I Am An Idiot Chapter 12

Rick D

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,204
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
I thought I had a radar failing. The returns were scattered and it seemed to not have enough sensitivity. I cranked to gain way up and it improved but not to the level it had been. I suspected the magnetron was failing.

So then I had to consider if a ten year old radar was worth the repair. Of course all (almost) head units are multi purpose or won't fit the old housing. So then the cascade effect when I buy new navpods, move things around, etc. Starts getting big boat bucks.

Well today I was messing around with it and found I had left the sea clutter on high. When I turned it down all was good again. Duh. At least I can go back to all the other projects.
 
Rich Stidger

Rich Stidger

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Feb 10, 2004
4,235
Hunter 40.5 Warwick, RI
Sailing isn't rocket science, but operating marine electronics can be. Given the myriad of controls and the fact that most of us don't use these instruments every day or even every week, it is sometimes a small miracle that we do as well as we do.

In the spring after a long winter of dying brain cells, I find it very helpful to spend a couple hours refreshing my memory on the use of all instrument controls. I will even thumb through operation manuals and read the instructions for each control.

And even then sometimes things look strange and I need to stop and think about why I am not seeing expected results.
 
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

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Feb 20, 2011
8,062
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Rick D said:
I thought I had a radar failing. The returns were scattered and it seemed to not have enough sensitivity. I cranked to gain way up and it improved but not to the level it had been. I suspected the magnetron was failing.

So then I had to consider if a ten year old radar was worth the repair. Of course all (almost) head units are multi purpose or won't fit the old housing. So then the cascade effect when I buy new navpods, move things around, etc. Starts getting big boat bucks.

Well today I was messing around with it and found I had left the sea clutter on high. When I turned it down all was good again. Duh. At least I can go back to all the other projects.
Click to expand
Heck, take it easy on yerself. How much, except for time, did you spend? :D

P.S.- With over 5000 posts, I'm not sure I want to spend the time looking for the previous 11 chapters.

Yep, nothing in the archives that I can find.
 
thinwater

thinwater

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Mar 26, 2011
3,965
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
Only chapter 12? I'm on volume III.

Once for a few awful moments I though my nav was gone, all because I had turned the brightness way down for night. That actually turned out to be quite annoying, because the brightness was on a menu, which couldn't be read with the brightness turned down. I ended up with 3 towels covering my head and the display, like an early 20th century photographer, in order to get it dark enough to read. I said nasty things about the designer.
 
WayneH

WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,121
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
As a charter member of the "Sailors Doing Dumb $hit" association, I'd like to welcome all our new members. Please do not give out your full name when confessing your failings as we are an anonymous group. Being unable to correctly use electronic devices makes you a Junior Member in good standing. Using an electronic device to run aground makes you a Senior Member in good standing. Wondering why the GPS is spinning madly at 0500 while you are idling out of an anchorage makes you an Outstanding Member in good standing.

I cussed my radar display for three nights running because it was soooo bright. How was I to know that the button marked "Power/Brill" also controlled the brightness of the screen?

SDDS Outstanding Member Wayne
 
shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
8,004
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
thinwater said:
Only chapter 12? I'm on volume III.

Once for a few awful moments I though my nav was gone, all because I had turned the brightness way down for night. That actually turned out to be quite annoying, because the brightness was on a menu, which couldn't be read with the brightness turned down. .
Click to expand
Raymarine? I did this with mine many times (Repeat offenses move you up in the standings). I used to try to get up before sunrise and visit the cockpit to return the display to Daytime brightness while I could still see the menus. BTW I think the day/night can be adjusted on one of the instrument displays - speed, depth, windspeed - but I don't think I ever did that because I just stopped leaving the anchor alarm on.
Once during an overnight race the displays was ruining our night vision. But I had misplaced my glasses, which I couldn't find without my glasses. So I couldn't navigate the soft buttons and menus to switch to the night mode and no lone else could either. We ended up shutting all the instruments off at the circuit breaker.
Opps! I didn't want to become a BOD in the SDDS.
 
capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
5,074
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Some years back, I was operating an 80' motorsailor in the Caribbean. Come dinner time one of the generators, one which had always operated flawlessly, refused to start. Ugh.
In the morning, I began the job of figuring out why. Three whole days of completely dismantling the electric system, checking each and every connection in the control box, on the actual generator end and the wiring to the unit, led me to a switch high above the unit, which I wasn't even aware was there, for demand start. Four days previously, I'd hired a local fellow to wipe down the engine room and he'd flipped that switch. I know how you felt!
Or the time I spent the whole day trying to get a client's outboard to start, only to find the gear shift wasn't in neutral at about 4PM! Obviously, I couldn't charge the guy for that fiasco.
 
