Maiden Voyage From Hell

[Freebird]

If I might be so bold, the perfect "Chapter II" might be what, if anything, you could possibly have done differently that could have resulted in a happier ending. Several of us have gotten excited about the prospect of taking ownership of a great new (for us) Hatt that we can't wait to bring home. Carl, who's REALLY well known in this forum, had quite a time bringing his new prize home years ago. If that's the case, there are sure to be horror stories no one has had the courage to share.

I guess I have to start by saying I copped out by having the boat delivered rom Miami to Hillsborough Inlet for me. BUT, I gave her a loving washdown shortly thereafter!!!

What could I have done differently to result in a happier ending? Top off the fuel tanks, send the state of Florida a bill for plowing down that shoal, and dousing my buddy with 5 gallons of Industrial Strength Off before he left Tennessee!

 

[Freebird]

What an outstanding boating story, you should submit it to your favorite boating magazine. I'll be waiting for chapter II. I'm happy to hear you survived, and with a good sense of humor. Best of luck.

Tony D

Chapter II will follow at the end of my trip back to Tennessee. Hopefully I won't have some red-neck bass molester shoot at me while going up the Tenn-Tom, and things will be a little less eventful on the trip home. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Pascal]

might be Caddyshack 2... funny scene where R.dangerfield charges in a boat thru a mooring and marina... from your post, I thought you had a sense of humor, maybe I misread it.

I'm glad you tool all the precaution you describe but your first post gave the impression that you took the boat out in iffy conditions with little preparation... agian, sorry if i misread it... first trip ending at night, storm coming, stranded in 5 footers, out of fuel, running flat out on a shoal, loose battery cables, no filters, dead batteries, oil leaks...

one of the good things about such honnest mishap reports is that we can all learn something from them, and discussing them or offering advice, otherwise, what's the point ?

i don't want to get into a play by play discussion, but tings like "I was just explaining to one of the marina kids from the stern that I need to set a spring line to help me off the dock as I was running on one engine. About that time, the young girl threw off my bow line!" really sound like miscomunication... you're mentioning getting off the dock and she untie the line. you even mention not having a spring line set... I dont' know what's wrong with the saying that a spring line is the first line that should be set ?

anyway, I wish you good luck with your trip, hope you've experienced the next 10 years of incident in this shake down cruise.

 

[Freebird]

might be Caddyshack 2... funny scene where R.dangerfield charges in a boat thru a mooring and marina... from your post, I thought you had a sense of humor, maybe I misread it.

I'm glad you tool all the precaution you describe but your first post gave the impression that you took the boat out in iffy conditions with little preparation... agian, sorry if i misread it... first trip ending at night, storm coming, stranded in 5 footers, out of fuel, running flat out on a shoal, loose battery cables, no filters, dead batteries, oil leaks...

one of the good things about such honnest mishap reports is that we can all learn something from them, and discussing them or offering advice, otherwise, what's the point ?

i don't want to get into a play by play discussion, but tings like "I was just explaining to one of the marina kids from the stern that I need to set a spring line to help me off the dock as I was running on one engine. About that time, the young girl threw off my bow line!" really sound like miscomunication... you're mentioning getting off the dock and she untie the line. you even mention not having a spring line set... I dont' know what's wrong with the saying that a spring line is the first line that should be set ?

anyway, I wish you good luck with your trip, hope you've experienced the next 10 years of incident in this shake down cruise.

Hey,

No hard feelings here. Just to clarify, the girl who untied the bow line was 50 feet away from the other kid I was talking to about a spring line. She was not part of that conversation, and could not possibly have heard us talking. For whatever reason, she took it upon herself to untie the line. Thanks for your reply and the good luck wish. I have a feeling I'll need it!

 

[Sparky1]

I had never actually taken the time to read Randy's account of his first trip in his 58 footer. Looks like Paul45c summed things up pretty well. Maybe I'll see if I can look at more of his attempts to cause problems for this forum.

