder then run O.K. I headed into Saugatuck. Every once in a while I would try to start the port thinking I was going to need it to surf a wave into the channel. It would fire choke and quit.
I got the port engine to run for about 5 seconds at a time quite consistantly. So I waited till I needed it and fired it up did my manuvering and it would quit. Didn't take me long to clear the breakwater at Saugatuck. Now all I had to do was find a place to park a 40MY unanounced on one engine. The port would now stay running longer and longer. Someone came out onto a dock and motioned and helped me dock, it wasn't that big of a deal after what I had just gone through. I asked how he happened to be there he said he overhead me call the group and let them know I had to bring it in on one rough running engine, I thanked him as it was nice to see someone looking up at you smiling helping when you really are not sure where to tie up or how the docking is going to come out.
I hitched a ride back up to Holland where the rest of the group landed to party hanger talk laugh and almost cry at the stories.
The next few days the boats all made there way back to Grand Haven and were kinda off togther in a group again.
I and others were amazed at the damage. Two of the boats were totalled and went back to the factories. All the boats had damage somewhere somehow. Yes, people could say we abused them but it was not unlike what a boat will take on Lake Michigan over the years.]
One Manufacturer claimed we dropped the boat, I looked them straight in the eyeball and said not on the ground but in a sense everytime it hit a wave it was like dropping it. No response back to the factory it went, and others as well.
How did the 40MY fair and why was the engines running bad. We determined that after we refueled at the boat show someone didn't get the fuel caps tight enough and when they washed the boat the next morning water got into the fuel. I checked the caps before I left and they were loose but not terribly loose. After carfully looking for damage The only thing I found was the knob for the fan control in the salon had fallen off. That was the extent of the damage, if you can call it that, on the 1987 Hatteras 40MY.
That was quit a ride!!!!!!!!
We took 13 boats to a boat show in Michigan City IN. I believe it was 1987. When we started back from the show in Lake Michigan it was 2-3 foot waves then got up to 4-5's steady but once in awhile they would combine to give you a rouge.
I guess we had at least 100nm miles up to grand Haven, waves were about 20 degrees off port bow wind about 20MPH.
We had to stop to relieve ourselves. It was so wavey that I had to crawl on my hands and knees from the doorway across the salon to the head. And hold on with both hands, and crawl back. I was running the boat by myself. You couldn't pea off the side cause you might fall in. LOL
These were not monsterous waves but close together realatively and steady with a biggy thrown in now and then for good measure.
Well in the lead boat was a guy by the name of Jim Geerlings, he and I would blast around in our go fast boats all the time, these waves were kinda fun.
Of the 13 boats were one Hatteras one bertram one viking then carvers, wellcrafts and a few others I can't remember. These were all brand new boats.
The 40 MY had gas engines and that was good because every 5 to 7 waves the boat would come out of the water. Since I was use to jumping waves at 70+ MPH I did what I always did snatch the throttles back and then just as the props starter to rebite set the RPM's back where I wanted them. This went on for hours.
Every about 10 minutes or so I would duck as a sheet of water would blow over the boat. There was no bimini or hardtop.
It was a riot. Nothing like the feel of a 30,000lb+ boat launching itself off a good size wave just to reenter and have a hugh spray blow out and over It was great.
Well the first boat to cry uncle was the 44' viking. they begged to stop, we were less than half way home. Jim calls me on the VHF and says "Gary what do you think?" I said" I thought it was fairly calm at this point and we should press on
" and so we did.Hour after hour launch snatch the throttles back bite reset the throttles. We only had to stop and pea the one time because after that there was nothing to pea since it was impossible to drink anything. Remember we were still trying to maintain about 20KTS.
Boats were leaking water coming in where it wasn't supposed to from the spray. You really couldn't focus on any other boat and conversing on the VHF was next to impossible. you were just toooooo busy.
I felt a shudder from the port engine and then the starboard. The port shut down and the starboard was running rough. As I settled down to about 6 kts and got a steady easy cruise going the starboard settled down a little, port off line for now. Every once in a while the starboard would shudder then run O.K. I headed into Saugatuck. Every once in a while I would try to start the port thinking I was going to need it to surf a wave into the channel. It would fire choke and quit.
I got the port engine to run for about 5 seconds at a time quite consistantly. So I waited till I needed it and fired it up did my manuvering and it would quit. Didn't take me long to clear the breakwater at Saugatuck. Now all I had to do was find a place to park a 40MY unanounced on one engine. The port would now stay running longer and longer. Someone came out onto a dock and motioned and helped me dock, it wasn't that big of a deal after what I had just gone through. I asked how he happened to be there he said he overhead me call the group and let them know I had to bring it in on one rough running engine, I thanked him as it was nice to see someone looking up at you smiling helping when you really are not sure where to tie up or how the docking is going to come out.
I hitched a ride back up to Holland where the rest of the group landed to party hanger talk laugh and almost cry at the stories.
The next few days the boats all made there way back to Grand Haven and were kinda off togther in a group again.
I and others were amazed at the damage. Two of the boats were totalled and went back to the factories. All the boats had damage somewhere somehow. Yes, people could say we abused them but it was not unlike what a boat will take on Lake Michigan over the years.]
One Manufacturer claimed we dropped the boat, I looked them straight in the eyeball and said not on the ground but in a sense everytime it hit a wave it was like dropping it. No response back to the factory it went, and others as well.
How did the 40MY fair and why was the engines running bad. We determined that after we refueled at the boat show someone didn't get the fuel caps tight enough and when they washed the boat the next morning water got into the fuel. I checked the caps before I left and they were loose but not terribly loose. After carfully looking for damage The only thing I found was the knob for the fan control in the salon had fallen off. That was the extent of the damage, if you can call it that, on the 1987 Hatteras 40MY.
That was quit a ride!!!!!!!!