WayneH

WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,121
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
capta said:
Or the time I spent the whole day trying to get a client's outboard to start, only to find the gear shift wasn't in neutral at about 4PM! Obviously, I couldn't charge the guy for that fiasco.
Click to expand
Did you know that just because you hook up the fuel line to the outboard motor, it will not actually run until you hook up the fuel line to the tank?

SDDS Outstanding Member Wayne
 
capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
5,074
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
WayneH said:
Did you know that just because you hook up the fuel line to the outboard motor, it will not actually run until you hook up the fuel line to the tank?

SDDS Outstanding Member Wayne
Click to expand
I will certainly take note of that, and of course it also helps to take the fuel tank with you when you take the dink out.
 
shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
8,004
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I like to hook the fuel line up backwards and pump until my hand cramps up and pull the outboard starting cord until my shoulder gives out.
 
quadrille38

quadrille38

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Apr 11, 2010
992
Hunter 38 Whitehall MI
Sailing along in unfamiliar waters when the depth sounder suddenly reads fault 06. Momentary panic - run below and start frantically looking for loose wires because it is an area that has shoals and large boulders showing on the charts. And I've got no depth reading. Can't find anything wrong. Pull out the manual frantically looking for what the error code means. Imagine the duh moment when I learn that fault 06 means that the water depth exceeds 400 feet which is beyond what the sounder could see. Duh


And then there was the time we were sailing along. I use ipad with inavx for navigation. Working perfectly. I have the pad horizontal and all is good. Decide that I want to turn it vertical to get a longer view of the course ahead. Suddenly the screen is totally black. Can't find the brightness controls, convinced the ipad has just died and I'm screwed. And then the duh moment. I have polarized sun glasses on and the ipad screen when vertical is lined up with the polarizing on my glasses. Turned back to horizontal and suddenly a nice clear AND bright picture. Felt pretty stupid.
 
NotCook

NotCook

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Dec 29, 2008
806
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
quadrille38 said:
Imagine the duh moment when I learn that fault 06 means that the water depth exceeds 400 feet which is beyond what the sounder could see. Duh
Click to expand
You don't get credit for this one. This qualifies the designer for membership. Would have made more sense for them to just display, "400+".
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,213
CC 30 South Florida
Hey none of us is exempt from mental flubber; at least you found it in time ano ($$$$$) harm done.
 
quadrille38

quadrille38

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Apr 11, 2010
992
Hunter 38 Whitehall MI
NotCook said:
You don't get credit for this one. This qualifies the designer for membership. Would have made more sense for them to just display, "400+".
Click to expand

Well it was a 1987 era Datamarine unit on our Catalina 34. The newer Raymarine on our 2008 Hunter 38 will show dashes alternating with a display that says "last reading".
Way more obvious.
Lots of progress in 20 years.

:)
 
woodster

woodster

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Sep 15, 2009
6,244
S2 9.2a Fairhope Al
I might be an Idiot if every time I leave the boat and close it up and get half way down the dock an remember something i for got like the cell phone or the car keys and have to go back get them and open up and close up again.....

regards

woody

ps i have the best FORGETTER in the world :doh:
 
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Ward H

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,833
Catalina 30 Mk II Cedar Creek, Bayville NJ
On launch day, I couldn't get the outboard started to pull out of the travel lift area. Hit the start button and no start. Nothing. Yard guy got on the boat, tested the battery, tried starting the OB and it started right up.
Yep, I was pressing the stop button. Worse thing was the admiral was on shore and taking pictures and got one with my finger on the stop button.
 
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