OMG!! Maiden Voyage and hit the perfect storm.

[luvitt]

OMG!!! I survived!!!

I just finished my boat after 2 years of work, and today was the day I cruised to my slip. Thank god for this Yanmar. She ran beautifully.

Im not sure of the condition of my fuel tank, so i ran on a 10 gallon jerry can and a total of 15 gallons of fuel onboard. I planned on 20, which it took to the last drop. my wife had to drop off a car, run home, etc, and logistically the last 5 gallons wasnt practical and i thought 15 would be plenty.

So, I called seatow before i ran out and asked them to meet me with a fuel drop. Well, I ran out about ten minutes before they got there, and about 3 miles from my marina. Im glad i read a post on here the other day about dropping the anchor at first signs of trouble. The fuel ran out, I drifted out of the channel, and immediately dropped anchor. 34lb bruce. it immediately hooked. Seatow arrived about 5 minutes later with the last 5 gallons of diesel they had on hand. We dont have a windlass yet, and the guys had a time heaving the anchor. No sooner than we got the anchor up, a massive thunderstorm hit. Out of nowhere, the boat healed over, and lightning cracked the closest to myself that i have ever experienced. there is a hiss before the crack and thunder. it was deafening. The rain was so hard I could not see the bow. I almost p|$$3d my pants. I dont necessarily know what i am doing completely, Im a novice. But i put the bow into the wind. Then I turned the boat around and headed for the sunshine that was about a mile in the opposite direction. The storm kept following. Everybody abandoned me and went below. My wife was crying. The boat was tossing. The engine held. I was standing ankle deep in water in the cockpit. my cushions were only saved by the lifelines. I couldnt even see b/c my eyes were full of water. No foulies. I was freezing. Finally after about 45 minutes it let up. It was full force the entire 45 minutes. So i turn around and throttle up and go back the right direction and motored for about 10 minutes. Then the MOTHER of all storms hits (the worst storm i have ever been in and it was on my maiden voyage on a boat!). it was 3x worse than the first one. I cant see the mast. No one is helping me. Im yelling for them to turn on Nav lights. they are dumb! I explained everything before we left. I cant escape the storm. the rain is stinging. Im worried about a tornado or funnel cloud. we had a funnel cloud in the immediate area just 2 days ago. I cant even see the mast at this point. THANK GOD MY YANMAR IS PURRING. Then I see a small boat right next to me. Then i see a big tug. I circled the channel and got behind the tug. My wife is screaming. My father-in-law is peeking out and looking petrified. I know he is mad at me. Finally it clears up. We were in 50-60mph gusts for a good hour or more. Whats up with the weather lately? We've been having really big storms here in Charleston. Its rained for a solid 2 months. now that summer has hit, the storms have turned very violent. I cant remember a day it hasnt stormed. The rain has severly hampered my boat repair efforts.

My mother in law is furious with me, and swears my wife wont be sailing. I did everything i could think of and we made it home safe. Didnt take on water, didnt run aground, didnt hurt anyone. I checked the weather before we left, and it was a clear forecast. I ran 15 miles, at 3 knots. I couldnt do anything about it. Everyone says I had their lives in my hands and they arent happy with me. They arent really boat people. But we made it. Why the guilt trip?

Now im in my slip, and im producing a sheen on the water. Must have a leak of some sort? it appeared to be coming from the stern and I thought maybe its coming from the stuffing box. I had to fill my tank and definately spilled a little several times. the bilge hasnt kicked on even during the storm, so it has to be escaping somewhere else. Stuffing box? I turned off all the valves on my fuel lines. I put diapers in the bilge, under the engine, and under the stuffing box. We have floating docks, and its all trapped up against the pierhead, but the tide is turning and its starting to leave my slip. I cant tell if it has stopped and its just leaving my slip, or its still leaking somewhere. this is bad. Isnt diesel biodegradable? I hate that its happening and i dont know what to do. I hope i stopped it. Maybe its just from what i spilled and hopefully the diapers will soak it up? I dont need trouble like this.

anyway, im alive, safe, and in my slip. that was an experience i will never forget. I tried to put on my confident face, but everyone said they saw fear in my eyes. I dont believe them!

many more adventures to come!!!

brobins75

 

[Ron20324]

Obviously, things can only get BETTER! But, that is WAY too much fuel consumption.

