Boat Broken

Syncopation's propellor shaft has come adrift from the flexible coupling that connects it to the gear box. It was wrenched out in an accident. I was moving Syncopation back to the boat yard from our mooring, a journey of about 50 yards, to fill up the water tank. What I didn't know was that there was an old mooring rope lying under the water and it got wrapped around the propellor as I moved the boat forward. Normally this is not a problem as the rope can at worst stop the propeller. In this case the rope was still tied to the bank. As we moved forward , the boat was brought to an abrupt halt by the rope tangled around the propellor. 20 tons of boat caused the shaft to be pulled out of its mounting on the Centaflex coupling until it hit the rudder. Fortunately the boat was moving slowly so no more damage was done and the shaft was not pulled right out of the boat, which would have sunk Syncopation quite quickly.

On a brighter note, the shoe cupboard is fixed in the engine room now, so I won't have to move it every time I want to lift the deck boards.