Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

luckyinkentucky

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
462
Do you guys know of a way to keep the Gremlins at bay and away from your boat?

I know a lot of you aren't superstitious, but I have learned to be over the past year and a half. After a very good friend died in a boating related accident after renaming his boat I have become more and more superstitious about the water and boats.

It seems like every trip I have been on lately something comes up wrong with my boat a few days after I get in. It has been that way from the beginning.

It started out with a Warning Horn issue that ended up being some wierd fluke associated with my aerator switch. Come to find out the aerator switch isn't anywhere near the warning horn circuit, and I can't get it to repeat itself for the life of me. Although, it went on for a week straight until I found the aerator switch 'on' and switched it 'off'. The warning horn stopped sounding.

Then, my Bow eye mysteriously gets the rot after seeing it in excellent working order when I bought the boat 3 months ago. For some reason it just started pulling away from the boat one day when I got home.

Now I have some mysterious tachometer issue that I can't seem to find the problem to.

All on a boat that was inspected by 2 independent appraisers before I bought it. The previous owner even signed a sworn affidavit stating the boat had less than 300 hours on it.

How can I get the Gremlins away from my boat? :) On my motorcycles I just put some tiny cat bells on the front fork. What about a boat?
 

Bondo

Moderator
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Apr 17, 2002
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70,589
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

How can I get the Gremlins away from my boat?

Ayuh,........

I do it by Fixing what's Broken........
 

luckyinkentucky

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
462
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

It doesn't always have to do with what's broken. :)

Sometimes odd things just pop up for no reason that no one can find the answer to. Some instances would be a quirky speedo that works fine any other time except on one area of the lake. An unexplained electrical problem that you search and search for then one day it just quits doing whatever it was doing, and goes back to acting right. Stuff like that!

I heard on another forum that if you tie small cat bells to your lower engine away from any mechanical parts, and hang a few under the dash, and on the mirror it keeps them away. I might give it a try. :p
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
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May 19, 2001
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26,026
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

Okay.... the truth.

Gremlins have your name, address, telephone number and spies everywhere..... they are poised to spring into action at any moment.:eek:

The only way to prevent thm is to mail large amounts of cash to me and I will be sure the gremlins are paid off!!

That spot in the lake where your speedometer will not work..... is it up-hill or downhill?? :D
 

ziggy

Admiral
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
7,473
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

Quote:
How can I get the Gremlins away from my boat?
Ayuh,........

I do it by Fixing what's Broken........
and by doing preventitive maint. prior to it breaking too.......

for what its worth. i named my last boat. it had never been named. it disinigrated in front of my eyes....i named my current boat. it never had a name either. it's treated me more than kindly so far........go figure.....

Okay.... the truth.

Gremlins have your name, address, telephone number and spies everywhere..... they are poised to spring into action at any moment.:eek:
that's not gremlins bob_vt.......thats the govt......
 

luckyinkentucky

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
462
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

Laugh all you want. :p

Next time you go out on the lake and something weird happens .... don't say I didn't warn you.

Others are talking about it too. It's been going on as long as men have sailed the seas. Old sailors were very superstitious. Here's a link that a buddy of mine replied to this Spring.

Gremlins Topic

Check out that link.
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
Staff member
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May 19, 2001
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26,026
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

Oh that explains it! Those are United Kingdom Gremlins which are a totally different species than the Northern American Gremlin.

If you are concerned.... which you are. Perform all maintenance before it is needed. Many of us here take NOTHING for granted on maintenance. I examine my electrical connections with great care.... remove, lightly sand, re-install and re-seal. Everything is soldered - no twisting wires or cheap "scotch clips", I coat things with dielectric grease or liquid tape and tend to be meticulas.

If something fails :( I usually can get home and I fix it.

Things do wear out... bulbs burn out .... do not worry about it. Do the maintenance and have fun!

Don't get Gremlins wet and never ever feed them at night :eek:
 

bjcsc

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Messages
1,805
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

Those are Spinner's Little Buddies. Write him a nice letter and see if he'll ask them to lay off for awhile...;)
 

drewmitch44

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
1,749
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

The first rule is that you cant get Mogwai's wet!! The second rule is that you can't feed them after Midnight!!!! If you stick with these rules then you dont have to worry about the problem at all as there will be no Gremlins at all!!! As you might remember Gizmo never got wet in the movie so he had to fight all the other Gremlins that were Mogwai's that eather got wet or ate something after midnight. Once this happens I dont know how to get them into the Bay!!! You in for a world of trouble!!! Hehehehe.
 

mrfixitman40

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Aug 13, 2007
Messages
286
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

hey i thought they was cute little puppies .didn't mean to get the wet they just wanted to swim a little
 

Nova II 260

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
681
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

You might try some Voodoo Hoodoo. If that doesn't work, a couple of large Cognac sniffters should work.
If it's man made, it'll break! As Bond-O said "just fix it" and have a nice day.
I have had some bad things happen after a boat name change. I too (after having read maritime superstitions) was a little aprehensive. But in retrospect, it was just my stupidity, carelessness or a item's natural aged demise, that caused the problem(s).
Clear your head of all that useless malarky and enjoy the day.
 

Dakota47

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 22, 2007
Messages
722
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

Maybe hang a bell under the console..?? i have one on my Motorcycle too..
 

mike176

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Messages
202
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

Gremlins hate a good freshwater washdown and WD40, keep them away everytime.
 

arboldt

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 25, 2007
Messages
417
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

We really pampered our '72 Gremlin. :D Only sold in when we started our family and it was too small.

We often wish we had another Gremlin. (And it worked fine even when wet!).

Course, you probably aren't thinking of a car like that in your boat... :)
 

Mark42

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Oct 8, 2003
Messages
9,334
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

If you dance the Hokey Pokey around the boat twice naked in a counter clockwise direction while on the ramp before launching, there should be no problems.
 

country_bumpkin

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 9, 2007
Messages
255
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

If you dance the Hokey Pokey around the boat twice naked in a counter clockwise direction while on the ramp before launching, there should be no problems.

No kidding! This really does work!

The Hokey Pokey will fix anything, because "that's what its all about!"
 

luckyinkentucky

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
462
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

Laugh all you want, but they hit again this weekend! :)

Brand new tires with less than 100 miles on them, and one blows coming back from the lake. I know it sounds silly, but it's easier to blame something supernatural than to blame it on just plain bad luck. :p
 

Nova II 260

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
681
Re: Keeping the 'Gremlins' at bay

Well then if you must have a cure for strange happenings, tie some cat bells around your short appendage and do the Hokey Pokie in the nude, at the ramp, like as Mark42 suggested. Then hang them from the Boweye. No sure if CCW is the right direction.
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My gremlins; Renamed my boat, slammed the engine hatch on my fingers. Bbecause I left the floor hatch open and stepped in the compartment holding on to the hatch cover.. I DumbAzz.
Renamed it again (just in case she didn't like the 1st name) Stepped off the trailer fender backwards and broke my ankle and ruptured Achilles. (normally I use the swimstep and ladder to disembark on the dry) Practically no Boating for me this summer. I DumbAzz again. Sh.. happens, blame whom ever....
 
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