BANG and boat stopped

[LadyG]

Reversing on the Chesterfield,  when boat stopped, engine stalled.

It's a sleeping bag, I expect it will come off sooner or l8ter, I am trying to get it off from outside, have a cord attached to it, and pulling.

What was the bang?

The gearstick Morso]  will go in to reverse position out of gear position, that's about it.

Is something broken , maybe.

PRM 120, Isuzu.

Opened the wine, watching the racing. 

No rush, it's rather pleasant this boating business...... not downhearted, yet........

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by LadyG

[Alan de Enfield]

It could be pretty much anything :

 

is the prop still attached (you could have sheered something) ?

can you turn the shaft by hand ?

it could be something in the gear box snapped / sheered / damaged (drive plate) ?

 

Without more information its not going to be easy to diagnose.

 

 

You seem to be having more than your share of problems from 'killing off' 7 electricians, numerous gas-fitters, 3 foot high switch panels to 'big bangs' and sleeping bags : are you sure that the Inland Waterways is the place for you ?

[LadyG]

58 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It could be pretty much anything :

 

is the prop still attached (you could have sheered something) ?

can you turn the shaft by hand ?

it could be something in the gear box snapped / sheered / damaged (drive plate) ?

 

Without more information its not going to be easy to diagnose.

 

 

You seem to be having more than your share of problems from 'killing off' 7 electricians, numerous gas-fitters, 3 foot high switch panels to 'big bangs' and sleeping bags : are you sure that the Inland Waterways is the place for you?

Strange, just wot I was thinking this week .....

Had to give up salty water 'cos knees went, and I never had considered living on a boat instead of a house.

Best thing about being inland is that instead of being two  f'ups from high alerts/rocks, is that you just stop and wait 'til it's sorted.

Worse thing is the boring bits pottering along at 2.5mph. On a sail boat one is never ever bored.

When I say boring, I am being 'forced' to relax, when previously I was working/doing from dawn to whenever .. and there are lots of chance encounters with interesting people.

 

Re stoppage, prop intact, I've got a string tied to sleeping bag, will try again l8ter, no rush ?

 

Only one gas fitter {Richard Fee]

I can't have electricians who don't use red battery cables , boots, crimps and secure the bloody things, wot is that about?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by LadyG

[Alan de Enfield]

7 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Re stoppage, prop intact, I've got a string tied to sleeping bag, will try again l8ter, no rush 

 

Is that to stop it floating off ?

 

Not sure what this is - on you 'on the pop' again ?

 

what halpens, you just tie up and sortyouit out l8tm dicficultieser.

You seem to bever boring having more than your share of problems from 'killing off' 7 electricians, numerous gas-fitters, 3 foot high switch panels to 'big bangs' and sleeping bags : are you sure that the Inland Waterways is the place for youhto re,ax!iWIbenmean being forced

 

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by Alan de Enfield

[Tracy D'arth]

Its amazing what some folks will do to attract attention !!  The bang hopefully is just the whatever getting rammed into the weed hatch, you have got a weed hatch I hope?

 

I think its a girl thing, disasters wait for a passing female then jump onboard like the Gremlins.

[bizzard]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Reversing on the Chesterfield,  when boat stopped, engine stalled.

It's a sleeping bag, I expect it will come off sooner or l8ter, I am trying to get it off from outside, have a cord attached to it, and pulling.

What was the bang?

The gearstick Morso]  will go in to reverse position out of gear position, that's about it.

Is something broken , maybe.

PRM 120, Isuzu.

Opened the wine, watching the racing. 

No rush, it's rather pleasant this boating business...... not downhearted, yet........

 

Might be best to wait until the middle of the night before tackling it, take it by surprise when its asleep. You have a stove as a gear lever, I tink yer mean Morse.

Edited August 23, 2020 by bizzard

[LadyG]

6 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Is that to stop it floating off ?

 

Not sure what this is - on you 'on the pop' again ?

 

what halpens, you just tie up and sortyouit out l8tm dicficultieser.

You seem to bever boring having more than your share of problems from 'killing off' 7 electricians, numerous gas-fitters, 3 foot high switch panels to 'big bangs' and sleeping bags : are you sure that the Inland Waterways is the place for youhto re,ax!iWIbenmean being forced

 

 

Sorry, this tablet keyboard covers the screen!

... multi-tasking too!

8 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Might be best to wait until the middle of the night before tackling it, take it by surprise when its asleep. You have a stove as a gear lever, I tink yer mean Morse.

I'm multi lingual, morso/morse , argh

[Mad Harold]

Sometimes the morse control won't engage gear with the engine stopped.

