Showing posts with label big. Show all posts
Showing posts with label big. Show all posts
Friday, 31 March 2017
The big hurry
I'm sitting quietly on my client's boat reading some documents that will hopefully clarify why his MacBook Air doesn't see the USB GPS, and abstractly following what will be the very imminent departure of the boat next door. I can hear garbled snatches of the crew's conversation over the low rumbling of the diesels.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the dingy on the transom disappear, and what appears to be two large rubber bands stretching out from the dock. I looked up through the cabin window and I can see the boat still moving out of the dock. I sat there for a couple of seconds transfixed by the scene, and then suddenly realize those grey rubber bands I'm looking at are two shore power cables, and they are still connected to the pedestal. I bolt out of the cabin and start to frantically yell, and wave at the captain. Just then, one of the two cables really tightened up, the pedestal snapped over, and the cable flew away from the pedestal taking the plug with it. The boat captain just then realized what was happening, stopped, and started to back down into the dock.
The pedestal's final state of repose is laying supine on the dock. The dock master rolls up in his golf cart and starts to try to pick up the pedestal when I gently suggest don't. There is a neutral and ground wire hanging out of the pedestal, and there are still two shore power cords plugged in, and one of them belongs to my client. The just arrived owner, after taking a moment to survey the scene, boards his boat at my request and shuts down the power systems. I gingerly turn all of the pedestal breakers off. Anything could have happened inside the pedestal, and with four live 50 amp outlets, an abundance of caution was called for. Avoiding the hanging wires, and only touching the plastic parts, the two remaining cables are disconnected, and the pedestal was carefully tipped back up in place, sort of.
Other than the untimely demise of the pedestal, the damage was very minor, although the potential was certainly there for a more calamitous scene. Below is another example of a surprising event, at least to a captain at the time. I assure you the piling is not floating.
All of this begs the question, how could this have happened? The captain was very skilled with many years at the helm, and the temporary mate with him was also a long experience boater. After witnessing the majority of the event, I have a theory, and some personal experience to validate it. The notable feature of the event was that the crew was in an obvious hurry. The captain popped up to the bridge and got the engines running, the mate was scurrying around releasing lines, and it was evident to me they were short on time, late, or both.
Accidents happen because we become inured to risk over time. Think of the first time you drove a car. Looking back and forth, trying to shift correctly, watching traffic, and all of the time a parental unit is barking at you, or so it seemed. A few months later, it's sort of second nature, and over time, you're driving the car, talking on the cell phone, jotting a note, eating a hamburger, all while driving with your knee. Okay maybe it's an exaggeration, but driving is still as risky as it ever was, but over time your brain starts to shove the risk aspect onto a dusty shelf in the back of your brain's library.
In my life, when most things have gone awry, it is almost always because I was weary, or in a hurry. Urgency, and or tiredness inevitably leads to mistakes, that more likely than not wouldn't happen if the risk factor hadn't been diminished. Let me put it this way. If you were making your first parachute jump, even if you were tired, and in a hurry, the concept that a sudden stop at the bottom would not be good for your health, keeps you concentrating. But on your thousandth uneventful jump the apparent risk level to you is now not so much. But I assure you if things went wrong on that jump, the awareness of the risk, albeit arriving too late, will instantly be brought to the the brains forefront, and you will be very aware that gravity is pulling you downward at 32 feet per second per second.
"We tend to think in grand concepts, but those concepts are built from a myriad of tiny details, some more critical than others." said RHYS in a comment to a post of mine recently, and he is so very right. This is also why all pilots follow a detailed check list to insure that the critical, but sometimes small appearing details aren't overlooked. So the next time you get on your boat, take a deep breath and remind yourself that mistakes, at the minimum are expensive, and at the maximum life threatening. Maybe a check list at the helm would help all of us, at least sometimes.
Other than the untimely demise of the pedestal, the damage was very minor, although the potential was certainly there for a more calamitous scene. Below is another example of a surprising event, at least to a captain at the time. I assure you the piling is not floating.
All of this begs the question, how could this have happened? The captain was very skilled with many years at the helm, and the temporary mate with him was also a long experience boater. After witnessing the majority of the event, I have a theory, and some personal experience to validate it. The notable feature of the event was that the crew was in an obvious hurry. The captain popped up to the bridge and got the engines running, the mate was scurrying around releasing lines, and it was evident to me they were short on time, late, or both.
Accidents happen because we become inured to risk over time. Think of the first time you drove a car. Looking back and forth, trying to shift correctly, watching traffic, and all of the time a parental unit is barking at you, or so it seemed. A few months later, it's sort of second nature, and over time, you're driving the car, talking on the cell phone, jotting a note, eating a hamburger, all while driving with your knee. Okay maybe it's an exaggeration, but driving is still as risky as it ever was, but over time your brain starts to shove the risk aspect onto a dusty shelf in the back of your brain's library.
