[Public-List] Launching 148

Wed Sep 7 13:32:52 PDT 2011

Ha! Wonderful Roger!

On 07/09/11 4:28 PM, "Roger L. Kingsland" <r.kingsland at ksba.com> wrote:

> Your comments on my next page post (below)appreciated.
> 
> 
> Thanks Rick,
> 
> You have inspired my first "wet" report.
> 
> Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, "PREFECT intensions" PO reported he
> was motoring on the Potomac one evening and the prop shaft broke.  It slid
> aft and the prop jammed against the side of the rudder so he could only turn
> left. (SIDEBAR: So, which is better, to only be able to turn in one
> direction or, have the shaft slide out all the way and be able to turn any
> way you like with a 7/8" hole in the boat; suppose it depends entirely on
> "proximity circumstances" and timing.)
> 
> For my launch many years later, I decided to let the good old 148 settle
> into her "in the water shape" before aligning the shaft and motor motor.
> During one of my 3:00 AM discussions with myself a little light went on in
> my head (might have been the bathroom night light, who knows) and I woke up
> and said, "Self, if you don't connect the shaft, you should clamp it in a
> way it won't slide aft and mess you up like it did the PO."  I was proud
> that, even in the throws of "launch frenzy," I could wake up in the middle
> of the night thinking about clever and meaningful things during my voyages
> to the night light.  I resolved to clamp Vice Grips around the shaft forward
> of the stuffing box.  To build on the drama and suspense, I even postponed
> it until the day before the launch, challenging my steel trap mind to
> remember an important task for five whole days.
> 
> Just after launch I discovered the dripping leak from the stuffing box
> reported earlier on this very same page.  When a friend came by, I figured
> for the cost of a beer or two, I could get some advice on fixing the
> problem.  He stuck his head aft and said, "OK if I take these Vice Grips off
> to see things better?"  Just before the steel trap brain rusted shut I said,
> "Sure." We discussed the fix and moved on to the task of moving the boat to
> her new slip.
> 
> That was a short voyage.  We had to go downstream between two railroad
> bridge piers pretty close together.  At first, we were worried about
> clearance but earlier we measured the stone courses; two feet tall, 22 total
> equals 44 feet. Our mast is 35'-1" and about 5' above the water; no problem,
> more than 3' to spare.  I resolved not even to look up while going under.
> 
> A friend towed us with his Whaler; first pull the boat around in the channel
> between the inner and outer docks, then head downstream between the piers,
> make a "UE" and head upstream to the slip on the outer dock.
> 
> Turning around in the channel was slow but once we straightened up and
> headed downstream to the bridge piers we got up to about 2-1/2 knots with
> intrepid skipper concentrating on not looking up at the bridge.  The tow
> boat was moving around a lot (think the tow line was too short) requiring
> occasional rudder adjustments including one to the left that "just stuck
> there."  Intrepid skipper turns into the Terminator and the "inside his
> eyeball heads up display" flashes;  "Situational Analysis... boat with eight
> years invested... involuntarily steering toward large, solid stone pier...
> cause... some idiot... did not place vice grips to restrain shaft... shaft
> now stuck against the right side of the rudder.... then a bunch of those
> meaningless but so cool looking graphics showing distance, compass heading,
> 3D rotating cubes, see thru radar and other stuff like that came on the
> display, all in night vision red; very distracting, especially when reacting
> is so important.
> 
> And react I did; I jumped overboard before impact.  Not really!  There was
> actually enough time for me to scream to partner Dan to come aft and steer
> the deer after which I went below and, with full confidence in the nature
> and cause of the problem (isn't it great when you know your boat), grabbed
> the shaft and pulled it forward just before Dan made his necessary right
> turn; I love teamwork.  To add insult to injury, the slippery little thing
> kept spinning around in my hand for a while before I tamed it with the Vice
> Grips; "bad shaft, bad shaft!"
> 
> The rest of the voyage was uneventful.  We got towed about 200 yards and
> nestled in between a couple of large motor boats, pretty pictures were taken
> (but the fenders were out), motorboats went by more closely than usual
> staring at us.
> 
> There is one other thing.  Since it is about 250 steps from the parking area
> to the boat, we drove the car down the launch ramp and used the inflatable
> to haul the stuff we needed to get on and off the boat by water.  Gigi was
> onshore taking boxes from me when I noticed the bow drifting away from the
> side of the ramp and asked Gigi to grab the painter.
> 
> She bent over, leaning further out as the painter slipped off the ramp.
> When she realized she had passed the point of no return, like some kind of
> Olympic diver, she pushed off, did a mid air 1/2 turn and landed forward of
> the seat, back and legs on opposite sides with derriere perfectly centered
> in the bottom of the boat.  Now Gigi isn't a klutz but she also isn't too
> athletically inclined and, although the degree of difficulty of that dive is
> fairly low, she got a very high score for execution and a perfect score if
> they give points for fast thinking.  We were both so surprised at the
> outcome of what looked like certain disaster we couldn't stop laughing for
> 10 minutes.  Boy, I wish someone had had a video camera!
> 
> So, "PERFECT intensions" and her imperfect owners with good intentions have
> made their first impressions on their fellow boaters at Aspinwall Marina,
> mile 6 on the Allegheny River, right side descending.  We clear low bridges
> with reckless abandon, steer collision courses toward immoveable objects,
> leave our fenders out and drift around in blow up boats laughing endlessly
> for no apparent reason.  They suspected sailors were dingy, I guess it is
> our obligation to confirm it.  Wait until they see the breaking system I
> have devised to slow us down when we sail to the dock!
> 
> All the best,
> 
> The Kingslands & the Marks (AKA, Clueless in Pittsburgh) hanging out with
> "PERFECT intentions"
> 
> 
> PS - Since we are in the throws of fixing the packing gland problem at the
> slip, the Vice Grips are NOT clamped on the shaft.  But, they ARE clamped to
> the tiller as a subtle reminder that, the next time we "must down to the
> RIVER again," full steering capabilities increase one's sailing enjoyment.
> 
>  
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: public-list-bounces at lists.alberg30.org
> [mailto:public-list-bounces at lists.alberg30.org] On Behalf Of
> rixquik at yahoo.com
> Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2011 1:20 PM
> To: public-list at lists.alberg30.org
> Subject: [Public-List] Launching 148
> 
> Congratulations Roger and crew!!  Now to enjoy there other side of boat
> ownership!  I, for one, have enjoyed the narrative of your "journey" so far,
> and look forward to reading some sailing reports. Be safe, have fun, and
> with a nod to Neptune and Aeolus...good luck!
> 
> Rick Leach
> Sugar Magnolia, 121
> Monterey, California
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