Stuck in Forward, Crashed into Rocks
The control stuck in forward while turning into the slip. There was no reverse. Really scary experience. I was also not able to turn off the engine with key or buttons. Eventually killed the main power to stop the engine. The only option was to proceed to the end of the dock and crash into the rocks. Fortunately there was no major damage. Russ and a diver, Mark Sundahl, and others helped pull the boat into an empty slip. I tried starting the boat and it started but was still in forward position and the controls were not responsive. Essentially the boat cannot be driven.
I called Steve a Volvo mechanic with Neilsen Beaumont. He said that he has seen the sticking in forward several times but not the inability to kill the engine at the same time. Over the phone, I confirmed that the servo motor controlling the forward, neutral, reverse appears to be in the neutral position, so the control system thinks everything is OK. Unfortunately the cable going from the servo motor to the outdrive is likely stuck or broken. In my opinion this is a serious safety issue as evidenced by my crash experience. There needs to be some means to communicate a failure of the mechanical cable system and allow for an emergency override. This failure could have been much worse. I plan to report the problem to Volvo but do not expect much from them. I have found their customer service to be extremely poor.
I believe the inability to stop the engine with key switch or stop button is related to the two station setup. I experience this once before, but thought it was my inexperience with the controls. On both occasions, turning off the power, allows the system to reset and work properly. The joy of all electronic controls. There may be some type of firmware bug that locks up both control stations. It is not a major problem as long as one can put the boat into neutral and shut everything down. In this instance both systems failed.
Mark took a look at the bottom of my boat. This guy is great. He said there was some damage, but no major holes. I will check the hull thoroughly tomorrow. There is a gash above water line that went through the fiberglas and into the foam core.
In the meantime, I have a friend, Craig, who is going to put his boat in the water tomorrow and tow me to Dana Landing to pull my boat out of the water.
Blackman Outer Banks 26' "HERON"