 

[RAD]

How much fuel did you use for a 15 mile trip? seems like 10 gals is an awful lot cause if your engine uses 1 gal per hour (which is a lot) that means @ 3 knots you should have used about 5 gals of fuel.
something leaking?

 

[biggio]

How much fuel did you use for a 15 mile trip? seems like 10 gals is an awful lot cause if your engine uses 1 gal per hour (which is a lot) that means @ 3 knots you should have used about 5 gals of fuel.
something leaking?

I was thiking the same thing while reading this thread. I discovered my fuel vent today. I have a fuel gauge that is not operating. I buy about 2 gallons of diesel when I go out to work on my boat and add it to the tank. I over filled today and by chance saw it trinkling out the vent that I was unaware of leaving a nice sheen at my slip.
Is it possiable that you had turned your engine off and the shut off cable didn't reseat and you thought you might be out of gas and you over filled your tank?

 

[NC-C320]

Maiden Voyage Comments

1) Your fuel consumption is too high. In your post, you state reservations about condition of your fuel tank and used jerry cans. Do you mean that you rigged some temporary fuel supply from jerry cans, thus bypassing the installed tank, or do you mean that you filled the installed tank with the jerry cans? If fuel consumption is too high, and you are seeing a sheen in the water, then you are likely loosing fuel overboard. When you are in the slip, does the sheen continue, or did it stop when you stopped the engine. It is unlikely that the fuel is coming from the fuel overflow (unless somehow the tube extends down into the tank and has set up a siphon effect) since you are not adding more fuel to the tank in the slip. The boat is a closed container for the most part. Any fuel leaking to the outside of the engine would be seen in the bilge or under the engine. Likewise with a leaking tank, fuel line, and filer/water separator. You mention the stuffing box, but the water flow leaking at the stuffing box is into the boat, not outside. If there is a internal leak in the engine, the excess fuel might be going out the exhaust, but this should stop when the engine stlopped. And if you have this situation, you have a serious engine problem. While your fuel consumption would seem to confirm that you had/have a leak, which would be confirmed by the sheen in the water, it is also possible that the sheen in the slip came from someone else who overflowed a tank. If you jury rigged a fuel supply from jerry cans, I would suspect this.

2) You talk about channels and then motoring for 45 minutes towards sunlight....to me, it sounds like you were mighty lucky that you didn't run aground or hit something. Navigating means knowing where you are and where you are going at all times ... from your story, it doesn't sound like there was much navigating during the storms Any comment in this regard?

3) They did see fear ...your eariler writeups reveal lots of concern before the trip. And, if you encountered this situation as you described as a very much novice, with a new boat, on the first trip, then fear would be a normal reaction. No shame there.

4) This story seems almost unbelievable...it did happen, didn't it. Anyway, it won't be as scary the next time.

 

[jackhartjr]

I am 99% sure of the problem here.
If I read it right you used fuel from your jerry cans and did not use the tank?
All diesels will pull fuel from the tank...however not use it all...and what is not used goes back to the fuel tank by way of the return line.. (At wide open thottle is is possible that you will only use half of what goes to the injectors...the half left over goes back to the tank. At half thottle you would have a lot of fuel going back into the fuel tank.) If you were indeed pulling from jerry cans...the fuel not used by the engine was in fact filling up your tank!
Let us know if that is what was happening.
As far as the tank...there are few tanks with major problems. Use that sucker!
Jack
PS...if you would like a better description of the way that works call me at 828-310-eight, one, one, one.

 

[Ted]

OMG Maiden Voyage

I'm not sure which Yanmar engine you have but here is my first thought regarding the excessive amount of fuel you used. If you were using jerry cans in lieu of your ships fuel tank, did you connect the recirculating fuel tube from the engine to the jerry can or was it still connected to the ships fuel tank. If it was still connected to the ships fuel tank than what you may have been doing is filling up that tank as you were motoring. The fuel was not being recirculated back to the jerry can and therefore you though you were using a lot of fuel. Indeed you were emptying the jerry cans quickly but your actual fuel consumption may not have been excessive because you were actually filling the ships fuel tank as you were motoring. I would guess that you are spilling fuel from your ships fuel tank vent line because the tank is overfilled. Just curious, did you have to bleed the air out of the fuel system when you ran out?

 

[RAD]

The return line

The return line from the engine to the tank, thats where all the fuel went! makes a lot of sense now and with a bad tank would explain a sheen but I wonder how it got outside the boat.
But he did say he had to fill his tank, I also wonder if the extra fuel just leaked into the bilge?

