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Rookie Mistakes

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zsonic09
1st Mate

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USA
32 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/01/2012 : 08:30:07

As I mentioned in my post (Introduction) that I took the boat out for the first time on my own, and made a few rookie mistakes. I thought I’d share these experiences to help out new sailors like myself, and to give the experienced sailors some comic relief!

There's three main story lines from the weekend.

MacGyver saves the day
We're going to Capsize!!!
Turn around go back we're sinking!!!

MacGyver saves the day

So, Saturday we head out of the channel. (first time out) The weather is awesome steady 10-15 mph winds. I'm with my girlfriend who is also new to sailing. We got out of the slip okay, so far, so good. Then I noticed that the mainsheet was twisted from the boom. So I took off the small shackle that attaches the mainsheet pulley to the boom.

What does the rookie do? He drops it. The shackle bounces off the trampoline, I mean cockpit cushion and KIR-PLUNK into the water.

GREAT... I have no other shackle on the boat that small. Now we cannot sail. There is no way to secure the boom. Then I think of that Viagra commercial. Have you seen it? The dude is sailing and something happens to the boom and he uses a strap from a life jacket to fix it. Well that wouldn't have worked because I left the life jackets in the car! Just kidding! So I continue to look around the boat trying to find something that will work as a shackle. No luck. I sit down all bummed out, then I notice the small (cheap) combination lock on the dumpster.

Hmm... So I try it. I used some electrical tape to hold it in the best position so it doesn't break. It works, but now I'm wondering how strong it's going to be, and what will happen if it breaks? I tested it by sailing only with the main at first, then with the jib. It ended up working great! There was not as much tension on it as I thought there would be. BTW, I now have spares!

End of Episode number one.

We're going to Capsize!

This was just plain dumb. I forgot to put the jib sheet under the block before it goes to the winch. As a result, every time we used the winch to pull in the jib the line would get stuck in the winch. This happened one time during a 20+ mph gust, and we could not free the line from the winch. The boat leaned over and washed the windows as we frantically tried to free the line. It was pretty scary there for a few seconds. I won't make that mistake again!

Turn around We're sinking!!

This one, after looking back at it was kind of funny, but not at the time! On day two (Sunday) we were heading out of the channel to start our day. Once we cleared the 'No-wake' zone I opened up the motor and right away we noticed something very different from the day before. The motor was way down in the water, and the water was almost coming into the boat from the cockpit drains. For some reason the back of the boat was very low into the water. My girlfriend said, "Something is really wrong here! We should turn back." We thought the boat was taking on water. I flew into the cabin and threw the cushions off the quarter birth and pulled the access cover. Dry as a bone. Turns out that all this drama was because the keel was up. There's a brace under the water on my slip, so I have to raise the keel every time we go in and out. Sort of a pain.

So, everything was fine, we freaked out over nothing. I tried to convince my girlfriend that sailing really is relaxing!!

The rest of the day really was relaxing, despite all the drama in the beginning, we had a great weekend with the new boat. And most of all, I learned a lot!!

1984 C-25 TR/SK, #4142

Edited by - on

szymek
Navigator

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Canada
209 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 09:23:31

Nice summary of the events!

I think we all have one of those "oops" moments.

one of my fav oops mements was on my first day sailing on a neighbor's boat. He was trying to get me into sailing and buy his boat.

That boat has been sitting around for 10 years used once or twice per season! We went out in quite decent wind with 15-20kt. Once we were close hauled over suddenly it happens...... forestay snaps! And here goes the mast - we're about 3 miles away from shore!! It took us few mins to collect everything and pull the sails, lines, shrouds.... out of the water. Then we get the engine going. Over sudden I hear from the cabin... "We're taking on water!".... Then skipper yells "turn on the bilge pump". "Bilge pump on". after few good mins i hear from the Cabin again, "Crap!!! We're taking on more water than the bilge pump can pump out.

It turned out that old inboard was all rusted so the cooling water rather than going through the engine was being pumped into the boat.

All in all with a help of bailing bucket we made it back to the dock. It was a scary moment, but what an adrenaline rush! Two weeks later I bought my Catalina 25

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 09:29:20

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 09:32:01

The angle of the outboard can also cause stern squat.

Edited by - on

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4017 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 09:48:21

We all have had our first day misadventures but I would venture a guess that your girlfriend is a keeper by going out on the second day and not running away. I keep a razor sharp fillet knife by the cabin door in case I have to cut a line in an emergency.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 12:14:58

Glad you kept your cool, Warren, and that nothing serious happened!

