Post by strop2 on May 22, 2015 12:05:28 GMT 8
This situation occurred in early May 2015.
About the Boat:
The boat was originally used to take pigs to market from the islands that make up part of the Mekong area of Vietnam. The original boat had no shade cover, steering controls at the rear and the motor situated mid boat. The motor is an inboard Yanma diesel.
Although it is an open boat, I can store extra fuel, and tool boxes under the floor boards that all lift up.
The issues with the boat is the vibration through the boat, mainly from the motor being attached onto the hull without any rubber mounts and an exhaust pipe without a baffle.
Another issue is the need to unload the boat due to thieves who target boat for anything that can be taken, including large heavy batteries.
I have had lots of stores and 20 people onboard previously navigating the canals with the only issue being low foot bridges where I had to move everyone to the front of the boat to get under the bridges.
Normally when heading out on my 11m x 1.8m wooden boat, I practice loading with essentials, such as water, food, survival items, fishing gear, spare fuel etc. I do most of this by myself to ensure nothing is left behind.
Aim for this scenario:
Tell people what I want and see if they would actually do it or I would have to continue doing everything myself. Another component of the aim was to just take the boat out and buy food from the floating markets.
Pre-launch - I asked the appropriate questions is the battery charged, have fuel and reserve jerry, motor working etc. All answers were in the affirmative.
Location:
Mekong Delta Vietnam. Navigating main canals to enter the main Mekong River system.
Passengers:
Five men and two boys.
Equipment Taken:
I a folding chair and other loaded only 3 wooden chairs. I also loaded the tool box that was neglected and two boxes of life vests. And someone took an esky of drinks, although it mainly contained beer. All adults had mobile phones.
Issues:
After everyone was on board, I noticed that the ignition switch was out and there appeared to be an electrical problem but was told "no problem". As we passed several fuel filling stations along the canals, I was told, no problem, have enough fuel. However, it would later prove us undone. The Captain of my boat was told three times to take the reserve jerry of fuel but it wasn't loaded. The main issue would be electrical problems. The boat stopped in the middle of the river and we had to be towed. One of the bamboo push poles was weather affected and snapped when pushing off a wharf. Due to spending too much time broken down, we returned at low tide and couldn't tie up for several hours until the tide changed.
Another minor issue were water reeds in the a few canals.
Lessons Learnt:
Develop load checklists in Vietnamese and then I need to check everything makes it to the boat. Must take a minimum 20lt water container and not so many beers for people who are required to work on the boat if it breaks down.
Make time to conduct test runs a minimum of once per fortnight.
Need to check the solenoid and starter motor and rewire the boat. Check all push poles for serviceability.
Prepare by planning ahead - basic prepper theology.
Summary:
It is always good finding solutions to problems but prepping is about identifying problems and mitigating against them, so they don't occur or a plan can be enacted when they do occur.
Photo 1 - From the canal looking at my Guest House and Rest Hut, we won't be back for many hours.
Photo 2 - Traffic Jam with lots of rice boats lining up to drop off husked rice. It was like this for 1km.
Photo 3 - The lowest bridge on this trip was still good to transit at high tide.