 

[neosin]

It's no fun until you have thrown a rod across your engine room... And never heard it happen... Until you try to restart the engine and .... nothing. YAY i said. Something new. 2 new cool looking hatches on the top of the salon, and about 35k later we was back in action. I don't really get hard times on the water as i normally cruse Galveston bay or the GICW and you know the water can get really bad on the icw, you might even see a wave here or there, hell sometimes you might even get a splash if a tug passes just right. lol My boat is really just a black hole for money... But it's fun and i love it. And cruising the GICW on a 1972 44TC is a ton of fun. http://www.1320u.com/members/neosin/7244tc.asp

This just sounds like a typical day out on the water....am I missing something?

Seriously, hope you get all this straightened out and have better days with the boat. The 58TC is a great boat and beautiful too, things will get better. 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.

 

[Freeebird]

Gosh, I was just sitting here thinking about certain things that have come up over the past day or so like how some members don't post so much any more. Pascal gave me a great idea in the Sand Bar about such things, and I had totally forgotten this one was originally posted in the tech section when there was no Sand Bar.

It's rather nostalgic to look back and see the beginnings of new friendships and new rivals. I didn't have any friends or rivals during this time as I was the new guy and had never participated on an Internet forum at that time. Who would have thought my sharing this little story would have lead to so many great times with new friends simply because I wasn't afraid to poke a little fun at myself. Funny how things work out sometimes huh?

 

[ppat324]

Aw shucks Gome.... ws

 

[Silverado6x6]

Gosh, I was just sitting here thinking about certain things that have come up over the past day or so like how some members don't post so much any more. Pascal gave me a great idea in the Sand Bar about such things, and I had totally forgotten this one was originally posted in the tech section when there was no Sand Bar.

It's rather nostalgic to look back and see the beginnings of new friendships and new rivals. I didn't have any friends or rivals during this time as I was the new guy and had never participated on an Internet forum at that time. Who would have thought my sharing this little story would have lead to so many great times with new friends simply because I wasn't afraid to poke a little fun at myself. Funny how things work out sometimes huh?

You know Sparky I just had a bit of nostalgia myself and thought I should drop back in here and say hello, saw your post and I'm hoping things are looking brighter for you. Haven't sold Freebird yet have you? From what little I see here and it looks dated you found it was just a cracked liner, again here is the best for you.
I browsed a little bit going back a few weeks and man its so weird to hear all those tragic sinkings from overloaded canopies! Did everybody think snow was some sort of alien entity? What they would not do a "shovel ready job"?

Geejus, I live in Alaska and we have boats in places that get 80' (feet) of snow! Gotta be a mass insurance scam I think....

I'm in my off season mode, all I do is watch TV and work on my motorcycles, still can't ride yet until the secondary roads clear up but we are getting there, an unusual early spring seems to be happening up here.

 

[Freeebird]

Hey Silverado, long time no see. Yeah, it's too bad the first mechanic I had never got around to doing much more than making excuses about having to build an A-frame to lift my starboard as to remove the oil pan when that wasn't even necessary. Back then, it would have been a matter of pulling that one liner and piston and popping back in another one, and I would have been done. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20 and all that good stuff.

 

[Silverado6x6]

So did you get her running? I have not gone through the forums looking at everyone's little adventures yet.

 

[Freeebird]

Nope, the last mechanic sang a nice song as well, but he disappeared along with my oil pan and twelve hundred of my favorite dollars. I'll be headed down to Chattanooga next Friday to pick up my TWIC card, and then I'll be filing a suit in small claims court in the next county over where my boat is.

I sure am looking forward to my next, twin engine'd maiden voyage in the old gal, and with any luck at all, that will take place sometime this summer.

 

[Silverado6x6]

He took the OIL PAN? fer cryin out loud, I know its a 12v71 but what was he thinking, sell it on Ebay?

I gave up years ago trying to find and hire a decent diesel mechanic, I have so many responsibilities where I work with keeping the whole place running and in the last year being the top driver I'm hard pressed to still be the mechanic, but I have too, if anything with the down turn its easier to manage with less trucks on the road. But I have found one thing that seems to work for other people, if you want some hard working people that will finish the job you might as well just bring in a whole family of foreigners.

We have a whole lot of Russians here in Alaska, well technically they are from the Ukraine, but they build homes, they buy our concrete and pay cash every time and when the other contractors lose out and leave town these folks are building a church for their families, I know I delivered the concrete to it and they band together.

