When I was younger, I had the same thing happened to me on a 35 foot sailboat, but we were on rocks. I was able to take the hell heard from the top of the mast and connected to the Ancora line. I swam out far distances possible, planted the anchor and swim back to the boat. Took a second actor from the bell swim at all throughout as far as I could go in this one, went to the main winch on the deck and Cockpit. I was able to crank the mast over to relieve pressure from the keel and use the deck winch to pull the sailboat off the rocks. Terrible times with good memories now
I'm sure that was a hell of a journey. Luckily for us, we don't really have to worry too much about rocks around here! As a commercial operator, we try and avoid pulling on the mast just for the liability and risk of damaging it or breaking something else on the boat
Captain I’m curious if you’ve ever thought of adding ropes like we use in the off-road world. Like say a long Yankum rope. These have a bungee affect where you take off they build up energy and really really work well. They also help with putting so much strain on equipment as they give I believe 20?to 30? Percent. They also make soft shackles which won’t go tight there strong but easy to remove. Keep up the good work.
In that situation could you have a shorter rope and do the same thing but use your prop wash to dredge him out? We did that for bigger boats at our docks.
I'd rather not get that close to the beach. Plus, with the cat boat at least, you don't get a "jet" of water since the engines are far apart, so the washing out the sand method isn't as effective as with a V hull
@@CaptKenO I was also wondering if you were looking for a deck hand with alot of knowledge in mechanical repair and welding aluminum, stainless steel, also fiberglass repair? Would be interested in this kind of work helping boaters. As I live close to Terra ceia Bay Palmetto point.
@danielsplayhouse3804 I'd have to talk to my boss and see...but it's probably something he'd me interested in having you do some repair work here and there. Do you do mobile work? We haul the boats out at cut's edge marina, so not too far from you
@@CaptKenO I don't have a mobile setup my Tig machine is in my studio and I have 25' tig torch and pedal and a area that I can have a boat on the side of my house to work on.
I used to unground sailboats by hauling on their mainsheet at the top of the mast abeam of the boat. Heel the boat over 45 degrees and let the yacht engine power us off the bar.
It's an idea...the problem is that you'd be digging a hole with that method, so you'd have to do that all the way to deeper water. Plus you'd have to pay for a diver then as well
Just a tough one. That burned a few gallons of fuel! Could it have helped if your distance was reduced on your line, and your prop production used to your advantage to wake the Sailboat as you continued thrust maneuvers?
Definitely burned a bit of fuel, but that's made up in the salvage fee 😁 The problem with running a short line is that it puts us in shallower water, and so we have the possibility of striking the prop on the bottom but also were sucking up a lot of sand which can clog the cooling system. On a boat this size, it probably wouldn't have made much difference anyway, but I know some operations do use that method on smaller boats
I live at the condos there behind the gray house. I watched this sailboat break free up at North Shore Dr and blow down to our beach. Dramatic! I have lots of stills and videos of this you could use for a remix. 🏖👍
Well I replied but some filter must have killed it. 😝 so yes I'll give you my files to use. I have 5 good videos totalling about 15 minutes plus 20 great still photos. I have video of your boss talking to you. I could mail them on a DVD. Under 2 gig total file sizes. Let me know. I also have a channel.
@johnnyhiett I don't think I'll re-upload the video...but if you've got some good content, post it to your channel and I'll pin a comment on my video linking to your video
Congrats on the new boat, nice upgrade. Could the keel on that sailboat come up at all? Outboards are great in so many ways but generally dont have a lot of pulling power. Could your previous diesel pulled it off better or no?
