What a first day!

[Carl KelseyParticipant @carlkelsey65265]

[Carl KelseyParticipant @carlkelsey65265]

So where do i start? I bought myself a second hand 26cc 2 stroke boat. Spent a while tarting it up and thought id try it out before i painted it. So i took it down to our local lake with my boy to give the old girl a spin. Fired it up and sat her in the water. Got about 10 meters out and it stalled. I spent over an hour waiting for my mrs to bring a paddle board out to me so i could save it. Is this just one of the hazards of using petrol powered boats?

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Hi Carl. And welcome to the forum.

Yes this is a hazard with​ this sort of power. I may suggest NEXT time that you run it tethered or at least nosing the bank for a bit to ensure it runs ok for a few minutes or so (water cooling arrangements permitting) BUT failing that, a rescue boat of some sort in the next easiest way of recovering marooned craft !

Stalling or breaking down is one of those hazards that you have to put up with. I might point out an excellent article in the summer MB special in which the various forms of rescue and recovery were discussed. "boating in Bushy" I seem to recall was the article. Indeed very informative…

AShley

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

We have it better than the flyboys. They get failures and the aircraft goes out of sight.

Mind you, submariners also have the dreaded 'bottomless dive'…

[Carl KelseyParticipant @carlkelsey65265]

Thanks for the replys guys. I must admit being new to this the warming it up against the bank makes a lot of sense! I was also thinking of getting a cheap little electric boat to send out to rescue if this was to happen again?

Does anyone know the correct ratio of oil to petrol mix for the 26cc boat engine?

[Carl KelseyParticipant @carlkelsey65265]

Ashley, How would i find this article?

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Carl. It was in the summer MB special. It was only part of an article, (which I MAY have written…) and not a specific "how to " job. Good article of course, actually contains hints and tips and my "modus operandi" and so on.

Basically, the options are….waders, and using a long extendable fishing pole with a wire hook on the end,

a fishing rod to cast a weight over the stricken vessel (SV) to drag it back, or a ball of string with a small weight on which you throw over the SV. .

A boat to push the SV in (needs a flattish front and preferably a grippy rubber/foam bumper….we find the small landing craft to be good for this, something you can knock up very cheaply…(.see my album)

Using another boat to tow a long bit of string with a float on the end. The boat goes round and round the SV and the string slips under the SV and gets caught on the prop, and then you tow it back in.

No doubt the more tech savvy boaters may suggest using a drone to carry a line over and hook the SV and either towing it itself or bringing back the string to be pulled from the bank……

Ashley

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

Another rescue alternative is a blunt bowed workboat like a "Springer" (lots of links for those who look) fitted with a hook for a long line. This can either push the dead boat in, or, with the line, circle it and use the long line to pull both in by hand.

Unless you know the water very well, going in after a boat is not recommended. Even a water that can be negotiated in chest waders can have hidden perils just out of sight. Getting stuck in a soft bit of lake bed is not fun, and can lead to unfortunate headlines.

An afterthought – if possible, make sure that the wind in blowing towards the launch bank.  A dead boat usually tries to drift downwind.

Edited By Malcolm Frary on 11/01/2016 10:04:56

[Carl KelseyParticipant @carlkelsey65265]

Again thank you for the advice it is very much appreciated. I have bought myself a small speed boat. I will use this to pull a floating line out around the boat to snag the prop. It was the easiest way i could see?

I agree about the down wind comment too. Unfortunately i had the wind behind me so the boat ended up in the reads on the other side of the lake! I was fortunate enough to be able to get my hands on a paddle board so managed to stay relatively dry!

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

OMG thats why i don't build planes with my luck it would go into a dive and smash into a million bits as for sinking boats , well sorry down to me shorts and in after it i'm dammed if i'm going to let some one worm dangling walk off with my boat .After all just patch it up replace the motor and away you go .

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

Posted by Andy Hustler on 11/01/2016 20:04:18:

OMG thats why i don't build planes with my luck it would go into a dive and smash into a million bits as for sinking boats , well sorry down to me shorts and in after it i'm dammed if i'm going to let some one worm dangling walk off with my boat .After all just patch it up replace the motor and away you go .

From a purely sensible point of view (I really do regard the HSE as surplus to requirements, usually, preferring good sense) NEVER SWIM AFTER YOUR BOAT. You are worth more than a toy, and however much craftsmanship has gone into it, it is still a toy. Do not become a Darwin Award example.

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