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Docking a twin screw w/ engine failure

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by bluemaxbubba, Sep 14, 2009.

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  1. bluemaxbubba, Sep 14, 2009
    #1
    bluemaxbubba

    bluemaxbubba New Member

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    I recently encountered a dreaded engine failure on a 43' Hatteras. I'll address the cause of failure in another thread (sea water pump / coolant related). I had to make a decision on how best to safely return to the marina & dock (no bow thruster). I decided against making any attempt to pull this off w/o assistance due to close quarters inside the marina. BoatUS met me at the entrance to our marina & made up along my port side (port side engine was out). We are located on a T-Head & share the end w/a nice sport fisher. I must travel down a narrow channel for about 1/2 mile bracketed by boats. BoatUS acted as if they were my port engine & assisted me in a pivot of the bow to hook my bow line. With the bow line attached, I reversed my starboard engine & swung nicely into place. I give you that description to ask the following question: Would any of you have attempted this w/o an assist? I've tried to find reading material for twin screw engine failure & tight docking w/ no success. The only other option I could consider was allowing the port engine to cool off & run it in short bursts while approaching. Then, allow the engine to run while docking under full power. I was concerned that I would exceed my engine temps & loose that option at a critical moment. My sea water pump was moving nothing on the port engine.. which caused a high temp shut down. What would you guys have done in this situation?
  2. K1W1, Sep 14, 2009
    #2
    K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Hi,

    You will probably get more differing answers to this that you would think.

    I would say that what you did was the correct thing to do in the situation and conditions on the day- You docked successfully without damaging your or anyone else's boat and you didn't stroke out with the stress of it.

    A Raw Water Pump Impeller failure is not that uncommon on infrequently run/maintained vessels. I would suggest that you check the Stbd one while you are doing the port one and carry a complete spare pump. These area lot easier to change as a unit when you are in a hurry or under pressure as there aren't really any fiddly little parts to drop and you have spare everything that you know will work right off the get go.

    Just don't forget to open the sea inlet (and outlet if you closed it) before restarting or the new one will quickly end up like the old one.
  3. Ju52, Sep 14, 2009
    #3
    Ju52

    Ju52 Senior Member

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    2c from a dry land rat ;-)

    If I had designed it ... could every pump not feed both engines in a single break? Slow down and go with one pump ...
  4. Pascal, Sep 14, 2009
    #4
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    well, if it's a raw water pump cooling issue, you can restart the engine and run it for a short period of time before temps will again come up. on a raw water cooled engine, or if the problem is in the cooling system this is ovbiously not an option. so, as long as the engine had 15 to 20 minues to cool down before coming in the marina, i woudl have come in alone and fired up the engine right before docking.

    practicing single engine operation is a must. you can't wait till something happens to jump in the deep end of the pool. sometimes you get a warning, as in this case, but what if you loose an engine when you're already committed to the maneuver? no time to call TBUS ...

    in calm conditions, docking on one engine is pretty easy. it's when the wind or current kicks in that it gets tricky. usually tying alongside is not difficult. come in at an angle, have spring lines ready. If the working engine is the off side engine, when you're near the dock, put it in reverse to stop and that will pull the stern in. If the dockside engine is the one that works, then you can't use it to stop or it will pull the stern out. In that case you need to come in slow, pass a spring line, and spring the stern in. no big deal.

    backing into a slip is possible depending on which engine is working. backing into a slip on port side, is possible on starbaord engine since that's the one you'll need to reverse. I've done it a couple of time for real (and practiced it). problem is that you have to second chance so again, you dont' want to attempt with 20kts winds!

    if you need to back in a slip on port using the port engine, you're out of luck and you can just come bow in instead.

    if you need to make a sharp turn in a channel, if you need to turn to the dead engine side, that's no problem since the live engine will help. If you need to turn to the live engine side, you need some momentum so that flow on the rudders can overcome the assymetrical thrust. a little tricky but again in fair condition it's doable with most boats.

    starting from a dead stop on one engine is a little tricky as the boat will start turning until the rudders get enough flow to fight the assymetrical thrust. It all depends on the boat. My 53 will start going staight after just one boat length. YMMV!

    but it all comes down to practice practice practice. Know your boat limitations and call for help if you're not sure, you made the right call.

    JU52, I've wondered about that before. A crossfeed valve after the raw water pump coudl do the job and provide enough flow for slow operation. I guess in most cases it's not worth it since these failures are pretty rare...
  5. Norseman, Sep 14, 2009
    #5
    Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    Good call:

    I would have called the tug as well.
    Especially if I was already a "member". :D (Free tow/assistance)

    If not and if the conditions are good/calm, go slow, call ahead for help so severeal dock-guys can meet you and grab lines, fend off.

    If it was windy and/or current, don't try it on one engine unless ya practiced often like Mr. Pascal suggested. (Pilots practice that dreaded engine out approach all the time, required by the FAA and by Common Sense)

    Sailboaters of course do this single engine docking all the time with no stinking bow thruster..Piece of pie..:D
  6. Loren Schweizer, Sep 14, 2009
    #6
    Loren Schweizer

    Loren Schweizer YF Associate Writer

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    Pascal has very good advice.
    His 53 Hat has a largish, deep keel which helps a lot in quickly gaining steerage from a dead stop.
    A mid-eighties vintage 33 Bertram, however, is another story and, if, like this model, you are driving something without a keel, you might be in for an experience.
    There you are, with one clutch fried, waiting for the Tamiami swing bridge to open for you. It's dead calm around dusk. The trip up the Miami River wasn't too bad...a bit of opposite helm against the working prop--piece of cake.
    Oh, and of course, you are by yourself.

