challenge: adrift, no anchor, no power, flat calm water

[SURV69]

Problem with no anchor is you wouldn't want to be inside the breakwall either.

I suppose if there's a danger of losing the boat and/or causing devastation, with calm water and the wind taking me . . . I'd swamp the boat.

[boatsail]

ask wwmd

I would have sails up asap and do what i can on that front. I really could not see me being in that position..

I was one time out of fuel and sailing, wind died, i was drifting to the lee shore (shallow) I had my danforth (secondary anchor) in the cockpit ready to deploy if favorable wind did not come. wind came and crisis avoided. it was a wind shift and just like an tide in and out, there was aa slack wind in between. i was stuck in that. anchor ready, but not needed in the end....no fuel was my problem

[zeehag]

boatsail....there are no sails on most opower boats--markpierce's is a special case--he keeps his as is spozed to be...trawler with wind assist....good...


buckets of water have been shown to slow moving boats and speed up anchored boats(that was the anchor!)..so throw out a few buckets full of water or disposable heavy stuff to slow her down then launch dinghy and save self....will be a lot faster than seatoad or boat screw us....and wont have the hidden salvage fee i know from experience they shove at ye.

[SURV69]

circumstances are set

40 ton boat
no power/no propulsion
no waves
outside a breakwall with no steerage
and some degree of wind that is evidently pushing you to the rocks at some speed.

The parameters don't indicate a time frame to imminent danger.
Being within the breakwall, means the vessel might make way to business infrastructure.

I would think there would be a duty to protect other's life and property . . . if possible.

So, my feeling would be to suffer the loss and swamp the boat in hopes the boat sits on soft sand or can be salvaged.

After all, it's "your boat", that's the problem.

[nimblemotors]

If a big enough ship, would it have a waterpump and firehose?
Use the water stream to steer like a jet boat.

I'm thinking if I had no choice heading into the rocks I would pull some throughhulls and let it take on water to set it down in the mud before it hit the rocks and tore up the hull. good idea?

[zeehag]

nimble--folks have tried that then asked ins co for dough--to do this correctly , one must do it the proper dive way--reclose the thru hulls after the reef has formed....before the adjuster has the ins co divers take a look see.....ye get ins money ,usually, when ins co can see the wreckage and assess it themselves.....

[Autumns Wind]

40 ton boat moving at 7 knts is no small thing. With only several mins to impact, you might be able to coast through the breakwater and aim for a pilling and maybe laso it. I would think on a boat that big there something you can use to slow it down, bucket, tool box, ect. With only several mins to impact, theres would be little to no time to deploy dingy. I would try and land the boat in the safest way to keep the haul intact and easy of pulling off, when the tow arrives. In all else fails, call insurance and increase coverages abandon ship... Lesson when you get new boat, buy two anchors!

[zeehag]

who'da thunk a 40 tonner wouldnt have a get me home engine......

[rebel heart]

I'm digging the idea of using the dinghy's outboard. I've got a little 2.5 Honda, air cooled, integrated tank. I don't know if I could be smart enough to whip together a quick mount for it on a board that I could lower down.

It weighs ~30lbs. I might have tried starting it up and just laying on the foredeck with it thrusting towards the boat up near the bow to at least start a turn. With the rudder hard over and 2.5 hp of lateral thrust at the bow (granted it would be sloppy and banging around everywhere) I think you could effect a near 180 turn in a few hundred yards if you moved quick enough.

I have a combined total of ~100lbs of kettlebells for weight lifting on board. Maybe a little more. One's a 53, there's a 35, and some smaller ones. Rope a line through all of those and whatever else I could find and chuck that crap overboard.

[zeehag]

rh--there ye go--more drag, hitch ob onto swim step-most power boats have those things, and keep safe....more than one way to skin a sheep....

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by zeehag

rh--there ye go--more drag, hitch ob onto swim step-most power boats have those things, and keep safe....more than one way to skin a sheep....

This magical event I dreamed up here actually happened; it was freed off the beach a while ago. It just blew me away that no one could come up with some smart way to stop it from beaching, but then I was sitting there asking myself exactly what the heck I would have done different.

Sure, I would have a sail boat, clean fuel filters with a flip valve, and anchors ready to drop. But if it did end up going sideways, what the heck could you do in two minutes?

Neat mental exercise, I hope I never to test it out.

[jannw]

Dinghy with an outboard, even a small one, will push a large boat given time and patience.

or row out a parachute anchor on all your sheets in the direction you want to go, and winch/pull it in. Lather rinse and repeat.

You need to get water flowing under your rudder.

I've rowed a 2 ton folkboat with a dinghy oar (and no motor) to a start line in no wind!

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

This magical event I dreamed up here actually happened; it was freed off the beach a while ago. It just blew me away that no one could come up with some smart way to stop it from beaching, but then I was sitting there asking myself exactly what the heck I would have done different.

Sure, I would have a sail boat, clean fuel filters with a flip valve, and anchors ready to drop. But if it did end up going sideways, what the heck could you do in two minutes?

Neat mental exercise, I hope I never to test it out.

Would like to hear more about the true situation. It seems unlikely, but an engine could stop running at just the wrong moment, for 2 minutes I could easily see one desperately trying to get it started again, no time for any other action.

I must confess my own situation where I turned off my outboard before having my sails up (lesson learned) and the tide was going FAST and I was headed right for a barge (rudder no workie in tide) and having trouble getting the main up, I desperately tried to get the outboard started again, and wouldn't start, then had to give it up and try to get sail up again, but too late, WHACKED hard into the barge. Fortunately, no significant damage, but trying to do this in matter of minutes doesn't give much time to plan ahead.

JackB

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by jannw

Dinghy with an outboard, even a small one, will push a large boat given time and patience.

Seem to remember the Royal Navy turned a submarine end for end once with the subs inflatable and a 40hp outboard. Took them 24 hours to do it mind.

Pete

[perchance]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

No details, but let's just say this or something just like it occurred before.

So you're getting near shoaling water making way, aiming for a hole in the breakwater. The engine packs in, you've got zero anchors onboard, and flat calm waters.

Any ideas?

Does the radio work?