Joe Coons
Every month I've tried to offer some suggestions for your fun or safety on the water, and this month is no exception. But I think the title of this column should be "Avoiding Close Calls"!
Recently, one of the boats I manage in my five-boat charter fleet went through a thorough buffing, waxing, and varnishing. In the course of this project, we put the boat in a boathouse, and using its electric anchor windlass, we lowered its anchor down to the dock, so that we could clean and polish and varnish around it. When the job was done, the boat was thoroughly washed to get all the waxing dust off. Then we hauled the anchor back up, again using the windlass. I moved the boat back over to its regular slip, and got it secure. Finally I began putting its protective canvas back on.
"Wait a minute!", I thought. "Is that smoke I smell?" I walked around to the bow, where a little plume of smoke was coming out of the anchor chain hawse pipe. Holy cow! I realized that the windlass foot switch had somehow shorted, putting power to the windlass which was now pulling hard on the chain, but of course the anchor was already up!
I ran around to the cabin door and went inside, and determined after checking the engine room and power panel thoroughly that the only way to shut off the power from the ship's batteries to the windlass was by actually removing the cable from the windlass motor itself --- there was no fuse, switch, or circuit breaker in the heavy line forward. So I scrambled and found a 1/2" wrench, and disconnected the cable, as the windlass motor got even hotter. Fortunately, I got it off before there was any open flame! I then taped the cable end, and put the windlass and/or motor and its controls on the "to be fixed and properly installed list".
Imagine if I had just tied up the boat and left: The motor could have gotten hotter and hotter until it started a fire under the foredeck, and the damage could have been very serious and extensive. It was only luck that had me on the boat when that switch shorted.
One of the most important codes promulgated by the American Boat and Yacht Council calls for a switch, circuit breaker, or fuse in any cable connected to the battery that extends more than six feet from it, and the only reason for the "six feet" part of the rule is to allow for starter cables, which carry such high currents, especially for Diesels, that switches might be deleterious to their operation.
Likewise, a well-installed windlass has a switch and pilot light indicating if it's on. Our near-fire was an example of the reason why: Any exterior switch around salt water is likely to fail sooner or later.
So if you have switched electric circuits, especially to exterior circuits on your boat, make sure they're off when you leave your boat! And if you have any item getting electric power from your boat's battery that has no fuse or breaker in its circuit, have a competent person install one.
It will help your piece of mind, and maybe you'll avoid a serious fire even if you're not on your aboard!
Happy Spring cruising . . .
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Last updated 3/6/98 by SCR