SoCal Jet Boats
Discussion => The No Wake Zone => Topic started by: Trukinbear on September 08, 2013, 10:40:14 AM
-
Wow! Finally made it home... Leave it to a rescuer to refuse to ask to be rescued!
We went up river on Thursday and just south of Ah Pah Village the steering cable broke - and we ran aground in a foot of water, at 45+ mph, ouch! 2 hrs later after removing everything that could be removed from the boat, fighting the current and sliding around on mossy rocks, we finally break her free. The pump is full of rocks, and we have no steering. I pull the hand-hold cover off to try to remove the rocks but I have to work fast as water gushes into the boat each time I remove it - faster than my 1000 manual and 1200 automatic bilge pumps can manage, so it's a series of 15-30 second attempts. Eventually I decide that this isn't working and the sun is beginning to set, I realize that we have to find a good landing spot (deep water) and set up camp. We start drifting downstream, using the forward-reverse lever to keep it headed right (the nozzle was turned) - just before dark we find a spot to land and set up camp.
The next morning I take everything apart to get to the steering cable and I find that the sheath has separated and turning the helm only causes it to separate and lengthen. Using a piece of battery cable and 2 hose clamps I devise a solution - which worked, but now it's getting dark again. The next morning I go diving and attempt to find the lodged rocks, grate is clear back to the hand-hole to try again that way, still fighting the flooding. I manage to remove several rocks that were lodged into the impeller but there is one that nothing I can do seems to dislodge it. We make a test run, can't get on a plane and steering is only so-so, back to shore and back to the drawing board. I make another adjustment to my steering cable fixture, but now it's getting dark again. So we make the decision that we've got to try to get home, running low on drinks and food (and unbeknownst to me, gasoline),
So off we go, still unable to get on a plane, and almost immediately run aground again - though getting out of the boat caused it to break free. More rocks in the pump! I can just get enough thrust to steer us around several large obstacles when we run out of GAS!
Breaking out the paddles we begin the backbreaking chore of keeping the boat off shoals and missing large snags. After a couple of hours, now dark, we reach the outskirts of civilization but the current is keeping us on the opposite shore - nearly exhausted we paddle with all we have, but to little avail - then I see the bottom and tied the bowline around my waist and jumped in. Exhausted I drag the boat towards the bank until it is resting on the bottom 10' or so off shore. Land at last!
I crank up my Nexus tablet and get a fix on my position and determine that we can most likely get the truck and trailer to our location, but have to get to the truck. I start walking and after about 2 miles an elderly Yurok gentleman offers me a ride and takes me to the ramp in Klamath Glenn where I am parked. By the time I get back to the boat, the other half and the dogs have pitched camp, and are sound asleep, sounding like an excellent idea at the time I join them. Next morning we begin the arduous task of getting Keget back on her trailer - only to discover that the winch strap isn't even long enough to get to the end of the trailer. Using my bow line (doubled) I manage to winch her half way on the trailer but at this point she stops and won't budge. I determine that we've got to back further out in the river to get her to float a little. By the time we get her deep enough the truck is now 15' off shore and is sitting in 18" of water. Got her on the trailer only to find out that now, with weight to pull my little 4x4 Ford is not getting enough traction to move the boat. I end up dropping the trailer in the water, driving the truck out then putting a tow strap on the trailer and drag it out - except for my tung jack which broke quickly, it works!
Home at last, very tired!
How was your trip?
-
i dunno, all of that sounds like fun to me.
my river trip consisted of sitting in the garage and drinking beer and a bunch of cutting and welding. wanna trade?
-
i dunno, all of that sounds like fun to me.
my river trip consisted of sitting in the garage and drinking beer and a bunch of cutting and welding. wanna trade?
LOL. well yes, it's the stuff memories are made of - had the trip gone properly we'd never remember it, much less have a story to tell for years to come.
-
Did you at least get to dance around with a drink in your hand as the Klamath river jet boat tour drove by? :banghead: :beer: :beer:
-
I'm not gonna lie, that sounds like a terrible trip
-
I'm not gonna lie, that sounds like a terrible trip
X 2. :-\
-
The Jet Boat tour did go by but even worse this time the good landing spot I landed on was right on a hot fishing hole - 5 different Fish Guide boats with 6 tourist-fishermen each were fishing it the entire time, with dozens of other boats that popped in from time to time, I couldn't even fart without a dozen or more peeps looking my direction - being a good landing spot, they all chose my tiny sliver of land to land and relieve themselves and their dogs - and rather than peace and quiet it sounded like the infield at Daytona. Not a one of them as much as said 'Hi' much less asked if I needed help. I'm not impressed by the current crop of tourist, well I am just not in a good way.
