Humorous story time.....
My dive buddy Pete and I have managed to get access to a 5m boat with a new 20hp Honda outboard. All good so far. It's the work boat of Petes boss, and he allowed us to take it for a spin to access some of the more inaccessible spearing spots.
We managed to push it into the water from the slip, load up and get going. We motored out of Salcombe and decided to give it the beans once past the harbour entrance. Throttle to the stop and all it did was dig in, make more noise and only increased speed slightly.
Hmmm...check fuel, check kill cord, check trim..all OK. Prop not fouled.
Next, check the bilges for water, and oh boy was there water! We pumped it out as we were motoring along, but was still slow.
We anchored up at our first mark, jumped in to be greeted with 6m+ viz. Not in a rush, we checked to boat hull. The cause of our slow progress was apparent with the discovery of a 20cm x 1cm hole in the hull.
Dive abandoned, we started up and headed for home, although by now, the bilges were almost full to the deck level, with the manual bilge pump just keeping up with the flow.
Maximum speed on the way home was a heady 6knts, and the boat nudged onto the slip with the water level with the deck hatch.
The boat had been left on a concrete slipway all winter, and the weight of the boat, combined with the wave / wind action had worn right through the GRP keel without anyone noticing...until now.
My dive buddy Pete and I have managed to get access to a 5m boat with a new 20hp Honda outboard. All good so far. It's the work boat of Petes boss, and he allowed us to take it for a spin to access some of the more inaccessible spearing spots.
We managed to push it into the water from the slip, load up and get going. We motored out of Salcombe and decided to give it the beans once past the harbour entrance. Throttle to the stop and all it did was dig in, make more noise and only increased speed slightly.
Hmmm...check fuel, check kill cord, check trim..all OK. Prop not fouled.
Next, check the bilges for water, and oh boy was there water! We pumped it out as we were motoring along, but was still slow.
We anchored up at our first mark, jumped in to be greeted with 6m+ viz. Not in a rush, we checked to boat hull. The cause of our slow progress was apparent with the discovery of a 20cm x 1cm hole in the hull.
Dive abandoned, we started up and headed for home, although by now, the bilges were almost full to the deck level, with the manual bilge pump just keeping up with the flow.
Maximum speed on the way home was a heady 6knts, and the boat nudged onto the slip with the water level with the deck hatch.
The boat had been left on a concrete slipway all winter, and the weight of the boat, combined with the wave / wind action had worn right through the GRP keel without anyone noticing...until now.
