Joe Coons
You're not going to believe this story, but so help me, it's true!
In October, I was bringing our boat back to our slip and giving some training to a less-experienced operator when a boating acquaintance saw us and asked me to give his wife some training on their new boat. I gladly agreed, as I would for any buddy or Club member.
So on a Saturday later in the month, I walked out to their boat and was met by an optimistically anxious spouse. We cranked up the engines on their big trawler, and the training began.
I have never run such a reluctant-to-maneuver vessel! It seemed like it would take it such a long time to respond to gear changes . . . and I interceded a number of times to get the boat to do what it should when the enthusiastic new skipper nearly hit the dock!
About mid morning, when we were docking for the tenth time or so, the husband showed up, and I asked him to let me go down into the engine room while he maneuvered the boat out in the harbor's fairway. It was then I discovered the problem: The Morse push-pull cable to the starboard transmission was adjusted incorrectly, and when the shift was put into "reverse", the transmission stayed in neutral.
It took about five minutes to adjust the cable, and make sure the nuts and lock nuts were tight.
Maneuvering was so much better thereafter!
"How could you not realize something was wrong?", I asked my experienced friend.
"I thought that's the way a twin ran," he said. "After all, I've only run singles before. What did I know? But it sure is easier to run now!"
There is a moral to the story: Once in a while, let someone else aboard your boat who's experienced and ask them if they notice anything: You may be surprised!
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Last updated 1/3/99 by SCR