Thanks Vancity! Definitely a nice upgrade in the boat, and now I'm spoiled with the twin outboards and electronic throttles ❤️ I do however miss the pulling power of the old boat. I'm not sure what the actual output of these are since they're torque limited when doing these deadpulls and will only rev to ~3400 RPM, but I know I'm not getting the full 600hp. Regardless, yes. I would bet the old boat could've done this job by itself relatively easy
It is a viable method to heel a boat over and reduce its draft depending on the type of keel the boat has. I won't do it because the risk isn't worth the benefit from a business and liability perspective...but I know other operators who do use that method
I really like your channel. At the end you were pulling on the port side of boat was your rope on the sailboat on the port side or starboard side? I am not a Tow Boat Captain just wondering if the rope was on the far side of pull it might give you more of a roll factor. Great job as always!!!
You're correct. Having it on the far (stbd) side would give more roll, but you have to balance ideal tow point with not breaking things suck as railings...so it was attached to the near (port) side so ad to avoid that issue
It would be educational to add a tension guage to the tow line near the bollard during hard pulls like this to see what kind of pull your boats are capable of and how close you're getting to the ratings of the lines. The knots you use affect that rating as well of course. Interesting stuff. The halyard trick alluded to in other comments might be helpful in the future. In this case an approx. equal length bridle formed with a halyard and a line from the bow would provide both heel and forward pull on the boat. Just armchair speculation.. I haven't got to the end of this video yet, but the fact that you're able to swing the boat about on its keel tells me you're going to be successful. Carry on. : )
I've always wondered how much force each of our different boats can exert in a dead pull (especially these compared to my old diesel boat I ran in Venice)...unfortunately, there's no good way to hook it up on my end, so it would have to go on the customers end, and that's just not going to happen. I've stated in other videos when the halyard pull has been suggested, yes it's a valid method, but I will never do it because the risk isn't worth it for us
Thankfully no. The boat had a full keel (runs the entire length of the boat) which is why it was heeled (titled) on it's side and we didn't have to worry about breaking it
How's that saying go, I think we' re gonna need a bigger boat, I think we're gonna need some more horses. So glad ur in ur new job Ken, hope they treat u well. Gotta say though the other boat u had, would have pulled it out by now. 😲👍🤘🇦🇺🤣 if all those people on the beach, had of give it a push instead of just standing there. How'd he run aground Ken, dosent he have a depth gague?
Thanks Sea Wench! The old boat definitely would've been a better boat for this job, but I'll take this new boat any day since it's sooo much better for the majority of the work we do. My new boss is amazing. He actually cares about the boats and making sure his captains have the right equipment to do their jobs safely and effectively, and is open to our inputs. Unfortunately, the previous owner didn't take great care of the equipment, so he's had to spend a lot of money just getting the boats back into decent operation condition and buying some new to us but used boats as a stop gap, but ultimately he wants all new equipment, so really looking forward to that!
As far as how this situation unfolded...it was just one of those days they shouldn't have been out there and when they lost the engine they lost all control. It was probably blowing around 35kts and seas were around 8ft offshore, and they just weren't able to get their anchor to set in time
@@CaptKenO Mate, that's bloody awesome all round, really glad for u. The boats are looking good and he knows, heck we know they'll be looked after with u at the helm. 🤘🤣
I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure the rudder was in good condition, but it was jammed from being on the beach and took a little while to get it working again
thanks. I wondered because I had the same experience on my Catalina 36 and the rudder damage was substantial. But in any event I do enjoy your videos. My thought is that being on the water all day in beautiful Florida Gulf Coast isn't all that bad. Thanks for the videos.
Would finer pitch or 4 blade props give more pulling power?. Smarts on motor may make this mute. Would be in Suzuki's interest to find optimum props for this work given how many tow boats are running twins. May even be able to tweak engine management for this type of work, even a limited few minutes at max power could make different on these tough jobs. The other big plus is from marketing point of view having boating public seeing rescue boats running Suzuki's.
A finer pitch/smaller prop would give more rpm...but it doesn't necessarily translate to more pulling power. We have a boat that's propped with a finer pitch and it seems to pull harder (but can't say for sure), but it also lacks in other areas as well (top speed and efficiency)
Y'all must go through a few props running them in the sand like that. Pulling that hard for that long has got to create some mean cavitation also degrading props. Huh?