Need to get down the weed hatch and check/remove weed/etc.

when prop is clear,you can investigate further; check prop blades , and that it turns freely in neutral.

The bang you heard may be just the engine stopping suddenly and hopefully when you clear the prop everything will be ok.

 

I am curious why you gave up salty water boating because of your knees.

How do you manage locks on your own?

I am seriously considering giving up canal boating because of stiffening knees (and just about everything else) I am finding climbing lock ladders and walking around locks harder and harder.

 

[LadyG]

31 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Its amazing what some folks will do to attract attention !!  The bang hopefully is just the whatever getting rammed into the weed hatch, you have got a weed hatch I hope?

 

I think its a girl thing, disasters wait for a passing female then jump onboard like the Gremlins.

Absolutely.

yes weed hatch full of sleeping bag, I just cant get any leverage, I will not be defeated!

Hatches battened down, helluva rain here, weirs overflowing 3 inches, but stopages 'upstream' due to water shortages, oh dear .....................

Tea and biscuits ................

Edited August 23, 2020 by LadyG

[dmr]

Big prop fouls can stop the engine with a big bang so its most likely nothing to worry about. I find removing stuff via the weedhatch to be the best approach, usually rotating the prop a bit each way by hand can really help, also try to work out (by feel) how stuff has got tangled round the prop and suitably untangle it. If your boat is one of those where the engine is fixed on with rubber engine mounts then it might be worth checking that the mounts are all intact.

 

..................Dave

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, dmr said:

also try to work out (by feel) how stuff has got tangled round the prop and suitably untangle it.

 

Remembering that as you (LG) were in reverse when you 'got the bang' you may need to unwind the sleeping bag the opposite way to the one you may expect.

[Detling]

I had a bang once engine stopped. B great log stuck between prop and skeg took a lot of shifting, worse bit B great log sank when prized free, waiting for some other poor boater.

[Keeping Up]

I knew someone whose engine stopped with a bang when the prop hit something, and it turned out that the bang was the sound of the engine falling into the bilges after shearing its mountings by trying to keep on rotating.

[Bee]

10 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

I knew someone whose engine stopped with a bang when the prop hit something, and it turned out that the bang was the sound of the engine falling into the bilges after shearing its mountings by trying to keep on rotating.

I sometimes look at the colossal flywheels on ancient engines and wonder what would break if a log or something jammed the prop, something would have to give.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

Reversing on the Chesterfield,  when boat stopped, engine stalled.

It's a sleeping bag, I expect it will come off sooner or l8ter, I am trying to get it off from outside, have a cord attached to it, and pulling.

What was the bang?

The gearstick Morso]  will go in to reverse position out of gear position, that's about it.

Is something broken , maybe.

PRM 120, Isuzu.

Opened the wine, watching the racing. 

No rush, it's rather pleasant this boating business...... not downhearted, yet........

 

We had a similar experience noise wise when we picked up several tracksuits in a black bag outside Leeds. Once they were removed I dreaded re starting fearing something drastic (and expensive) had occurred.

 

Crossed my fingers fired up the boat tried it in forward and reverse and all was well.

 

I just put it down to the sudden stop or the dense wet bundle slamming against the hull.

 

You may yet be OK.

Edited August 23, 2020 by The Happy Nomad

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, Mad Harold said:

Sometimes the morse control won't engage gear with the engine stopped.

Need to get down the weed hatch and check/remove weed/etc.

when prop is clear,you can investigate further; check prop blades , and that it turns freely in neutral.

The bang you heard may be just the engine stopping suddenly and hopefully when you clear the prop everything will be ok.

 

I am curious why you gave up salty water boating because of your knees.

How do you manage locks on your own?

I am seriously considering giving up canal boating because of stiffening knees (and just about everything else) I am finding climbing lock ladders and walking around locks harder and harder.

 

I had two episodes of cruciate ligament left and right, one falling off horse on to tarmac and t'other just turning over in bed, ' unstable' means bones not connecting to each other, they 'snap', OK now,  so while I am stiff, it's Ok on ladders, 'jumping' is tricky and risky, twisting injury rather than anything.

Confession time, often get assistance on locks, only done half a dozen  on my own!

Edited August 23, 2020 by LadyG

[dmr]

1 hour ago, Keeping Up said:

I knew someone whose engine stopped with a bang when the prop hit something, and it turned out that the bang was the sound of the engine falling into the bilges after shearing its mountings by trying to keep on rotating.

We did that in the big old camper van with an ill judged gear change on Porlock Hill. The engine lifted up off its mounts but then fell back into place. Unfortunately the driveshaft had fallen out of the gearbox and that did not go back. It was a very difficult recovery for the AA breakdown lorry. It was all so traumatic that we felt the need to sell the camper and buy a boat with a rigidly mounted engine. ?

