What to do when engine dies???

[dingbat]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

Also check your insurance about towing. Mine pays $600. A typical tow around here for me would be about $800. So after not paying Sea Tow $300 for one year, I am ahead.

What the heck? Same Area. Tow Boat - Unlimited, up to 75 miles offshore. $115 a year.
Used it twice last year before I got my fuel problems figured out. Made up for my last 9 years of dues.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

Courtesy and being helpful may not always be the norm, but it should be. But offering tows should be reserved for SeaTow and others in the business. The lawyers have seen to that. Remember that the Chris Craft boat company was put out of business because of a careless tow and a lawsuit award that was the biggest in history. I shudder every time I see someone in tow with a short line attached to a deck cleat.

Depends on location... There is no commercial towing service within a 1000 miles of me... I boat on a river that has some fairly easy to find sandbars, as well as logs, both of the free floating and ancient tree variety. Even DNR/sheriff patrols are fairly rare, and nearly non-existent during the week. Radio coverage is absolutely 100% worthless, and cell phone coverage is ok in some areas, nonexistent in others.

anyway, in other words, i help everyone that appears to need help. Mostly pulling pontoons off sand bars. (jet boats make for amazingly good tug boats!) I tow off of reinforced lifting eyes in the rear, have yet to have any problems.

 

[Boatist]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

ChickenDog
If you have a battery then get a fixed VHF Radio and a good 8 foot antenna. If you set up right you can reach San Francisco Group even from Folsom Lake. I talk to then also from Sac River near Miller park. This was back in the old days when the emergency button sent out a automatic SOS. They sent no identification and no position info so when Coast Guard would pick one up and get no voice MayDay then they would put out a request if anyone else heard the SOS. Twice I called them to tell them signal was very strong in my area just south of Sacramento. With just this one call then then knew it came from within 10 miles of my position.
If I was you I would go to one of the class room Boating skills and Seamanship classes. You can take it on line and it will help you learn the rules and saftey gear but when you go to a class there may be 25 boaters there and maybe about 1/3 are old time boaters. You can learn so much more by attending the class as some of the old time boaters share information. Also many people will ask a question you did not think about but in the class you get to hear the question and the answer.
I have attended the US Coast Guard AUX Boating Skills class 3 times and the US power squradron Class twice. Even taught a couple of the lessons when the instructor was very late getting to class. I would not take any of the 9 week classes as they are just not as good as the 13 week classes. Power Squradons has the best navigation class and most of the other parts of the class are about equal.

For what it worth I been boating my entire life and bought my first boat in 1967 and so far have never been towed in. We did paddel about 2 miles one day when we broke a sheer pin and another time we made a Sheer pin out of a fish hook and made it back to the dock. After that I carried Sheer pins and tools to change. With my larger 1980 boat have had one time when the main motor would not turn over. That was excited operator error mine. We moved farther offshore to take pictures of 5 whales and I shut the motor off in gear. When I went to start it of course it would not turn over. I started the little motor and put the wife on the wheel to head in the jumped the starter solenoid with a screwdriver to start the main motor. When we made it in then tested it over an over and it started perfect. That when I figured must have been in gear preventing the starter from turning. 3 year ago again about 5 miles off shore main motor shut off. Again put the wife on the wheel to head back. Check motor for fuel in the Carb and it was fine. Then checked spark an no spark. Pulled the distributer and saw a bunch of gunk on the points. Should has just cleaned then but instead changed them out with a new set that I carry on board. Took almost 10 minutes to repair.

Anyway the main point here is take care of your gear and it will take care of you.

 

[chickendog2010]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

@smokeonthewater

That was some really nasty experience. You guys were lucky that your boat didn't sink since it was made of aluminum and you guys could swim that well. Was the outboard damaged? I know azzholes are everywhere, one of the reasons i want to be prepared. Won't let them ruin the mood though. I would shoot them with my flare gun. (and hope they won't turn back with a shotgun LOL)


@Boatist

I will take the course whenever i can. My boat is a Walker Bay Oddysee 340, i am afraid i won't have much sapce for a lot of things. I can carry a small 12v battery if necessary. How far can i reach with a good handheld?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: What to do when engine dies???

towing is not complicated at all, especially for a boat your size. No real boater would worry about it, other than the time. The key is to make a harness on the tow boat from each stern cleat/eye so that you are towed in the center. There have been discussions in the past where posters freaked out over towing just jonboats, so take it with a grain of salt.

every boat should have a paddle.

Take a live class. There is no substitute if you are brand new to it. Maybe you will find an experienced boater to go out with you the first time; that is the best thing.

