While crossing the 1 mile wide fairway Nort sea - Antwerp, the single prop of Tommie our 33 Lochin, picket up a piece of rope making her steer less. Out of experiance now, I can tell it's a bit scary to float steer less around in the middle of a fairway where up to 300 mtr. long ocean going vessels pass on port an starboard with a speed up to 25 kn, the more as you know this big guy's don't see you at all when close by and depent on your position given by radio and closest radar post, while a 5 - 6 kn. current brings you away from that position fast. We where very lucky that a Mitchell was near by who towed us into a harbour.
My Question: How do you single engine captain's come home safe after a failure? A fixed outboard engine ?
Welcome to the forum. I have read all your posts and it is nice to have a fellow dutchman owning a Lochin like myself. Sounds like you have done an incredible amount of work on her (Tommie). I spend 2 years and 10 months trying to get ours back to factory original. We have only launched her middle of June this year. She's near to being finished, but I am ashamed that I haven't spent more time on her (there's always something else to be done before I can tend to her).
To come back to your question about coming home safely. If you make sure everything is in good order before you leave, that's as much as you can do. Probably in the same situation as yourself, I would have tried to dive in and clear the rope if possible. I know the water is much warmer here, but then I would have to fight with the sharks also!! Hopefully there will always be a like minded boatie near by to lend you a hand!
Please post some more photos of Tommie. She looks lovely!
Sorry to hear of your problem. Have you thought of fitting a rope cutter? Where I work on my single engined Lochin there are a lot of creel ropes and floats some of which can sit just below the surface if the tide is strong. A rope cutter may cause you to lose 1/2 a knot or so but might make the difference between being stuck at sea and getting home. Thankfully I have managed to avoid them so far.
I have been thinking of the possibility of fitting an auxillary motor to the transom should the unthinkable happen and the engine break down at sea. Has any one on the forum got or seen a Lochin sized boat with an auxillary? what sort of size would you use?
I've been restoring mine (during winter months only) for 5 years now and she's nowhere near as advanced as yours. It will probably take another 5 yeras to finish her.
Is the hull dark blue of black now? it is difficult to tell from the photos but she does look good.
Tommie is coated with one layer of grafite bleu 2 component polyuretan, but need 3 layers to become shiney. so she will keep me busy for a few winters also. this winter I gonna re-engine her, placing a new propellorshaft, polishing and coating the hull again and covering the forecabin in wood. when all this is done it will be spring and then she must be lanced as the missus wants a suntan.
After a diver removed the 3 mtr. long 1,5 inch thick nylon rope from propshaft and prop, it appeared that Tommie had a big vibration starting at 900 rpm shaft speed. I thought the propeller or the shaft was bended, but didnt worry to much as it was already in the planning to make this winter a new shaft, bearings and buy a new prop anyway. There was before picking up the rope also a vibration, but started only at ¾ throttle = 1250 rpm shaft speed. Lining the engine, and again when the boat was in the water didnt really help, so I decided to mount a Pyton flexible drive, and an old fashion grease filled propeller tube with a bronze bearing with outside and inside sealing, long before we picket up the rope, to eliminate this vibrations. After the old shaft was out, a measurement showed that the 1¾inch shaft was bended 0,8 mm. at half a meter from the prop. And there was a lot of wear in the 2 cutlass rubber bushings witch where new from last winter Last Saturday I pressed the bronze bearing in the outer stern tube house and put the shaft in centred on the inside stern tube house by a temporally nylon bush, and placed the Pyton thrust bearing. So far everything is exact in line, but when I tried to put the cutlass rubber bearing in the strut, I had to lift the shaft 1 mm up ( see picture) so the strut has to come down 1 mm. This cannot caused by the rope I think, and bronze struts dont become shorter. There is a big wooden block between the hull and strut, but I expect it rather swelling than shrinking ?? Outer sterntube house pushed down ?? I dont believe that.The boat is resting on the keel, and lifting the stern a bit with a forklift didnt change the misalignment. Or was it, as there was always a vibration, for a long time like that ? I didnt renew the cutlass bushings last winter for no reason, there was 2 mm distance between shaft and bearings and now already 1 mm. This evening I removed the strut,so this weekend I can make a 1 mm thick stainless filling plate. Did anybody ever removed this strut ? how to seal the 6 bolds ? when I removed them, some woven fabric came out the holes, it looks as somebody wrapped a piece of handkerchief around the bolds before putting them in.
Regards, Kees.
-- Edited by kees on Friday 18th of December 2009 11:09:49 AM