 

[Maine Sail]

but I wonder how it got outside the boat.

Probably out the tank vent..

 

[Mac Daddy]

Your tank is likely plumb full and leaking out of the vent.

 

[luvitt]

Yes, this story is true. and i forgot to say, during the second storm, the wind just instantly shifted completely around and right back the opposite direction. It was like i had to go through the storm all over again. if you dont believe me, check some weather record online. It started at red 52 on the cooper river, charleston, sc. Im certainly a novice, but this is the worst storm i have ever endured in the open. It may have been worse b/c i was in the open, not in a house or in a car, but i dont usually stand outside in storms. and if i was in a car going 60mph in this storm, i assure u i would have pulled over. and i was navigating the whole time. No gps, but I can read a chart. I now these waterways pretty well too. just never navigated in a 40' sailboat. let me rephrase, I am a novice at a 40' sailboat, but I am not a novice at navigation or small boat handling.

I did use a "rigged" jerry can as my fuel supply. It was a 10 gallon tank, I had the correct fittings attached and clamped. the engine ran beautifully. However, i did not connect the return fuel line to the jerry can. It slipped my mind. I new about it, but didnt even think about it til i read this post. Yes, that was bad prep. I goofed. I dont know anything about my onboard tank. there is no access at all. the fuel gauge on the tank is screwed up, im sure. it doesnt read empty, but not full. its 40 gallons. cant remember what it read last time i looked at it. my wife is sleeping back there, so cant check now. its very possible that it was overflowing the tank. i will remove the fuel sender tomorrow and see what i can discover. i bet thats what happened. I know the sheen was coming from my boat. I was circling in the harbor when it started. there was an obvious trail coming from my boat.

I need to clean the tank. it sounds so daunting though, or expensive to have it done professionally. my dad says put some fuel in it, run it through a bunch on filter and burn it. i dont think so.

that storm was no joke. but i talked to some neighbors, and they said that this storm was probably as bad as it gets here in charleston and they think i have a solid boat and i weathered it fine. they said that if you can boat in charleston you can boat pretty much anywhere. i agree it is rough and unpredictable here. ive been boating here about 5 years, and ran a boat club, docked all kinds of vessels here, rescued boats in january cold by swimming offshore, taught boater ed & safety classes, done all kinds of work on boats, sold boats, i know the waterways pretty darn good, etc. so i know i am a boater. Its just a new deal this time, and maybe my confidence level is a little low.

i kind of offended by insinuations that i am lying....i have about 30 seconds of cell phone video i will post tomorrow. the video is not very revealing, but the audio is. you cant see rain too well in cell video.

 

[luvitt]

1) Your fuel consumption is too high.

Yeah, i was expecting this thing to only burn about 1/2 gallon an hour. i was never at full throttle. I used more throttle during the wind than i did before, just to keep control.

soooo tired. good nite!

 

[seadaddler]

Sounds Bad

Hey That storm sounded pretty bad so no reason not to shit your pants at the time out in that, any normal person would be fearful that some thing could go
wrong.
I have been out in a few storms and I was worried at the time and hoping and praying nothing bad would happen,sounds normal for the situation.
But the fuel leak is bad and you need to fine the problem fast before you get into big trouble.
Nick

 

[Bad Obsession]

You are only making 3 knots at full throttle? That seems a little low.

If I was in that situation and had a storm hit me like that, with the visibility that you had, etc., it may have been a good idea to drop the anchor, best if out of the channel, and ride it out instead of trying to find your way through the storm blind. I have ridden out a few storms with my 33lb bruce and it held in 60 knot winds.

You mentioned that they guys had a problem pulling up the bruce anchor. I have a 33 and I do not have a windlass. I have no problems pulling up my anchor either. When I set the anchor in the evenings I back down on it really hard (at 2500 rpms). In the mornings it is still set really hard. I bring in the rode and get it to where the chain is at 90 degrees. I then throttle the boat forward and break the anchor out. Drag it on the bottom for a few seconds and it knocks off most of the mud. Then hauling it up the rest of the way is child's play. I can tell you that I would much rather ride out the storms with the bruce in the mud then motoring when I can't see the mast.

I don't doubt your story for once second. I would be pretty pissed at my family if they acted the way that they did and fussed about putting their lives in danger. Their lives were not in that much danger and these things happen. The situation could have been much worse.

I am not saying what you did was a wrong reaction, but with more experience you probably would have elected to try to stay in place with the hook if possible. Motoring into a storm is not something that I would like to do.

