What is your "self-sufficient" emergency procedure for a dead engine at sea?

[healhustler]

Our Manatee has a swim platform built to hold a ladder and O/B bracket for our 9.9 2 cycle Merc for emergency steerage and perhaps a couple of knots. Building the ladder now and hope to exercise the option soon, but the eventual plan was for a 15 HP Lehr to take advantage of the propane already aboard. Of course there’s no substitute for good maintenance and a lightweight, ready to throw anchor on the bow and stern with attached line. We keep an FX-23 and FX-37 on the rails which saved us on our only sputter while waiting for a bridge span to open in the FL ICW.

[MurrayM]

Originally Posted by jhance

Interesting. That's a great backup plan and very functional. Do you have a dinghy with a separate motor then? Any issues with swamping the 9.9 with waves astern?

Yes, we have a dinghy that is between outboards and is powered by Armstrong Oars for now.

The dinghy is mounted to the swim step on modified Weaver Snap Davits, so the dinghy and mounting hardware would absorb/deflect some abuse from large waves coming from astern...for a while...but we call those hiking days anyway

[BruceK]

Originally Posted by smitty477

I am not sure what 9.9 will do - we have had a lot more Hp on our past 3 RIBS.
With a good angle of attack we have found that pulling folks off of rocks and deep mud was not too hard - need a long tow rope....

I get it`s a RIB, where do you attach the towline?

[psneeld]

I know a 9.9hp outboard powered rib can pull a 40 foot trawler no problen....no wind, no current.

Up either one and the tow gets tricky.

But.... dont think only one destination....maybe downwind, down current and the situation becomes possible.

[smitty477]

Originally Posted by BruceK

I get it`s a RIB, where do you attach the towline?

On 3 of the past RIBS we had we used the towline rings on the back of the RIBS. On the largest RIB we had a turboswing on the back so we used that.
I have towed on the Hip for kicks only but I find it much easier to tow from the rear unless you are in very close quarters. Angling the tow line on stuck boats really helps pull folks off of rocks, mud, sand etc. With the sailboats we pulled off of the rocks we had one where he was really up on the underwater jetty on the west side of Lloyd harbor we put a line about half way up his mast so we could lean the boat over to get him off.
RIBS are really easy to get up close and pull or even push in some cases if you are around the docks.

[ksanders]

Originally Posted by Gabe n Em

Twins with separate fuel tanks and batteries.

Yep, no single point of failure between the engines. separate tanks that cannot mix, separate batteries. Separate everything.

Well, except for a collision, or something tangling both props and we have line cutters for that.

If we are dead in the water we will depending on the circumstances

1. try to assertain if we can resolve the problem
2. deploy the anchor
3. Call for a tow
4. deploy the skiff as a drop dead emergency measure to tow to safety, not back to port.

[Lepke]

Putting out a call to the Coast Guard will often alert other boater that may offer assistance. Coast Guard will sometimes put out a call for near by boats. I've towed other boats, transferred fuel or supplied power. In a couple cases got their engine running. Most boaters are helpful, especially on the ocean. Many commercial fishermen will help.
On my boat I have twins and 2 generators. Twice in about 50 years I came in on one engine, and once with no rudder control (but I had twins). I carry many spares - pumps, injectors, alternators, other engine parts, cases of filters, gallons of oil and so on.

[South of Heaven]

Originally Posted by twistedtree

Start the wing engine.

Nice.

[Wxx3]

Originally Posted by djmarchand

Your question is probably more appropriate for blue water passagemakers without easy help from TowBoat or others. In time critical coastal situations where say you are drifting towards a rock jetty, maybe the dinghy motor would keep you off, but only in flat water and in that situation, dropping the anchor would be quicker and more likely to stop you.

But 99% of the time just call TowBoat or Seatow and wait for help.

David

And in all likelihood it's more probable that you would be snagged by a lobster pot line.
I'd plan for that.

One time in New England, Maine to be exact, I was snagged by a line and after hours of much back and forth with USCG and Boat US, after 8 hours with another 8 to go before Boat US showed up, we unsnagged ourselves.

[jimisbell]

My initial thoughts were a dead engine in Blue Water, not near shore. Here in south Texas if you are within a mile of shore, you are probably within 100 feet of land (straight down) so an anchor does the job while you sort things out. But I am concerned about offshore and am considering a sail to get near shore and an outboard to get into the slip. Dont know how well a sail will work on a Mainship 34,but willing to learn. My Albin 26 had a sail. But I never used it.

[cardude01]

Raise the sails.

[cardude01]

Actually when offshore the sails are almost always already raised.

I also have a 15 HP Suzuki mounted on an outboard bracket on the stern. If I built an “extender” for that bracket so It would clear the swim step it could be used in an emergency I suppose.

Attachment 72820

[diver dave]

I took a bad turn once inside the Devils Backbone due to bad timing on a cloud pass. Our 32' landed square on top of coral, being slightly bashed by small seas.
Our dink was being towed, luckily, and pressed into service fairly fast.
One thing that makes it easy for tiny to pull giant is to use the BOW eye of the small boat to attach the tow line. Doesn't work great for full inflatables, but rigid hulls much better.

[markpierce]

My only engine break-down was the loss of forward gear on a 5 HP Seagull on a small cutter sailboat. Solution: motor in reverse t in a short estuary into home port.

[cardude01]

Ha! Had to google a seagull outboard. Pretty dang cool!

Were those old outboards pretty finicky ?

[jimisbell]

If you take care of them NO. But if you believe the masses, yes. Dont believe the massesthey dont have one and are only parroting. I have two.

[jimisbell]

Has anyone ever put sails on an MS 34?

[cardude01]

Originally Posted by jimisbell

Has anyone ever put sails on an MS 34?

I don’t recall ever seeing or hearing about a MS 34 with sails. I do remember an article years ago about a guy who put sails in his Grand Banks. Here it is.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sou...a-hybrid-twist

So it obviously can be done. I put sails on my “trawler”, but it was pretty much already designed for a mast, had a nice long keel with ballast and a big rudder, and it has a rounded sailboat style hull.

Do you want sails for “get home” ability, for stability, both? I can tell you that my small sail rig has reduced roll tremendously when there is just a bit of wind, and with enough wind (12-15 knots and from the right direction) the sails will get me about 3 knots for get home, but it doesn’t point to the wind very well.

I really only use the sails while motoring however. They give a little boost so I can pull the throttle back for less noise and better efficiency and most importantly, roll reduction.

[jimisbell]

Yes, all of the above. I have been a sailor all my life, Bruce Roberts 44 CC Ketch, Gulfstar 36 CC Sloop the latest. But we are 80 and 81 and neither of us belong on the foredeck in any but the calmest weather. So are moving toward a Trawler.

But as a sailor, I just dont trust those modern engine thingies and want a way home when something fails.

Havent bought the MS 34 yet, but are going aboard her for the first time this afternoon.

[diver dave]

The trawler might be capable of a more robust dink than the sailboats you mentioned. I've used a soft dink for all kinds of critical tasks when cruising.
Towing due to loss of propulsion.
Pushing the bow around in tite spots; coral, narrow channels, etc
Delivery and recovery of critical engine items. My last case was a heat exhanger to/from a rad shop in the islands.
Admittedly, these are close to shore examples.