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 12:16:46

The stern will also squat from to much throttle. 6 hp will get you to hull speed. Pushing beyond that makes the bow try to climb the bow wave and the stern drop down in the stern wave. Half to three-quarter throttle is about the max for a 9.9, any more than that and the stern squats, you start sucking more fuel, and you don't go any faster.

edit: My favorite dumb moment

Many years ago, I had a Knock-About 16. I had removed and refinished the slats that formed an open sole and took a young honey out for her first sail. The boat heeled, I tucked my toes under a slat and leaned well out to windward. Not a good time to discover that I hadn't screwed the slats down yet. She didn't know what she should do, but thought the boat would stop if she just pulled every line free. That quick thinking let me swim over and climb back aboard..

Edited by - Dave5041 on 05/01/2012 12:28:44

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 12:53:56

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by zsonic09
 . . . I'm with my girlfriend who is also new to sailing. . .
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Hi Warren and thanks for sharing . . . think we've all had our rookie moments - even when we thought we were past the rookie stage.

On a more serious note, we had a very seasoned skipper go overboard on our inland lake. This left a girlfriend (also new to sailing) freaking-out because she hadn't a clue what to do. Others on the lake were too far away to notice, and besides, everyone knew the owner was a very capable sailor. By the time someone realized what was happening the skipper had tired and gone under - it was too late.

Your post above is a fun (but chilling) read . . . any prior boating experience? Planning on taking courses?

Be safe, fair winds.

Edited by - OJ on 05/01/2012 13:17:05

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 13:24:20

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">On a more serious note, we had a very seasoned skipper go overboard on our inland lake. This left a girlfriend (also new to sailing) freaking-out because she hadn't a clue what to do. Others on the lake were too far away to notice, and besides, everyone knew the owner was a very capable sailor. By the time someone realized what was happening the skipper had tired and gone under - it was too late.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

This is one of Rita's biggest fears, that I'll go overboard or become otherwise incapacitated and she'll have no clue what to do. This is why I have her do all the stuff on the boat, including knowing how to pull start the engine, raise & lower the sails, reef, etc. She knows more than she thinks she does, and I've seen her rise to a number of challenges when the chips were down, I just wish I could get her to believe in herself more. It's also why we always wear our vests, so in case one of us does go overboard, we have a chance of getting rescued.

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 13:43:17

David,
I do the same thing with my wife. I don't expect her to run things on a day-by-day basis, but I sure as heck want her to know how to handle the boat in case something happens!

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 16:35:35

. . . and for the other newbies here, 3 daughters swim off the boat, no anchor set, boat is drifting away from girls, girls (wearing life vests) panic, father dives in to help girls, boat still drifting away, father tires (no life vest) and drowns, girls survive.

Another rookie mistake . . .

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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4479 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 18:05:43

I've fallen into Puget Sound once, stepping from a friend's boat down into his dinghy while at anchor. Stepped onto the seat instead of the floor, dinghy went one way, I went the other. My first thought was whether I had my camera or phone in my pocket. We were in maybe 20-30' of water, and maybe 50-60 yards from shore. Not wanting to add to the mirth of my wife & friends, I opted to swim to shore instead of climbing back into the dinghy or onto their boat. I had no vest on and I'm a fairly strong swimmer, but I was not-quite teeth chattering cold by the time I got to the shore. Fortunately it was a warm day, so I wrung out my shirt and sat on a log in the sun while waiting for them to make their way to the island.

I've also jumped into the sound from the deck of the same friend's boat on purpose, but that was another very hot day and I had no intention of being in the water very long. I swam over to the boarding ladder and got right back out and opted to not repeat the process. Even in summer Puget Sound is very cold.

Edited by - on

Chakana
1st Mate

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USA
62 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 19:12:30

Thank you Warren for the post.
We are also new. I had no idea the back of the boat gets low in the water when the keel is up. We've sailed with a club member who also has a Catalina 25, but didn't notice it. We have not gotten our boat in the water yet for the season. So thank you for the forwarning!
Anna

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2012 : 19:48:48

The boat doesn't sit that much lower because of the keel. The keel up moves the center of mass a few inches aft, throw a couple of sailors in the cockpit and you're looking possibly 3-4 inches. Powering hard or with the motor angled is what does it. I often motor with the keel up in shallow water. Incidentally, to much throttle in reverse will pump water up the cable through hull.