We weren't in the sand despite a lot of people saying we should've been. They're stainless props, so they can take a serious beating...so I can't even remember the last time we changed out a prop
Because for something like this, it's confidential information. We quote different rates for salvage work depending on the job, so I don't want to post the quote as someone might see it and complain when we quote them something else. Towing/ungrounding rates for non-members I can do, but most of the tows we do are for members, so technically those jobs don't cost anything...but the rate we bill towboat us for those jobs is also confidential.
When I was younger, I had the same thing happened to me on a 35 foot sailboat, but we were on rocks. I was able to take the hell heard from the top of the mast and connected to the Ancora line. I swam out far distances possible, planted the anchor and swim back to the boat. Took a second actor from the bell swim at all throughout as far as I could go in this one, went to the main winch on the deck and Cockpit. I was able to crank the mast over to relieve pressure from the keel and use the deck winch to pull the sailboat off the rocks. Terrible times with good memories now
I'm sure that was a hell of a journey. Luckily for us, we don't really have to worry too much about rocks around here! As a commercial operator, we try and avoid pulling on the mast just for the liability and risk of damaging it or breaking something else on the boat
You swam out with an anchor? Cool story but needs more dragons.
I’ve swam out with an anchor, just gotta do the drowning shuffle
Great job as usual! I would love a walk around of the new boat.
Thanks Cleveland! I think I could manage that for you 😁
Captain I’m curious if you’ve ever thought of adding ropes like we use in the off-road world. Like say a long Yankum rope. These have a bungee affect where you take off they build up energy and really really work well. They also help with putting so much strain on equipment as they give I believe 20?to 30? Percent. They also make soft shackles which won’t go tight there strong but easy to remove. Keep up the good work.
I have thought about it, but they don't float, so all the kinetic energy would be wasted
In that situation could you have a shorter rope and do the same thing but use your prop wash to dredge him out? We did that for bigger boats at our docks.
I'd rather not get that close to the beach. Plus, with the cat boat at least, you don't get a "jet" of water since the engines are far apart, so the washing out the sand method isn't as effective as with a V hull
@@CaptKenO 👍🏻👍🏻
@@CaptKenO I was also wondering if you were looking for a deck hand with alot of knowledge in mechanical repair and welding aluminum, stainless steel, also fiberglass repair? Would be interested in this kind of work helping boaters. As I live close to Terra ceia Bay Palmetto point.
@danielsplayhouse3804 I'd have to talk to my boss and see...but it's probably something he'd me interested in having you do some repair work here and there. Do you do mobile work? We haul the boats out at cut's edge marina, so not too far from you
@@CaptKenO I don't have a mobile setup my Tig machine is in my studio and I have 25' tig torch and pedal and a area that I can have a boat on the side of my house to work on.
I used to unground sailboats by hauling on their mainsheet at the top of the mast abeam of the boat. Heel the boat over 45 degrees and let the yacht engine power us off the bar.
First, you'd need a boat that runs (this didn't) and second, I won't pull from a halyard. The risk isn't worth it for us
You guys are awesome!
Thanks Jody!
Nice job I like the new boat
Thanks Brian!
If one yall had a fire pump and a long nozzle you could pump water under it to displace sand
It's an idea...the problem is that you'd be digging a hole with that method, so you'd have to do that all the way to deeper water. Plus you'd have to pay for a diver then as well
Just a tough one. That burned a few gallons of fuel! Could it have helped if your distance was reduced on your line, and your prop production used to your advantage to wake the Sailboat as you continued thrust maneuvers?
