Crazy guy

[Franklin]

Notice the boat in the pic looks like a hunter 25...also notice all the water and fuel jugs and also the bikes...he's not day sailing...that's for sure. No offense to other 25 owners but it shouldn't be going through the gulf stream.His story adds another thing I have to plan for...never heard of loosing one's propeller.

 

[toomas]

I've seen it once

I had found a nice natural harbour and as we sipped our anchorwhisky, another boat came up and suddenly there was a lot of noice and unprintable words spread across the water, and the boat hit the rock pretty hard. And I heard them talking about no power in the reverse gear. And they looked under the boat and saw no propeller. A little later one of the crew went diving in the 6 feet water and he found the propeller there! So as they shifted from forward to reverse, they lost the propeller.Now I guess, he always changes the safety pin each season.Toomas

 

[BennyT]

S_ _T HappensBenny

We too lost our prop. This was a Starwind 223 with a 10 HP 2 troke Nissan. We were sailing in the Chesapeake Bay and two days earlier we had been demasted by the failure of a clevis pin. We were going through Kent Narrows headed towards Baltimore when the seaweed built up was jamming our kickup rudder once more. We performed an operation which we had done every two or three hours; put the engine in neutral and slow the boat enough to clean the rudder; this time when we placed the engine in forward, no power. The pin had sheared probably miles back and the propeller was kept in place by its forward thrust. The minute it was placed in neutral or reverse it spun itself out. We got the anchor out and called towboat US. The Boat Toe-Jam took us in to a marina. We made it, found a spare aboard and jammed a Mercury nut into the shaft and placed a nail as a pin. That happens when you just fly in to get to the boat and do not take the time to inspect the rigging. Things will happen is how you deal with them that is important.

 

[Franklin]

I should have expanded

on there description...lost prop and prop shaft. Loosing a prop is bad, but loosing the shaft too and having a nice size hole in your hull sucking water in is much worse. I guess a cork the right size with some duck tape should be the plain if your prop shaft falls out.

 

[Ross]

We had a boat

inboard engine, the nut and the zinc were missing from the propeller shaft when the boat was hauled for winter. The owner had no clue as to when or where he lost the nut. The prop was still in place.

 

[Alan]

Great example ....

...of an idiot at sea!! Where is the wooden plug that he should have onboard for every thru hull opening. Not even attempt to close the hole with rags!!! Just a very little bit of thought, and he could sail his boat home, no points for brains

 

[Steve677]

Panic...

People do stupid things when they panic. I agree, he probably could have stuffed the hole with rags or something. That sure ain't a Hunter 25 though. I'll bet it is at least 34' long.