Edited by - on

zsonic09
1st Mate

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USA
32 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2012 : 07:37:43

OJ,

Yes, my post was meant to be light hearted and humorous. However in doing so I may have come across as haphazard. I do take the safety of myself, and my passengers very seriously. And yes, I have taken a boater's safety course, and I do have experience out on the water, mainly on lake Ontario.

Getting the jib sheet caught in the winch was really the only major mistake that was made. After that, the rest of the weekend wasn't really uneventful. (Except for the motor incident which really wasn't an incident.)

The two tragic stories you shared, are something that we all need to keep in mind, new and experienced alike. That can happen to any one of us that single hands a lot. One of the things that we did while we were out last weekend was to practice a man-overboard situation. We threw one of those square floating seat cushions into the water and practiced turning the boat around to retrieve it under sail.

I am fortunate that my girlfriend is eager to learn how to sail and control the boat. Our goal at a minimum, is to get to the point where she knows how to raise and lower the sails and knows how to start, and operate the motor.

I like the ides of having a sharp knife handy incase you need to cut a line. I also think it's a good idea to wear a life jacket (even though a lot of us don't) and have a hand-held water proof radio attached.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2012 : 08:04:50

Warren, didn't mean to rain on your parade either. Once I shared these stories with my 1st mate - her outlook totally changed.

Again for all the newbies - last one, I promise:

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21408

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2012 : 08:11:33

Inflatable pfd's are so comfortable that regardless of the crappy excuses that are offered, there is no good reason not to wear one all of the time. We always wear inflatables or standard pfd's. It is the easiest way to convert an emergency into an urgent situation.

Edited by - on

awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2012 : 10:47:12

PFDs should have a stainless knife, whistle, and at least a mirror if not waterproof flares in the pockets. This may not be necessary for every PFD, but should be done for the primary one or two PFDs that are used on the boat. A handheld radio is a really good idea too (I keep one in the PFD that I use for kayaking, but don't have one on the PFD that I use for sailing).

A good PFD that is comfortable to wear all the time is worth it. I like the ones that I have from Kokatat and Patagonia (but sadly they don't make them anymore). We have some of the typical crappy PFDs too, but they are loaners for visitors instead of ones that are used every day. I could see an inflatable being nice because you could more comfortably lie down while wearing it. Do they typically have pockets for things like knives, whistles, and radios? Do you have recommendations for specific models? The latest reviews for them in Practical Sailor are 4 years old.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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4479 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2012 : 12:19:00

Ours are several years old now, so there may be some progress. There are no true pockets on either of ours. Both have Velcro enclosures to hold the bellows structure of the actual vest inside as well as the inflation mechanism.

They both came with fairly small whistles and no lights. I've added [url="http://www.stormwhistles.com/"]Storm Whistles[/url] to both vests as well as both [url="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=108644&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=50469&subdeptNum=50494&classNum=50501"]strobes[/url] and [url="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=108647&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=50469&subdeptNum=50494&classNum=50501"]flashlights[/url].

There's no easy place to hold a handheld VHF although you could clip it onto the webbing, but that's not very secure. You could also clip it's wrist strap into the carabiners we have on both vests (ours have integrated harnesses), but that'd be sort of cumbersome. It's bad enough with our double ended tethers dangling from the center of your chest, which Rita hates, but we both still wear them.

I keep meaning to pick up some rescue mirrors at the next gun show I go to. You can pick them up for about $5/each for military surplus mirrors, which if anything are nicer than the commercial ones I've paid a lot more for.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
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Response Posted - 05/02/2012 : 13:08:47

The best pfd is the one that is most comfortable for the wearer. A great pfd in the cabin isn't nearly as good. You really need to try on different ones to find what works best for you. We have 4 Stearns manual inflates for guests and WM auto-inflates for us. We don't have integrated harness models and add a harness when we choose. An integrated harness adds a safety factor while decreasing comfort a little if you wear it whenever the dock lines are off.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 05/03/2012 : 15:31:41

This guy was not a rookie by any means but I think it qualifies as a "rookie mistake", so I'll tell the story here. Years ago Several of us had taken our C-22's to a nearby club for a regatta. One of us, not me I'm happy to say, launched his boat and went inside to register for the regatta and hung out talking ot other sailors as one would normally do. Some minutes later, someone came in and commented that his boat looked very low in the water at the dock, and he left to check on it. He had some electronics on his boat, which most of us did not, including a knotmeter, which has a little paddlewheel impeller in a thruhull mount. He liked to remove it for trailering so as to not damage the impeller from the wind passing over the bottom of the hull. You guessed it, he had forgotten to reinsert the thruhull device with the impeller in it, leaving a roughly 2" open hole in the boat bottom when he launched. He said that when he finally got the boat pulled out of the water on the trailer, which was very difficult due to the additional weight, the gushing water looked like a fire hose under his boat!

