Auxiliary drives

[sprocker]

My wife is not the most confident person on water, and she constantly asks me 'what if we break down'?

Now I am fairly anal about regular servicing, checking oil, filters etc. and have never really given ,'breaking down' much thought. We always have a VHF handheld, two mobile phones, and as a last resort, flares aboard.

However, this year I am hoping that our grandkids will be coming out with us, and as we plan to do some longer trips
I started to wonder if an auxiliary outboard would be a good idea?

I'm not sure how it would work on our boat as we have an inboard Merc with outdrive.

Looking at the stern it would be possible to quite easily attach a small outboard, but I'm wondering if this is really necessary?

We don't venture far from our home town of Torquay, but would like to get round at least to Dartmouth this year, and explore the river Dart.

I would be interested in your collective thoughts on this.

[_Ed_]

Consider sea start if they cover that area?

[Xboatboyx]

Personally I would say no to an auxiliary outboard as I think it ruins the look of the boat. Also being a sports boat you are most likely going out on a nice day so other boats will be out and in sight so if you did break down you can easily pick up a tow.

I would continue with your regular maintenance and maybe even create a procedure/checklist of things to look for if you do break down such as battery connections, fuses and even the kill switch (we've done this many times where we have stopped and forgotten to put the kill switch back on ).

James

[mlines]

When you say "we've done this many times where we have stopped and forgotten to put the kill switch back on" do you mean "we" or do you mean "I" - I seem to remember I was standing on the slip at the time.

But I do agree, if you are boating in popular waters then flagging down a passer by is a reasonable solution.

I do recall being flagged down by a yacht who had run out of diesel off the Old Harry Rocks, it was brand new and had a delivery crew on board.

1. Why couldn't it sail?
2. A professional crew running out of Diesel?
3. Flagging does a very fast moving speedboat and asking if we had diesel??????

[sprocker]

I totally agree with your comment on spoiling the looks of a sports boat, and that is the main reason why I am resisting doing it.

I guess we'll see how the coming season goes. As you say, there are usually other boats around, and we will always
be in VHF range or mobile phone range of someone.

All I need to do now is convince Mrs Sprocker........

[shibbs]

I too would like to think that most people will happily give a tow if required. I've been on both sides, towing and being towed ( on the last boat )
But, for real peace of mind I agree with Ed ref sea start.

[TorbayRob]

Sea Start do cover Torbay and I have thought about myself. We tend to go out quite a bit with others and getting to know the local boating community can be quite good for that. We've done both the Dart and the Exe from Torbay on our own, but there's usually someone else 'up for a run' and that can be more fun and a lot more relaxing for a nervous partner! We've been towed in 'a few times' - and have also carried an auxiliary. The main reasons for breakdowns however were old engines and relying on other 'professionals' for service... I've learned do most of my own servicing now and as well as being familiar with how stuff works, this of course has the added benefit of knowing first hand what condition everything is in. A slightly newer boat/engine helps too and ours is now 1992 rather than the 1981 beforehand!

The downside with an auxiliary is that it may not make much headway against a strong current and you also have to either sit on the stern to steer (you won't see much) or rig a more sophisticated install and link to main steering. They don't usually provide 12V either, so if the original failure is electrical then you may have no VHF/Plotter/Nav lights! I've been a bit paranoid and have carried a spare 12V battery too... We always have flares, multiple means of communications, anchor, ropes, paddles etc anyway and don't venture that far out. I'd say experience and a bit of local knowledge are perhaps the most valuable assets however and I've averted a few tows by thinking through the options before making hasty decisions!

Feel free to give me a call when you want to do Dartmouth - if I can, we'll follow you around. The Dart is well worth the effort

[sprocker]

Thank you for all your input gents, it really is appreciated coming from more experienced boaters than me.

I might investigate the Sea Start option, for Mrs Sprockers piece of mind.

Rob, I will definitely get in touch when she's back in the water, we've seen far too much of the Dart from the land, its about time we see it from the water! Which I've been told many times is much prettier.

[_Ed_]

I used sea start. I broke down in the solent and nothing passed close at all. Amazing really. Its much cheaper if you don't sign up whilst sitting in the water at anchor!!

Oh and if you mention who referred you you get free tickets to the Southampton boat show too..

[Dave]

Definitely Sea Start for me...and I have twin engines.......pretty sure the engine to break down would be the one that doesn't run the power steering like the last time...that made life awkward when we got back to our berth....joined Sea Start not long after that.....