Jay N wrote:
Regarding towing as the ultimate safety concept, during my 50+ years of boating, I have seen a number of fires and sinkings where the crew has always been able to get into the dingy/work boat regardless of whether it was towed/tipped or stowed.* Maybe they were just lucky.
On the other hand, I have seen 3 instances of boats being towed that have capsized in rough water, which imperiled the larger boat.* In one of those instances,*the towline*disabled the larger boat, which caused the crew to have to stay on the larger boat, and the boat to nearly be lost on the rocks.
It is hard for me to see towing as the ultimate*solution, as there are just too many variables.**The best ways to mitigate risk are probably:* To be a good boathandler/navigator, keep a good lookout,*have good equipment and a robust maintenance program, and a strong desire to not confront rough conditions, if possible.* The blue water sailor cannot always escape from the last one.
*How would a wake have any effect on a towed dink? I tow right on the second hump.jleonard wrote:
*Too many wakes and rude boaters, water is snotty often.
*How would a wake have any effect on a towed dink? I tow right on the second hump.skipperdude wrote:jleonard wrote:
*Too many wakes and rude boaters, water is snotty often.
*Old Stone wrote:jleonard wrote:
*
Not many around the LI sound area tow a dink. It is rare. Here is does not make sense. Too many wakes and rude boaters, water is snotty often.
I suppose a MOB situaton wold be difficult, and I'll have to think more about how to solve that one, but it won't be by towing the dink.
*
*Yes, I have been passed within 20 feet by*35 plus footers going full bore. All to get one boat length ahead* in the channel. This is a*fairly common occurance in that it happens a couple of times every season. *Recreational boaters as well as commercial fisherman (6 pack guys). A friend of mine used to tow a 11 whaler everywhere and he drowned it more than once.*
Have to give Jay a bit of backup here. All boating areas have their quirks, weather, tides, etc., but Long Island Sound has the additional factor of some of the most obnoxios and brain dead boaters on the face of the earth. The wakes he refers to are not from tugs or other commercial boats, except the occasional high speed ferry that will stop for nothing, it's the out of control private owners of large go-fast vessels who have absolutely NO regard for anyone around them. And get a combination of a few of them from different directions, watch out. I personally put a bounty out on one boat that did me real damage. Don't ask. So although a wake seems impossible to cause the level of damage this thread is discussing, it happens. BTW, many of us are of the opinion that most of the really bad offenders are employed on Wall Street, and have the same attitude on the water as they do professionally. The rest of us just float around in their wakes of destruction.
Its been long well established in case law that a boat is liable for damages caused by its wake. It was one of the first cases I learned in law school but, for the life of me, i can't remember or locate the citation to the case. It involved one of the big Long Island Sound "commuter" yachts in the early 1900's. I'll go check my copy of "Yachts in a Hurry" to see if I can find the cite.skipperdude wrote:
Does anybody know what the law is regarding a boat that causes damage by blowing by you and waking you causing damage to your boat or injury to those aboard .
*Especially passing without warning i.e. calling on the radio or sounding a horn.
SD
*I used to think that, too, until hearing a presentation by the USCG that included this very topic.* Boats do not sink in picture-postcard manners.* They roll over, they pitch vertical (bow up or bow down) they do all sorts of nasty gyrations on ther way below the surface.* Sometimes the boat comes down on*or drags down the dinghy that has fallen off of it.* The point was that dinghies don't just float free an bob nicely waiting for you to climb aboard.* They usually end up with severe damage (they said), upside down, and often end up sinking themselves or become totally filled with water to the point where all that's holding them near the surface is their floatation.* If the dinghy has a motor, the motor usually causes the flooded dinghy to "float"*almost vertically in the water, rendering it near-useless.Daddyo wrote:
Remember these are self deploying when the boat sinks
*Tony had said that a trawler named Moonstruck was tied*at the end of his dock.* It could well have been that one.* I have met and passed many tows on the river with no problems.* Even in the curves if you communicate with the captain and he knows your intentions.* Usually passing on the inside of the curve will give plenty of room for the tow to swing.* The outside is usually the deepest water.* It is hard to imagine what situation caused that boat to flip.KJ wrote:
Hey,
Did you guys catch the name of the boat that sank?
******************************** MOONSTRUCK
Kinda eerie.******* KJ
nomadwilly wrote:
Good points Fred. Also one needs to be ABLE to get into the survival suites fairly quickly. Ours are difficult to put on and under extreme stress * ....could be a problem. I recommend everyone try on their survival suites once a year.