On the insurance thing, maybe my post was confusing. My insurance will pay up to $600 in towing, no charge. So if I got a $800 tow, I would be out of pocket $200 that year. If I paid $150 a year EXTRA for towboat coverage, I saved $50 that year but would be losing money unless I used it about once a year. I'm 52 and have been on the water all my life, usually in old and cranky motors; never needed to call a commercial service (now watch what happens--Godsmack!) so I have "money in the bank" if I need it. so Dingbat, check your policy and see if it already pays for towing, even if not 100%, and compare your $115 x # years with the cost of those 2 tows.
But everyone's situation is different. If I went offshore a lot, or had a larger boat that a friend couldn't tow, I'd do differnently. A good part of my boating is in small boats in a remote area where practically speaking there is no tow boat, just you, your paddle and shove pole. And sometimes the comfort is worth paynig for; even though auto insurance has towing, I still have AAA. Getting tow insurance is not a bad idea, just not for everyone--and overkill for a 11' boat IMO.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

I carry NO tools nor spare crap.
gotta enough.
I do carry my cell and my VHF and I pay for the unlimited Tow Boat US.
I have never had to use it but I pay every year.
if your nervous you can buy or lease a personal EPIRB for about 400 dollars.
trigger it and a satilite relay will alert the coast guard and give them your GPS coordinances.
but trust me, in an 11ft inflatable on a river you will most likly be ok.
sometimes you may end up ashore not really where you wished to be but you will go ashore.
I have seen folks die here because they forgot that simple fact.
we lose a few every year,mostly due to stupidity.
we also see some very ingenious folks that will collect a few crab pot bouys or any other floatation and hang on.
take your safty courses,keep your engine and fuel system top notch and go play,enjoy.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

An 11 foot inflatable, 6 HP motor and we are recommending a marine radio (hand held or fixed mount - with an 8 foot antenna), and Sea Tow. Where in heavens name does everyone expect he will be going with this rig? A paddle, a life jacket, and a cell phone is about all the safety equipment the boat has room for and power to push it. If he gets into a very remote area a marine radio is worthless anyway. He'd be better off with a CB or a standard GMRS radio.

As for what to do when your engine dies should be worded "what to do IF your engine dies." Engine problems are not an every trip occurrance unless you neglect the thing. Learn how to properly operate the engine, treat the fuel to avoid fuel system issues, learn how to perform lower unit lub changes and tune ups (at least plug changes) and routine inspections. If the engine dies paddle to shore. If you are on a river system, make darned sure you know if there are dams (particularly low head dams) in the area you will be boating.

What to expect from others is simple. Stay out of their way, especially if they are fishing.
Slow down if you have to pass closely to someone fishing. It is common courtesy. Anger erupts periodically around ramp areas. Sometimes a confrontation can't be avoided. What usually causes the problem is someone who doesn't know what they are doing in the launch retrieve process. Ask for help if that's you. If a confrontation can't be avoided, simply do whatever you feel compelled to do to temper the situation. There are some real nut cases on the water. To sum this up -- practice plain old common sense and you will be ok.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

my boat didn't sink because it had flotation in the 3 bench seats.... the outboard was fine but I did lose two deep cycle batteries and a bunch of fishing gear..... Life jackets make a long swim tiresome but possible..... sad part was that if she wasn't panicked I could have turned the boat upright and bailed it out out there in the water instead of dragging it to shore with her on it.... This was back when cell phones would draw a crowd and came in a zippered case that wouldn't even fit in a glove box..lol

quick reaction saved the day as I stopped the engine in time to keep it from ingesting water and unplugged the fuel tank so it wouldn't get water in it while the back of the boat was starting to go under. I also found the tackle box with the pliers in it first so that I could remove spark plugs and then lashed everything that was floating to the boat.....

Once we reached shore we turned it over and drained it.... got the engine running and headed back to the ramp as the sun came up....

I vowed to never again take a non swimmer out in any boat ever...


as I said before..... a pair of oars are all you need in a little inflatable..... you just need to reach safety..... 5 mph should be easy to attain whereas with a single paddle it's tough to break 1 mph... with a headwind you won't paddle far at all before being exhausted..... it won't paddle like a conoe

 

[chickendog2010]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

Thanks Silvertip, i will remember about the low head dams. Can you be more detailed about the launch and retreive activities that potentially cause such confrontations?