Definitely burned a bit of fuel, but that's made up in the salvage fee 😁
The problem with running a short line is that it puts us in shallower water, and so we have the possibility of striking the prop on the bottom but also were sucking up a lot of sand which can clog the cooling system. On a boat this size, it probably wouldn't have made much difference anyway, but I know some operations do use that method on smaller boats
I live at the condos there behind the gray house. I watched this sailboat break free up at North Shore Dr and blow down to our beach. Dramatic! I have lots of stills and videos of this you could use for a remix. 🏖👍
Any good video of when we were pulling it off the beach?
This would've been a great one to have a drone flying around!
Well I replied but some filter must have killed it. 😝 so yes I'll give you my files to use. I have 5 good videos totalling about 15 minutes plus 20 great still photos. I have video of your boss talking to you. I could mail them on a DVD. Under 2 gig total file sizes. Let me know. I also have a channel.
@johnnyhiett I don't think I'll re-upload the video...but if you've got some good content, post it to your channel and I'll pin a comment on my video linking to your video
Great Job!! Great music!!
Thanks Doreen!
Mazel tov Captain Ken! 👍
Thanks Mikey!
Good job keepup the good work
Thanks TN
Congrats on the new boat, nice upgrade. Could the keel on that sailboat come up at all? Outboards are great in so many ways but generally dont have a lot of pulling power. Could your previous diesel pulled it off better or no?
Thanks Vancity! Definitely a nice upgrade in the boat, and now I'm spoiled with the twin outboards and electronic throttles ❤️
I do however miss the pulling power of the old boat. I'm not sure what the actual output of these are since they're torque limited when doing these deadpulls and will only rev to ~3400 RPM, but I know I'm not getting the full 600hp. Regardless, yes. I would bet the old boat could've done this job by itself relatively easy
I’ve seen grounded sailboats pulled over using a halyard on the mast causing the keel to break free. Is this an okay way to free a boat?
It is a viable method to heel a boat over and reduce its draft depending on the type of keel the boat has. I won't do it because the risk isn't worth the benefit from a business and liability perspective...but I know other operators who do use that method
Could you not tie up closer to the boat and use the propultion of your boat to basically excavate the sand from under the boat you are trying to pull?
Not that close to the beach
I hve a question why not hook up close to boat and have propwash push material away from the beached boat
Because it's hard on the boat and I don't want to get that close to the beach
@CaptKenO what causes damage up close my assumption would be the prop water would help clear under the rescued vessel
I really like your channel. At the end you were pulling on the port side of boat was your rope on the sailboat on the port side or starboard side? I am not a Tow Boat Captain just wondering if the rope was on the far side of pull it might give you more of a roll factor. Great job as always!!!
You're correct. Having it on the far (stbd) side would give more roll, but you have to balance ideal tow point with not breaking things suck as railings...so it was attached to the near (port) side so ad to avoid that issue
It would be educational to add a tension guage to the tow line near the bollard during hard pulls like this to see what kind of pull your boats are capable of and how close you're getting to the ratings of the lines. The knots you use affect that rating as well of course. Interesting stuff.
The halyard trick alluded to in other comments might be helpful in the future. In this case an approx. equal length bridle formed with a halyard and a line from the bow would provide both heel and forward pull on the boat. Just armchair speculation.. I haven't got to the end of this video yet, but the fact that you're able to swing the boat about on its keel tells me you're going to be successful. Carry on. : )
I've always wondered how much force each of our different boats can exert in a dead pull (especially these compared to my old diesel boat I ran in Venice)...unfortunately, there's no good way to hook it up on my end, so it would have to go on the customers end, and that's just not going to happen.
I've stated in other videos when the halyard pull has been suggested, yes it's a valid method, but I will never do it because the risk isn't worth it for us
Looks like the little boat was hardly giving power.
He was having issues with the engines overheating at high RPM. Ended up being a water impeller
@@CaptKenO been there! Lol
That was a good one! Good call. 300 Suzuki's??
Thanks Chris! Yep. Twin 300s! They'll move this boat pretty good...I'm just glad I'm not the one paying the fuel bill 😂
@@CaptKenO 😂😂
Wing keel?