-
Ah man, that's terrible. Not only did your float disappoint you but the tourists were a bunch of rude cackle-smacks. That's a bummer. Good luck with the repairs.
-
Holy crap dude...what a nightmare...I can't believe that no one pulled up to help
-
I headed out to Laughlin on thursday, a trip i have had planned for damn near a year.
My friends and i (who are to excited to check into the hotel) decide to throw the boat in at Jack Smith and head to Pirates for lunch. Well earlier this week i had filled up one of my tanks so that i could do this and unknown to me my brother had decided to siphon the fuel out of it prior to me leaving. So i make it to Topock BARELY and fill up.
Okay great have fuel, lets grab a drink and some lunch! Pull into one of the docks at the restaurant and tie up and get ready to grab a drink. After we all get shoes/shirts/wallets i grab the keys out of the ignition, well the key chain breaks and the ignition key falls in the water. So i proceed to spend about 30 minutes attempting to hotwire the boat only to discover that the shifter is not in neutral and nothing is working (neutral safety switch).
So i look around and i luckily had my old ignition key on the same key ring and it is on the floor. It works boat fires up everything is great, so off to the restaurant to have a well deserved drink.
Have a couple drinks and some food and head down to the sand bar to relax for a bit. Relax do some fishing, etc... Now im on my way back to Jack Smith, the water is glass and im running flat out. I get about 2 miles or so past Pirates Cove and all of a sudden the tach bounces off of the 7k mark. And i have no more forward momentum. So i bring my drive up and take a look thinking the drive just grenaded. Well the drive is fine but the prop spun so i hop in and change it all is good and we get off the water.
Now i had no idea that River rd. is closed due to being washed out between needles and laughlin, so i follow the detour signs that seem to take an hour and a half and finally get to laughlin.
So its friday now, we decide we want to do the trip from Needles down to Havasu Springs for lunch, no biggie fill up both tanks in the boat throw it in at jack smith and head out. I'm cruising about 40 mph and we make it (eventually) have a great lunch a couple beers and all is good! So we fill up at the marina and start the trip back to Needles. We get to the Sandbar and hang out for a few hours relax meet a couple of people etc... And now its getting late so we head back to needles. Well right about the same spot that my prop let go the day before the engine bounces off of the 7k mark again! Impossible i say this prop was a solid hub so i figure it cant be. Knowing better i jump in and change the prop again! and low and behold it doesnt fix the slipping.
This time its different there is the smell of Burnt rubber, and a sound similar to a drill press... At this point we are still moving but very slowly (against current) and anything past 2k rpm the momentum stops and the r's climb. Well i finally find a beach and some people offer to tow us in but ask if they can get their friends to the ramp first. Sure no problem, in the mean time ill start to head up their direction while the boat is still moving. Well we made it about another mile or so and everything stops.
Come to find out the drive coupler (which is brand new) let go and just disintegrated. Which haulted all forward movement and i was SOL. So i decide to throw my new box anchor in and tie up while waiting for the boat. Great, anchor holds and no issues at all. Well boat gets there and I untie, well the current wsa a lot stronger than expected and I drop the anchor line, and needless to say there is a brand new box anchor somewhere along the river if anypone wants it.
Then the miserable long slow tow in. And that was my weekend. Oh and loosing 500 at blackjack :-/
-
Well I did get an answer to that age-old question as to whether the boat sits on top of the water on a plane, or being a v-bottom sits on top of the water in a 14" (keel to chine) hole.
A flat bottom might sit ON the water, buy my v-hull sits IN the water both moving and not. Off the plane that hole is more like 22".
I DID think about calling for help a few times, but figured if I did all it would do is make my pager go off. LOL
-
If be selling my boat if I had a trip like either of yours
-
If be selling my boat if I had a trip like either of yours
LOL, spend enough time on the water and eventually near everything will happen - I've broached a Searay Seville 6M, sunk a Searay Sunchaser SRV270, detained in Mariel Cuba during the boatlift for a week before being loaded with Castro's rejects, and rode out a hurricane on a converted Higgins PT boat.
-
LOL, spend enough time on the water and eventually near everything will happen - I've broached a Searay Seville 6M, sunk a Searay Sunchaser SRV270, detained in Mariel Cuba during the boatlift for a week before being loaded with Castro's rejects, and rode out a hurricane on a converted Higgins PT boat.
A even better reason to never own a boat let alone get on one
-
It could be worse....you could be on a "guided" tour boat ride! :screwy:
-
It could be worse....you could be on a "guided" tour boat ride! :screwy:
Touche'! :thumbup: