markpj23
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2021
- Messages
- 198
- Vessel Name
- Black Horse
- Vessel Make
- Med Yachts 62
So today we hired a local captain for some close quarters maneuvering practice. I have to laugh at it now...
Cast off the lines & left the dock. Successfully navigated out through the marina - no problem. Except... when I pushed the stbd shift lever forward during a tight turn, the ball on top of the shifter broke off in my hand. I immediately heard "that's OK sport, don't worry about it" in my head and got a laugh out of it. The ball had obviously been epoxied back in place - and apparently not too well - at some point in the past.
Moving on.... the wind picked up a bit as we returned to the marina and made our approach to back into the slip. I admittedly botched the approach and asked the hired captain to take over and let me watch his maneuvers. Well, about 3 or 4 shifts into the recovery the ENTIRE SHIFT HANDLE came off in his hand, this one for the port engine.
We were lucky that the port shaft was in neutral at the time. No crunching noises or screaming. We were able to complete docking with just the stbd shaft and bow thruster.
And the little voice in my head said "don't worry sport - it could happen to anybody...."
Further inspection reveals very sloppy, worn out controls at both stations. They will be replaced!
Cast off the lines & left the dock. Successfully navigated out through the marina - no problem. Except... when I pushed the stbd shift lever forward during a tight turn, the ball on top of the shifter broke off in my hand. I immediately heard "that's OK sport, don't worry about it" in my head and got a laugh out of it. The ball had obviously been epoxied back in place - and apparently not too well - at some point in the past.
Moving on.... the wind picked up a bit as we returned to the marina and made our approach to back into the slip. I admittedly botched the approach and asked the hired captain to take over and let me watch his maneuvers. Well, about 3 or 4 shifts into the recovery the ENTIRE SHIFT HANDLE came off in his hand, this one for the port engine.
We were lucky that the port shaft was in neutral at the time. No crunching noises or screaming. We were able to complete docking with just the stbd shaft and bow thruster.
And the little voice in my head said "don't worry sport - it could happen to anybody...."
Further inspection reveals very sloppy, worn out controls at both stations. They will be replaced!