In my life, when most things have gone awry, it is almost always because I was weary, or in a hurry. Urgency, and or tiredness inevitably leads to mistakes, that more likely than not wouldn't happen if the risk factor hadn't been diminished. Let me put it this way. If you were making your first parachute jump, even if you were tired, and in a hurry, the concept that a sudden stop at the bottom would not be good for your health, keeps you concentrating. But on your thousandth uneventful jump the apparent risk level to you is now not so much. But I assure you if things went wrong on that jump, the awareness of the risk, albeit arriving too late, will instantly be brought to the the brains forefront, and you will be very aware that gravity is pulling you downward at 32 feet per second per second.
"We tend to think in grand concepts, but those concepts are built from a myriad of tiny details, some more critical than others." said RHYS in a comment to a post of mine recently, and he is so very right. This is also why all pilots follow a detailed check list to insure that the critical, but sometimes small appearing details aren't overlooked. So the next time you get on your boat, take a deep breath and remind yourself that mistakes, at the minimum are expensive, and at the maximum life threatening. Maybe a check list at the helm would help all of us, at least sometimes.
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
Boat warranties big brother is really watching you
The letter excerpt below was sent to the owner of a new boat. The owner was being advised by the manufacturer there would be no warranty coverage on the boat because they had determined, via the internet, that the boat was being used for commercial purposes.
I have spent a lot of time reading boat and motor warranties the past couple of days, (an excruciatingly dull, but informative task), and almost every one has a specific warranty exclusion for "commercial use", and several additionally spelled out the fact that this included the use of the boat in anyway that created revenue. What was interesting about the letter, was apparently this manufacturer was searching websites for their boats being used as fishing charter boats, and the ilk. They were then cross referencing the names found on the websites to their owners list, and if there was a match, the owner was sent a letter advising them their warranty was voided.
What was unusual in this case, was the fact that the picture on the website was not the boat in question, but a several years older version of the boat, that had recently been sold, and a new one, of the same make, and model had been recently purchased. In this case it would be like trying to tell what year Volkswagen it was from a picture. The owner occasionally did day fishing charters. This was more of a hobby, and a retirement project, rather than a money making operation. The owner unfortunately passed away shortly after the purchase of the new boat, and it is not known if the new boat was used at all, much less commercially, or otherwise. But since he had used the old boat commercially, the manufacturer has said that the new one was surmised to have been used commercially, so the warranty is kaput, and they won't discuss it any further.
I did a little test to see if this was an effective way to identify commercially used vessels, and it is. I Googled charter boat images, and found lots of newer boats being used for chartering, and most of them did not have logos blazoned across their hulls, that would clearly indicate that they were being used commercially.
So big brother, in a creepy, and not necessarily always in an accurate sort of way, is truly looking over your digital shoulder. This type of digital surveillance, and warranty voiding increases the builders net profits, in an environment where there are not a lot of profits. Now just to be clear, when you buy a new boat, most certainly your warranty will have a "commercial use" exclusion, but I wonder if it really makes sense for many builders to have that clause, in such a severe, and black and white way.
My take on this is you should want to encourage charter operators, fishing teams, and other related businesses to use your products, and by telling them they won't have any warranty when they buy their new, and often expensive boats, seems to me to be a real disincentive. The message being sent, is that the product won't hold up under real use, like using it often for fishing. I think this approach also hurts dealers who sell the boats, and do the warranty repairs. Since there is no warranty, most will seek the least costly approach to repairs, and that is not likely to be the dealer. This also encourages the use of after market parts, instead of the official, and often pricey original manufacturer's parts.
My take on this is you should want to encourage charter operators, fishing teams, and other related businesses to use your products, and by telling them they won't have any warranty when they buy their new, and often expensive boats, seems to me to be a real disincentive. The message being sent, is that the product won't hold up under real use, like using it often for fishing. I think this approach also hurts dealers who sell the boats, and do the warranty repairs. Since there is no warranty, most will seek the least costly approach to repairs, and that is not likely to be the dealer. This also encourages the use of after market parts, instead of the official, and often pricey original manufacturer's parts.
So who does this impact, charter boat operators, who are struggling in this economy, nature cruise, boat rental, and local sightseeing companies, fishing teams, and anyone whose boat is sponsored by anybody, for anything. There are a couple of bright spots I came across in all of this digging. Trophy boats allow up to 50% commercial usage, and Yamaha, and Honda both provide a 1 year warranty for commercial usage. Mercury's warranty stuff is so scattered, and complex that I couldn't really tell if they offer any commercial use warranty at all. I think they do, I just couldn't find it, and I eventually gave up. I understand the racing exclusion, and some of the others, but maybe manufacturers should rethink what they're doing, and cut some slack on the "commercial use" warranty exclusions, unless your product is made for only occasional light duty use by your grandmother on Sundays.
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