Thankfully no. The boat had a full keel (runs the entire length of the boat) which is why it was heeled (titled) on it's side and we didn't have to worry about breaking it
How's that saying go, I think we' re gonna need a bigger boat, I think we're gonna need some more horses. So glad ur in ur new job Ken, hope they treat u well. Gotta say though the other boat u had, would have pulled it out by now. 😲👍🤘🇦🇺🤣 if all those people on the beach, had of give it a push instead of just standing there. How'd he run aground Ken, dosent he have a depth gague?
Thanks Sea Wench!
The old boat definitely would've been a better boat for this job, but I'll take this new boat any day since it's sooo much better for the majority of the work we do. My new boss is amazing. He actually cares about the boats and making sure his captains have the right equipment to do their jobs safely and effectively, and is open to our inputs. Unfortunately, the previous owner didn't take great care of the equipment, so he's had to spend a lot of money just getting the boats back into decent operation condition and buying some new to us but used boats as a stop gap, but ultimately he wants all new equipment, so really looking forward to that!
As far as how this situation unfolded...it was just one of those days they shouldn't have been out there and when they lost the engine they lost all control. It was probably blowing around 35kts and seas were around 8ft offshore, and they just weren't able to get their anchor to set in time
@@CaptKenO Mate, that's bloody awesome all round, really glad for u. The boats are looking good and he knows, heck we know they'll be looked after with u at the helm. 🤘🤣
Flat calm, zero wind. How did they ground on the beach? High draft, low brains?
Stubbornness and maybe a depth finder that wasn't reading accurately?
I'm curious about the sailboat's rudder. I'm guessing it was damaged for locked when it grounded stern to the beach?
I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure the rudder was in good condition, but it was jammed from being on the beach and took a little while to get it working again
thanks. I wondered because I had the same experience on my Catalina 36 and the rudder damage was substantial. But in any event I do enjoy your videos. My thought is that being on the water all day in beautiful Florida Gulf Coast isn't all that bad. Thanks for the videos.
Would finer pitch or 4 blade props give more pulling power?. Smarts on motor may make this mute. Would be in Suzuki's interest to find optimum props for this work given how many tow boats are running twins. May even be able to tweak engine management for this type of work, even a limited few minutes at max power could make different on these tough jobs. The other big plus is from marketing point of view having boating public seeing rescue boats running Suzuki's.
A finer pitch/smaller prop would give more rpm...but it doesn't necessarily translate to more pulling power.
We have a boat that's propped with a finer pitch and it seems to pull harder (but can't say for sure), but it also lacks in other areas as well (top speed and efficiency)
Why do you go so far out with line
Closer in your prop wash can blow sand off running gear or keel in this case
Because I don't want to hit bottom or run my props through the sand and suck it into my engines
First
Nice looking boat! Is that a cat?
Sure is! It's a 28ft procat with twin 300 suzukis
Wow...
I got some good pics and probably some video from the beach on this one.
I'd love to see those if you have a way to share them!
Y'all must go through a few props running them in the sand like that. Pulling that hard for that long has got to create some mean cavitation also degrading props. Huh?
We weren't in the sand despite a lot of people saying we should've been. They're stainless props, so they can take a serious beating...so I can't even remember the last time we changed out a prop
How about if you post the $ for your rescues …that would be interesting
Because for something like this, it's confidential information. We quote different rates for salvage work depending on the job, so I don't want to post the quote as someone might see it and complain when we quote them something else. Towing/ungrounding rates for non-members I can do, but most of the tows we do are for members, so technically those jobs don't cost anything...but the rate we bill towboat us for those jobs is also confidential.
Surprised that rope didn’t snap. It’s not designed for pulling that kind of weight. Should have used a snatch strap and pulled straight.
What makes you say that line isn't meant for that loading?
@@CaptKenO it doesn’t look nearly strong enough to be placing unknown loads on it. Snatch strap much safer
@largraydon that line has a higher working load than most straps