slipway antics
Having rested for a few days, it was time to venture ashore in order to get rid of rubbish and collect water. We donned wet weather gear and boots and took note of the fact that it was high tide - so we should have no problem with mud or slipways this time ... or so we thought!
We put the outboard engine onto the back of the dinghy, grabbed oars, empty water containers, rubbish and commenced the short distance to the yacht club slipway. We noticed some ‘withies’ (thin markers that denote a channel) so we aligned the dinghy for the approach in. I promptly noticed the river bed so told Bruce that we should think about lifting the engine and row the remaining 200 meters but he chose to ignore me saying that we would be alright going a little further. Suddenly there was a ‘grinding crunch’; the outboard struck the bottom with such force that the sheer pin broke, the engine chugging away but with no propulsion. It doesn’t take long to start to drift, so whilst Bruce lifted the (now temporarily broken) outboard engine I started rowing us ashore. We filled up on water, disposed of rubbish and then had to row back to the boat. I must admit I was quite pleased that we chose high water and that there was little wind else the return journey could of been hard work indeed.
Due to the imminent gales, we took the outboard engine off the dinghy as well as oars and then lifted the dinghy back onto the davits. The outboard sheer pin has now been replaced so we’ve got a working outboard again (thank god).
We put the outboard engine onto the back of the dinghy, grabbed oars, empty water containers, rubbish and commenced the short distance to the yacht club slipway. We noticed some ‘withies’ (thin markers that denote a channel) so we aligned the dinghy for the approach in. I promptly noticed the river bed so told Bruce that we should think about lifting the engine and row the remaining 200 meters but he chose to ignore me saying that we would be alright going a little further. Suddenly there was a ‘grinding crunch’; the outboard struck the bottom with such force that the sheer pin broke, the engine chugging away but with no propulsion. It doesn’t take long to start to drift, so whilst Bruce lifted the (now temporarily broken) outboard engine I started rowing us ashore. We filled up on water, disposed of rubbish and then had to row back to the boat. I must admit I was quite pleased that we chose high water and that there was little wind else the return journey could of been hard work indeed.
Due to the imminent gales, we took the outboard engine off the dinghy as well as oars and then lifted the dinghy back onto the davits. The outboard sheer pin has now been replaced so we’ve got a working outboard again (thank god).
Comments