@smokeonthewater,
How old were you then? Anyway, you did great, especially having some panicky people along. I have seen some non-swimmers in water, they were totally terrified at the first sight of troubles. Dragging a a boat for 1 mile with a girl on top!!! I don't know if i can swim that long even with life jacket. I am not a good swimmer but i can float on my back well when i am tired. I've never had to find out how long i can do that though.
I just ordered my boat and still having trouble deciding which outboard to buy. At the moment, i am leaning toward the 9.8HP 4s tohatsu. Then i may have to buy a hydrofoil, outboard cart, ..and god knows what else. Being new to something, you can't really plan how much you will spend lol. I did that on RC 8)

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

hmmm I'd have to say about 18... double that now ugh

 

[Boatist]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

ChickenDog
Range of a good hand held is about 2 miles plus the range of the other station.
With my VHF antenna top at 11 feet my range is just less than 5 miles plus the range of the other station. So boat to boat about 10 miles. Boat to San Francisco Group it is about 85 miles because they have and antenna on Mmount Tamalpies and Mount Diablo..

The problem with a handheld is power out is about 5 or 6 watts max then feed that to an antenna that is about -3 DB loss so have about 3 watts Effective Radiated Power (ERP). Next the antenna height is about 5 feet max.

With a fixed VHF and a Heavy battery and a 8 foot antenna you would start with 25 watts and the antenna is a 6 DB gain antenna so ERP is 100 watts out. Also the antenna top is higher.

Honestly in the Sacramento area best way to get help is to wave your arms over your head as you see another boat. In the summer time and day time someone will stop and help you. Summer weekends both the Yolo and Sacramento Sherrifs will patrol the Sacramento river.

At Folsom lake very few boats carry VHF radios. The park rangers do and the sherrif boats do but they often have them set so low they can not here them. They mainly use their Police radios. Some of the larger boats at Folsom's marina have VHF radios but they mostly use them to tell their friends where they are tied up for the day. Also most of them would not tow a small boat.

As an example on a summer Sunday we were up at Folsom's Bear Cove and two hickers waved us down. We went over to see what the problem was and they had a dog that had been bitten by a rattle snake. Also they had a lady that was thrown off a horse up on the trail. She was Ok but had banged up her knee and maybe broke her leg but had people on horses with her. They were trying to get the dog to a hospital as it was not doing too good. We had them on board and headed to Granite Bay to get help. As we were coming out of the cove we see the park patrol boat headed up the North Fork and I called them on Channel 16. They are less than 2 miles but did not respond. We finally raise a sherrif boat on the other side of the lake. He was able to contact the state park rangers on his police radio and a truck met us at the dock. They also called around to find a vet that was open on Sunday. Since the victim car with horse trailer was a long way away the ranger finally got Permission to leave the state park and transport them and the dog to the vet. We went back to bear cove and see another park ranger boat looking for the lady. I call on the radio and pointed out where the people came down the hill. Ranger went up the hill. Shortly after that another state parks boat showed up and took a streacher up the hill, they may have been fire department. They were back in a few minutes with the lady and headed out fast. Later On a police scanner that I carry when we go to Folsom we heard the ranger report on the State Parks radio that the Vet was actually a vet hospital on Greenback and the vet on duty was experienced with Rattle snake bits. In the spring as the lake is filling they have a lot of snakes. Never heard any more about either.

The farther down the delta you go the more boats you will see with VHF radios. By the time you get to San Pablo Bay more that 50 percent will have VHF and in San Francisco Bay even more. So Down there with a handheld would have good luck. Also around the Bays the have at least 8 recieving antennas fo San Francisco Group.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: What to do when engine dies???

you are a good man for taking care of all those people

 

[chickendog2010]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

@Boatist,

That was quite a day for the dog and the woman. I hope i never have to deal those creepy creatures. Plus, hospital are expensive. I guess i should stick with cellphone and paddle and flare gun for now 8)) I have a trolling motor 55lb and a 115Ah battery but i don't know if i like to carry so much weight.

@Smokeonwater,

You are still near your prime lol. Stay in shape!

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: What to do when engine dies???

dont think anyone mentioned it above but if you are in an area covered by Sea Tow or Boat US get the insurance. $150 a year gives you great piece of mind...if you have them, either call on cell or use hand held VHF.

+1 on having BoatUS!

For around $12/month I have the unlimited towing...and my truck and trailer are covered for roadside assistance as well. My AAA would not work on (or tow) my boat trailer even though I had the Plus card...there was another catagory of membership for RV use, that I wasn't aware of! My BoatUS will even jump the truck, or deliver gas, etc. when I have the boat trailer in use.

Happy boating!