37 years boating and never cilled one yet… until this morning, when the dreaded accident occurred at Lock 10. We'd been having a straightforward morning, early start, Sheila lockwheeling, muggins steering. We'd got into a pattern of Sheila working ahead (most of the locks were with us but needed gates opening) and me working Sanity Again down the lock above.
There was a bit of traffic starting up after a while, so things got even more easy peasy as we didn't need to close bottom gates. That's probably how I got just that bit overconfident, didn't bother to take a centreline off with me, and didn't clock until just too late that she'd slipped back a tad in one of the shorter locks. In addition, the rudder wasn't pushed over properly, or had slid back. The last couple of inches of the rudder sat on the "babby", the wood fender forward of the actual cill, and by the time I realised, she was well and truly on.
I wound the bottom paddles down as quickly as I could, then raised a top paddle a bit to start the lock refilling. As it did, SA slid forward off the cill and re-floated. All looked ok, except that the helm was now amazingly stiff to turn. It improved a bit as we locked down 11 and moored on the visitor moorings above 12. A call to RCR meant that just after ten, Ian Stoykes turned up. He had a go at easing the rudder back into the cup (it's probably lifted slightly out of the cup the bottom end sits in on the skeg) but it was no go.
After consulting RCR, he arranged for us to come into Overwater Marina, just below Audlem. They have a slip for emergency use, and should be able to haul us out tomorrow afternoon. Meantime, they've given us free use of one of their visitor moorings.
So, here we are on a sunny day, nothing much we can do but wait to find out how much damage has been done and how much it's going to cost to put it right.
The rudder is still turning, so there must be a good chance that once it's out of the water, a bit of work with either a sledge hammer to persuade things back together, or with a hydraulic ram if the skeg is pushed up a bit will soon have it all working again.
I hope.
Meanwhile, I've got that post accident rumination "why didn't I take more care and watch more carefully?'
Oh well, I'm not the first experienced boater to do it, and I'm sure I won't be the last.
8 comments:
Not necessarily young man (I use the adjective advisedly ;-))), if you have by any chance taken the weight on the tip of the rudder you could have bent the rudder stock (don't ask me how I know but I wasn't steering our friend's boat at the time and it didn't occur in a lock).
Roger
Thanks Roger! It had occurred to me, actually, but I can't see any change in the clearance between the top of the rudder and the uxter plate, though I'll just go and check again now…
If it is, it'll still be a case of haul it out, heat it up and hit it, I guess.
Cheers
Bruce
Hope its a quick repair and you get it sorted nice and quickly and you get on the move again
Norwyn
NB Shell-Bell
Whoops! Hope things get sorted soon - in the meantime enjoy Overwater and say hello from rock n roll to the reception staff - a very nice group of people.
Thanks folks - it's all sorted. Mr Millin was right (it's a bad habit of his), the rudder stock had bent between the top of the blade and the uxter plate. Not by much, but enough to make it bind in the bearings.
Full report this evening, but the guys were able to use a bottle jack between the bend and the sternpost (with suitable softwood blocks, of course) and push it straight again.
We're just waiting to settle up before setting off again.
Carol's right, too, they're nice folk here.
All the best
Bruce
It was your description of the stiff tiller easing a bit as you went on that pretty much confirmed it in my mind. When first done the misalignment of the stock to the bearings would be very noticeable. As you continued to move it you would have worn away a bit of the top edge of the front part of the skeg cup and thus the stiffness would have eased a bit. Most other potential cilling results would be unlikely to fit that scenario. Where do I send my invoice for on-line diagnosis? ;-)))
Roger
Invoices have to be presented in person, and are only negotiable as units of alcohol…
;)
Thanks for the interesting explanation, though.
Cheers
Bruce
Bruce,
Good to hear that the damage to the boat was not too serious and it is only you pride that suffered!
Overwater is now Streamline’s home mooring so good to hear that Janet and the rest of guys looked after you well while you have been there.
Regards
Peter
nb Streamline.
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