 

................Dave

[Arthur Marshall]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

I had two episodes of cruciate ligament left and right, one falling off horse on to tarmac and t'other just turning over in bed, ' unstable' means bones not connecting to each other, they 'snap', OK now,  so while I am stiff, it's Ok on ladders, 'jumping' is tricky and risky, twisting injury rather than anything.

Confession time, often get assistance on locks, only done half a dozen  on my own!

Most of us single handers get offers of help at locks, which in my case (dodgy knees and back now) is usually gratefully accepted. Most folk are careful these days. I repay the compliment whenever I can.

Can't you get a breadknife or hacksaw into the weedhatch and just cut the thing to bits? 

[Wanderer Vagabond]

1 hour ago, Detling said:

I had a bang once engine stopped. B great log stuck between prop and skeg took a lot of shifting, worse bit B great log sank when prized free, waiting for some other poor boater.

I had exactly that going into Gorsty Tunnel, loud bang and the engine instantly stopped. After we'd 'legged' back out of the tunnel it took a lot of whacking with a mallet and mooring pin to dislodge the log. It was at a time when a lot of woodcutting had taken place along that bit of canal and the cut logs just left for the local yoof to toss into the canal, another couple got wedged in Gorsty Tunnel overnight by one of the logs jamming between their boat and the tunnel wall.

 

When the log jammed my engine, my first fear was having sheared the drive plate, does that often happen?

[Tracy D'arth]

With a bit of luck the gearbox will slip enough to take the inertia out of the drive line.

[dmr]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

I had two episodes of cruciate ligament left and right, one falling off horse on to tarmac and t'other just turning over in bed, ' unstable' means bones not connecting to each other, they 'snap', OK now,  so while I am stiff, it's Ok on ladders, 'jumping' is tricky and risky, twisting injury rather than anything.

Confession time, often get assistance on locks, only done half a dozen  on my own!

Dog recently pulled her Achilles tendon almost right off the bone. Vet could not fix it but sent us to a couple of blokes on an industrial estate in Manchester who are a sort of cross between vets and engineers. They appear to have done a good repair. It was quite costly and I am not sure if they have the right insurance for humans, but you could ask ?

 

................Dave

[zenataomm]

1 hour ago, Bee said:

I sometimes look at the colossal flywheels on ancient engines and wonder what would break if a log or something jammed the prop, something would have to give.

Sometimes the more savvy amongst the vintage engine brigade have an arrangement in the prop shaft to take a shearing pin, and very wise they are too.

However it takes a bit of head scratching to get it right.  Should the pin be too much of a weak link then snatching reverse in an emergency can cause it to do its job, possibly at the worst possible moment. (considering you just snatched reverse in an emergency).

Like others are saying hopefully the big bang is nothing more than the kinetic energy of all those heavy lumps of metal going somewhere when one end of the drive train is suddenly stopped. 

Add up all of the thousands of an inch play between all of the bearings and meshed gears in play and that's where the energy has to be dispelled.

Until OP gets the obstruction off she'll not know.

 

Fingers crossed eh? ?

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

ometimes the more savvy amongst the vintage engine brigade have an arrangement in the prop shaft to take a shearing pin,

 

It is common practice to have a shear pin thru the prop on outboard engines - prop hits something and the pin shears simply replace pin and carry on.

 

Generally there are several shear pins and split pins kept in a 'holder' underneath the outboard 'cover'.

[PhilR]

3 hours ago, LadyG said:

Absolutely.

yes weed hatch full of sleeping bag, I just cant get any leverage, I will not be defeated!

Hatches battened down, helluva rain here, weirs overflowing 3 inches, but stopages 'upstream' due to water shortages, oh dear .....................

Tea and biscuits ................

You will probably have to shred the majority of the sleeping bag and remove it in small pieces before you can unwind the remainder. I use a patio weeding tool (sharpened on all edges) which is ideal for the purpose. IMHO, it is much better, and safer, to use a pulling action rather than using knives and saws.

 

Good luck, keep positive and the chances are life will be back to normal by midday tomorrow!

[Naughty Cal]

30 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

It is common practice to have a shear pin thru the prop on outboard engines - prop hits something and the pin shears simply replace pin and carry on.

 

Generally there are several shear pins and split pins kept in a 'holder' underneath the outboard 'cover'.

Our Honda outboard has shear pins. Our Mariner outboard board has a rubber bush in the prop instead which is a pain as you have to replace the whole prop if it gets damaged.