 

[Bad Obsession]

LOL...I just thought about it. On my maiden voyage in the Spirit of Liberty I hit a full gale off of Smith Point coming back into the Potomac River. The winds got up to 40 knots sustained and it was out of the North West (the direction that I was going). The waves had gotten extremely high and I took a bunch of breaking waves over the decks. I went through that for 4-5 hours. It was not a pleasant experience. That Early April weather in the Chesapeake Bay can produce some nasty fronts and this one was particularly nasty.

 

[RAD]

After reading this morning it sounds like you now have a full tank of fuel and before you go and start pulling fittings,senders,etc.... near that tank I would advise pumping 10 gals into the jerry cans and pour some into a clear jar and have a look at it, just might be ok

 

[Bob J.]

I gotta be honest, I was laughing this morning as I read the post. Great moment, families all here, proud skipper, all hell breaks loose. You know the lighting is close when you don't hear thunder but a snap that sounds like a bull whip. Gives you a warm & fuzzy feeling knowing that you've got your hands wrapped around a metal steering wheel

I had forgotten all about the time when we were in a horrific thunderstorm tuna fishing 20 miles out. My wife was screaming, she had her life jacket on, cluching the flare kit & epirb, tears streaming down here face vowing never to go back out again. If she read your post her reply would be "sounds like a typical day at sea".

Bob

 

[jackhartjr]

Brobins75, I did not see anything that suggested that anyone did not beleive you. I did see a lot of concern though.
As I said earlier, it is rare that a fuel tank goes bad. Since we are pretty sure the tank is full, if it was me I would grab a bunch of fuel filters and run it. The worst that could happen is that you will have to stop and change the filter a couple or so times.
The good news is that the engine is running good...you went through two of the mother of all storms and made it...you have ticked off your father-in-law, which in some quarters is a good thing!...and you have the experience of this board behind you and for you!
I mess with old Greyhound...and sometimes (Please forgive me)...old Trailway's buses.
It is not uncommon for me or my friends to take a 50 year plus old bus that has sat for 25 or more years, put batteries in them, fire 'em up and drive them away! (We usually have replaced the tires prior to moving them.) A lot of times we have to stop once or twice to change both fuel filters...however after that we are usually good to go.
Remember, we are all behind you friend.
By the way, Charleston is on our short list of places to sail when we splash her. I did some growing up there and visit it reguarly!
Jack

 

[luvitt]

You are only making 3 knots at full throttle? That seems a little low.


No, i was never at full throttle. I didnt wanna tax the engine the first time out, so i kept it nice and slow. I did rev it a few times once in awhile just test her out.

yeah, im gonna get to work on the fuel now. Im very concerned about the condition of the tank though. The boat practically sank, and that tank could be full of mud for all i know. Also its been sitting 2-3 years. I dont know much about this subject, but i think its probably growing bugs by now. im gonna pull some diesel now. any thing you can add to freshen it up?

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Okay, your FIRST mistake

was using the words "finished" and "boat" in the same sentence.

Seriously though, I think most of the other posters have made some good comments and here's my two cents;

First of all, most of us really CAN commiserate with your experience. We've had our own version of what you went through. For example, Kristel and I rode out tropical storm Arlene in the Dry Tortugas. There were lots of tears and fears. She said she'd never set foot onboard again. This was kind of a problem because we live aboard. I won't bore you with the list of things I did wrong.

With this in mind, do NOT discount your families' fears if you ever want them to go with you again. Without being defensive, TALK with them about it. Tell them why you did what you did. Tell them what you SHOULD have done better or differently. Make them a part of the process. It may empower them enough to try again. Then, if they are ready, provide them with some short and sweet outings. It has worked for us.

Secondly, forget about how experienced you THINK you are. Boating will humble ALL of us from time to time. I consider myself "experienced" too but I still get my dose of humble pie from time to time. With that said, I'm going to agree with an important point raised by some of the others. If you have no visibility, no plotter and no radar then it won't matter how well you know the area because you can't see where you're going. If you can, throw out the anchor and stand anchor watch.

Anyway, hang in there and don't give up. Just do your best to learn from your experiences. Don't just defend the actions you took (I'm the worst about that so believe me, I'm NOT preaching here.) The posters here really ARE trying to help you, it's just that misunderstandings would be far less likely if we were face-to-face instead of online.

Good luck and let us know how things progress.