We see them every day. So often they barely register in our minds. Our last boat had signs posted all about the helm and cockpit. Warning signs, caution signs and various instructional signs. I paid attention to them until they faded into the background because I knew them. Our new boat, “Take Five” also has many of the same signs so they faded into the background rather quickly. My mistake!
We have been traveling up to Alexandria Bay to get “Take Five” ready to return to Mattituck in August. One day to drive up, two days for work and another to drive home. Plenty of organizing going on, fixing little (mostly) problems that did not show up on the sea trial or survey. It is just over a six-hour drive from Bridgeport, Connecticut. We usually arrive at the boat around six after stopping for dinner along the way. After unloading the truck and parking it, I usually start on one of the projects on my list.
On our last trip up, I started working in the engine room, which is accessed by either a small hatch on the main deck or by lifting the entire helm deck simply by pushing a button. This time I changed the generator coolant, installed a magnesium anode in the raw water side of the generator heat exchanger, and cleaned a few years of dirt from the hatch gutters. When I was done in the engine room, I lowered the helm deck (again by simply pushing a button) and went on to my next chore.
Time went by quickly as we got our tasks done and we took a short ride south on the Saint Lawrence River, enjoying some of the amazing architecture the houses show along the river. The next day we gave the decks a good scrubbing after our hard work and after dinner started to get ready to drive home in the morning. At one point I needed to lift the helm deck and pushed the up button. Nothing happened. I tried again after moving the electric helm seat back a notch and up it went. I lowered the deck after I was done and continued working. A short while later I needed access again to the engine room and tried to raise the hatch. Nothing happened. I started checking the circuit breakers, nothing out of the ordinary there. I removed the panel that holds the switch itself and using a jumper wire bypassed the switch, but again nothing. I had also taken a picture of the switch in case I had to replace it.
This problem was very concerning to me because the time is getting closer to sail “Take Five” home and having the ability to get into the engine room is fairly important. After waking up early to head home I tried to raise the deck one more time with the same results. But I could hear the relays clicking somewhere behind the bulkhead next to the helm seat. The only way I could see to get to those relays was to either go into the engine room outboard of the starboard engine into a spot where only a very small and nimble person could get to, or remove a small control box that houses emergency throttles. Maybe. But it was time to head home, giving me time to think this over.
At home that night I went online to various boating forums to see if others had this problem. There were plenty of entries mentioning the same symptoms with varied causes and remedies. Some of them I had already tried and one I could not, failed relays. With time running short, I emailed the marina service department asking them to check out the problem. Shortly after I received an email back saying I was now on schedule. After a few days of waiting, I sent another email asking if they could look into it before I came up for the next visit as we would be leaving for home in a few weeks.
My wife and I talked about the problem and figured it could be something costly. Labor alone would be significant even if the parts were not. Dollar signs bounced around in my head as we waited for an answer to this problem. A few more days went by and I saw an email from the service department. To simplify what it said, “The helm seat must be moved back all the way aft to operate the helm deck lifter”. Then we saw the invoice for $81, a half-hour of labor. Then to add insult to injury I pulled up the picture I had taken of the switch, and right next to it in the picture is a small sign. It reads, “NOTICE! Move helm seat all the way aft and remove companion filler cushion before raising engine hatch”. And to really drive the point home, there is the same sign placed right next to the power helm seat switch!
Getting that email was both a relief and a kick in the pants. We were both relieved it was something so simple and yet both of us felt a little stupid for missing that sign. I was told about removing the companion seat to raise the deck. It has a safety interlock so you can’t raise the deck. Otherwise, damage would occur because as the deck came up it would drive that seat into the bulkhead. Same with the helm seat. If the seat was moved forward and the deck was raised the helm seat would be pushed into the helm, most likely breaking the helm itself.
So, with that, I have a new respect for signs, and with the song “Signs” by the Five Man Electrical Band playing in my head I did a quick review of all the signs posted onboard hoping that I never take them for granted again. It can get expensive!