Mariner Anecdotes:

 There are many who have slipped on the ice before us.  For those in the mind to research and learn from his predecessors' mistakes, anecdotes in all seriousness or be-humbled humor can be effective lessons to ponder.   This page is dedicated to such stories commencing with Michel's very first, and rather brief boat ownership.  We invite others to send in their firsthand experiences to be posted herein. We hope this page to develop into an informative and entertaining platform for the "Wanna-be's", "Still-are's" and "Once-were's", alike. JKLN  SEND YOUR STORIES TO:  mail@boatex-yachtprojects.com

21ft Wooden Sloop

"My first boat was a wooden 7 meter sloop, which I bought in 1967 in Kiel, Germany. The boat had 3 bunks and a 3 Hp engine, was many years on land and had gaping openings. With my team of eight, we worked on her the whole summer, every free minute. We knew nothing about boat building but we started the work with enthusiasm. We built in a lot of wood, about 30 kilos of polyester resin, plenty of  mat and 20 kilos of nails. In the end of August the boat was ready for launch. Late afternoon it was in the water and  we baptized it with wine as „Drüker“ (button pusher). We rowed over the bay to the yacht club as the motor wouldn't start and nobody knew how to set the sails. After a small booze-up we were going to bed with the clear idea to sail the next morning to Denmark. As we arrived across the bay, we saw that the boat had disappeared; no track up to the horizon. Thus, strait to police station we marched. The constable was an old man and I thought he was senile by the way he wanted for everything in the world to go to the place of theft. I was on 180°; the thief  had sailed and so every minute was getting further away. Finally, just to see the stupid face of the old man as he would gape on an empty space, I went finally with him to the pier. As we arrived he asked me friendly-like what that small piece of wood, which peeped about 5 centimeters out of the mucky water should be. A stupid question; how I should know this? Then the penny dropped.There below was "Drüker". She had sunk. Our polyester was not enough; the wood had dried out. It was a nasty disappointment and I decided never to buy a wooden boat again. KMMM

Swan 65- Third boat…Alpha Centauri II maiden voyage mid-storm...

...The outcome up to now from the trip showed that the finish of our yacht did not have high standards. We found serious damages, especially from water leaks. Auto pilot, electric windlass and even out BLU got wet and failed, all stays were slack, several screws were missing, all other were loose. Many heating hoses were not isolated and burned several dresses. The cheap water membrane pump ran continuously dry and we worked on it every day, the shaft break had too small dimensions, the propeller began to turn by speeds over 7 kn. We repaired the radio and the windlass, but the auto pilot would not accept any burden for a long time period and had to be repaired frequently. It took us 5 days to continue the trip with a new boat only a few days old.

Under pressure from the storm the boat had increasingly strong inclination, water ran into many possible and not possible spots into interior. The main entry leaked and water was coming down in buckets by every wave, all dorado vents leaked, soon the saloon floor was below the water. The waterproof bulkheads were not watertight, so the batteries which were for security reasons built in the owners room aft, also came under water. The cause was, all pumps quit to work, generator and motor in saloon were also useless as they were below the water. We bailed like crazy with the buckets out to the toilets and sink, which helped little and was very difficult at a 40°  inclination and throwing us wildly around. Johnny was clinging onto the wheel but was useless there; he was needed for bailing, as he was still fresh. But I persuaded him first after I went to get my Beretta pistol and fired out of the entry close to his head. There was no time for discussions. We sealed the entry and dorado vents with towels but the water in the saloon was rising steadily, soon reaching up to the knee. We hoped that at least the bow department would keep dry but this also was not the case. The boat was increasingly clumsy in her moves and we slaved away like crazy. As the storm wore off in the morning we had only 50 cm freeboard. If it would have lasted a little longer we would have sunk. It took plenty of time before we bailed the water completely out and then we pulled the genoa II up and sailed slowly out of the Golf.

If somebody travels without consideration of weather and time of year he should not buy a boat without watertight, separated engine room. It is, in my opinion, life-threatening otherwise. The engine and the batteries situated in the bilge failed first and were not available when needed the most. By my Swan, the engine room was without protection directly under the entry. Our „water tight“ bulkheads were unfortunately not as ordered 'water proof' and they didn´t protect the owner and front cabins.

Alpha Centauri II also had other considerable problems like bad finish and not well thought-out details. If somebody is forced to buy a series boat he is well advised to think over by him self about every detail and aditionally, to be always present during building . It is better to buy a used boat. There the first owner has to swallow the beginning problems and costs. My 23 day trip cost me a quarter of the initial investment until everything worked again, without account to the time of repair. The shipyard didn´t pay a penny.

I have explained the previous problems. Additionally our security case was half full of seawater, which penetrated the deck. There was no drain and all fuses and lines had to be replaced but the leak lasted stubbornly. In my bunk it was a water ghost. As I slept by rain or heavy weather I often got a couple of drops of water in my ear. My first idea was, this is a joke from the crew so I locked the door, lay down on the other side and continued sleeping. Again, I got water exactly into the other ear. After a long search, I couldn´t find the spot from where the water came. I detest water in the ear, so I stretched a big towel over my bunk and it stayed there until I sold the boat. ...LMMM