If I were to have any of them asking for work I would probably find out they won't let me down.

 

[bobk]

Randy,

You must have heard of a diesel mechanic that goes by the name Diesel Don. He's not too far from you and very good and reliable. Not cheap, but I'd recommend him if you want to get the boat up and running. PM me if you want contact info.

Bob
Chateau de Mer
lying Marathon (where it doesn't snow)

 

[Freeebird]

He says he has no intention of keeping the pan, but for whatever reason he can't seem to bring it back. I can't do anything in terms of hiring someone else until he does unless I want to buy another pan. I'll stop by the boat on the way to the courthouse and see if it's there. If not, maybe I should stop by the sheriff's office and report it stolen. Why the hell do these guys take on jobs they won't finish?

One thing's for sure, I'll spread the word about this guy up and down the river. If I have anything to say about it, he won't be pulling his crap on anybody else.

 

[Freeebird]

Randy,

You must have heard of a diesel mechanic that goes by the name Diesel Don. He's not too far from you and very good and reliable. Not cheap, but I'd recommend him if you want to get the boat up and running. PM me if you want contact info.

Bob
Chateau de Mer
lying Marathon (where it doesn't snow)

Bob, thank you very much for the input, but I have spoken to Diesel Don on more than one occasion. I've never heard anything bad about him, but he just doesn't seem to have an interest unless he can clear enough from my job to buy himself a new car.

Seriously, his lead in quote to rebuild a 12V71N was $48K PLUS expenses. We spoke again after that, and he asked me to send him an email. I complied, but he never responded. Sorry, but I just don't do business that way.

 

[spindrift]

Freebird:

A member of my club (who just turned 70) has been a mechanic forever taking care of lot a members' boats (many of them hatts). Send me a PM and I will put you in touch with him. He works with a younger fellow and may be interested in the rebuild. The cost involved is going to be a function of if you want a total or just a top end rebuild.

FYI a buddy of mine just had a 12-92 rebuilt in Ft. Lauderdale. A complete documented job that cost 34K. This should give you a base line.

Spin

 

[Freeebird]

Thanks Spin, I'll be in touch.

Seems like this story will never end. My brother and I met with an attorney on Monday after going to the courthouse to get things addressed with my mom's estate. I won't go into details, but it's a huge mess. There is a very good chance that we won't get a penny as all her property was tied up in a judgment we didn't know about. We think there was an insurance policy in effect, but mom had been scammed by some guy and he may well be the beneficiary. I'm meeting with a sheriff's investigator to address this and other issues regarding this "gentleman" having found a copy of a letter she had written to him.

As if that weren't enough, looks like I'll be losing half my assets with the announcement my wife doesn't want to retain her title. I've been on this roller coaster for three years now, but I think this will be the last downhill section. Man, if only I could have seen a few years into the future when I bought this boat. I had plenty of money to do what needed to be done when I bought it, but it was just one disaster after another. With all this new crap, I'm back to square one. I guess I'll just have to get this new mechanic (DD certified) I've run across to check out the bottom end for any signs of corrosion. If there are none, I'll just have him fog it good and reinstall my pan. If there is corrosion, then I'll be out of small claims court and into something more involved. I guess I'd better pop over to the thread about Pascal's engine and concede the race... for now.

Yes, a lot of this is off-topic, but if I can't take my own thread off-topic, I'm just SOL.

 

[Craig]

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.

Are you speaking of converters, to lower voltage from 32 to 12 or 24v? It seems the 32 volt lamps are a problem, or expensive. Has anyone tried using 24v lamps sourced off 3 of the 8 volt batteries? As for electronics, doesn't most of the newer stuff accept 12 to 40 for power input?

I have been playing around with designing a circuit to lower 32v to 12 or 24 volts, a whole lot cheaper than purchasing a converter.

 

[stormchaser]

Wow...I'm so sorry to hear all this. Losing a parent is tough...combined with a pending divorce...yuck. If there is anything I can do...just say the word. If you are ever in the Annapolis area, lets get together for beers and a boat ride.