Edited by - dmpilc on 05/03/2012 15:36:20

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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Response Posted - 05/03/2012 : 16:01:22

Hah, I've done very nearly that while sailing my old catamaran on a lake. Forgot to put the plugs into both hulls and sailed off. After a while, I noticed that the boat was getting progressively more sluggish. Then it dawned on me what I'd forgotten to do. I tried to flag down several speed boats to get a tow back to shore, including a friend. All of them just waved and kept going! I tried to lean over and put the bolts into the holes, but couldn't manage it, and really didn't want to drop them. I decided the boat would float a whole lot better without my bulk on it, so I jumped in the water hanging onto the tiller connecting rod so I could still control the boat's direction. My golden retriever Josh, who almost always sailed with me, found this very confusing and proceeded to bark incessantly while I was trying to get the plugs in while sailing toward the closest beach hoping my boat wouldn't sink. I finally got the plugs in, and the boat was still floating, but just. I maneuvered into someone's backyard and pulled the boat up onto the beach as far as I could get it, which wasn't far. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how I was going to get the water out of the hulls until I thought about it for about ten seconds. All I needed to do was remove the plugs and let them drain even if they were still underwater, the water in the hull that was above the lake would just flow out. It took about 30-45 minutes for them to drain down with me inching the boat further up the beach so more water would be above the level of the lake and pour out.

I've never forgotten them since...

The funny thing is, my friend whose house I kept the boat at (also right on the lake), had done the exact same thing the first time he'd taken the boat out with his girl friend. So it's not like there wasn't precedent, I'd just forgotten. The girlfriend had come down to the shore to talk to me in her bikini while I was launching, so I was a bit distracted. I blame her...

Edited by - on

Stu Jackson C34
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Response Posted - 05/03/2012 : 21:16:33

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JimGo
 David,
I don't expect her to run things on a day-by-day basis,
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Why not?

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JimGo
Admiral

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962 Posts

Response Posted - 05/03/2012 : 21:39:31

She's more interested in being a passenger than in controling the boat. I enjoy all the technical "stuff" that goes along with owning a sailboat. She enjoys the ride, and wants to learn how to sail better, but I think she's more content to be a passenger. If I'm wrong, I'll gladly give her more tiller time!

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 05/03/2012 : 23:14:12

Rita's largely the same. She likes getting wherever we're going, but the getting there part (sailing) she's lukewarm on. She's generally content to snooze or read while we're sailing, whereas I'm more interested in seeing if I can squeeze another couple of tenths of a knot out of the wind I've got so I can beat the guy in the next sailboat over who's likely doing the same thing. She's willing to take the tiller if I ask her, but I don't think she'd ever ask to drive, or volunteer to work the sheets. I'm OK with that, until the wind pipes up, then she rolls the sweat pumps, which ratchets up the stress on the boat. I know it's unpleasant for her when the boat starts to heel so I try to stay ahead of it, but not always successfully. I have noticed that her tolerance for heeling goes up about 10 degrees if she's got the tiller in her hand. Usually she starts to panic at about five degrees, but seems fine at fifteen if she's driving.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
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Response Posted - 05/04/2012 : 05:53:32

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by delliottg
 Usually she starts to panic at about five degrees, but seems fine at fifteen if she's driving.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

My wife panics, and I mean actual panic attacks, around five degrees. She'll only hold the tiller, reluctantly, in the marina channel when the boat is flat, but she will immediately let go of it if an oncoming boat kicks up a six inch wake causing the boat to flop ever so slightly! One time we were out on a rather benign day and the heel was just a little over five degrees and it looked like she was doing okay, sitting on the high side holding on to the lazy winch. I kept asking her if she was alright, and through a forced smile, she kept saying, "yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine", but her body language suggested otherwise, deathgrip on the winch, staring straight ahead into the distance. It wasn't until, from beneath her sunglasses, I saw a tear roll down here cheek that I knew all was not well so I immediately went back to the sailing she can take which is more akin to controlled rafting which she rather enjoys. This is mainly why I'm a singlehanded sailor going on 17 years now.

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