    Now, waiting for the bridge tender to open up the span, you put the good engine in gear... and the boat just wants to go in a great circle.
    The bridge tender thinks you're drunk and closes the span with you outside.
    Try again... same thing. Curse mightily that you have no radio and can't holler loud enough to make your plight understood by the gentleman who is The Keeper Of The Gate and prevents your arrival at home port.
    Another boat comes along.. a kind samaritan relays your plight to the bridge tender.

    You back & fill, back & fill, until you get up enough head of steam & speed to get through the bridge opening wondering if you were going to have to sleep aboard in the creek without this bit of luck.
    Yes, we'll take that drink now, thanks, and don't put away the bottle.

    Like Pascal sez, PRACTICE, PRACTICE....
  7. Pascal, Sep 14, 2009
    #7
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    yep, this is why you need the practice, every boat is different...

    one of my humbling moments at the helm came 6 or 7 years ago, I had to bring my old 37 express to the yard up the river on one engine. boat was in a slip in the grove, I figured that turning out of the slip to stbd with the port engine wouldn't be a problem. Well, the breeze stopped the boat from turning in the fairway and i started drifting sideways in the fairway. 3 slips down, i was able to bow in an empty slip. no problem, i 'll back out with spring to turn the boat. yeah, right... drifted a few slips down, and backed in empty slip.

    finally realized that it was never going to work and that it was running out slips! it was worth $50 to the vessel assist guy to get towed out of the fairway. rest of the trip up the river and into the yard was trouble free. lesson learned : practice practice practice.

    norseman, yeah, you guys with ragboats do it all the time but your prop is on the center line (hopefully)...

    btw, another trick when you need to back a twin on one engine, is to leave the rudder hard over to the live side. As you back down a little, the boat will pull to the dead side, but a short burst in forward with the rudders hard over to the live side will kick the stern back in line. The trick is to use enough of a burst to create enough propwash to kick the stern without killing all the momentum, and to leave the rudders hard over. at slow speed backing up, with no prop wash, they will not affect the boat, but are ready for when you put it in forward.

    you wont' back down straight, but it will help, especially when backing into or out of a slip on one engine.

    again, YMMV... try it on your boat.
  8. bluemaxbubba, Sep 14, 2009
    #8
    bluemaxbubba

    bluemaxbubba New Member

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    I appreciate all the advice. I'll certainly be practicing engine out handling to be better prepared for worse situations (such as failure during docking as suggested by Pascal). I have never paid close attention to engine temps when approaching the dock – I will now. I tend to believe that most situations such as this are preventable & the error occurred during maintenance decisions. I blame myself for ignoring an old gasket on the strainer lid (I think it pulled air & resulted in zero flow). I was able to do some quick learning during this misadventure regarding engine out handling. I spun her around to the port side 180 when this occurred & pushed the starboard engine up to gain speed. A decent crosswind also blew across the bow from the port side. I traveled several miles up the ICW under one engine w/ little trouble. However, holding her at the marina entrance was a less than perfect scene. I'd guess any spectators assumed I was chasing seagulls... or maybe doing a waltz. Think about my situation and enjoy a good laugh while watching this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFAGFyRYyHY
  9. yachtbrokerguy, Sep 15, 2009
    #9
    yachtbrokerguy

    yachtbrokerguy Guest

    If TowBoatUS cost $200 and I had the possibity of costing more than $200 in damage to my boat or another, I would go with the tow boat everytime. Just a few months ago I lost an engine on a 56 Sea Ray and I had BoatUS tow me to the dock. I have had my captain's license for 36 years, have run hundreds of boats, and have run numerous twin screw boats with only a single engine running. I was glad to show my nautical skills in a radio call to TowBoatUS.
  10. NYCAP123, Sep 15, 2009
    #10
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Although I probably would have taken it in on one my experience is certainly different than yours and the only opinion that really counts is that of the person in charge of the vessel at the time, and the bottom line is that it worked for you. My only criticism is that you ended up with a boat with 2 captains unless the tow captain was dictating all of your actions and taking full charge and responsibility (dangerous for him to do with your hands still controlling a motor). I recently came in on the hip of a tow boat from a different company and he did a lousy job and laid us broadside across the slip. I had to cut lose and use my one good motor and the thruster to avoid damage. If another boat were damaged I'd want to be very clear about who was in charge.
  11. saltysenior, Sep 15, 2009
    #11
    saltysenior

    saltysenior Senior Member

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    boils down to how big a spender the boss is..:cool:
  12. NYCAP123, Sep 15, 2009
    #12
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Never mind the owner, the captain could well end up footing the bill for damages on a deal like this if he doesn't make the right choice and handle it in the right way. The wrong choice here could be perceived as negligence to someone trying to shift blame.