We almost bought it

[love2fish]

Glad you and the rest of your passengers are safe! I know that pit in your stomach when your motor doesn't crank and you NEED it too! I'm not familiar with that water so forgive my question,,, but when she started drifting and didn't crank,,, why didn't you throw the anchor and try to hold your position safely off the rocks till help arrived/motor cranked? not critiquing, just throwing out the idea for anyone if they find themselves in a similar sticky situation.

again- glad everyone is safe and had their life-jackets on and stayed with the boat,  that would have only made matters worse if you had to somehow get your friend off the rocks once the boat was safely moving away from them.

[gran398]

Yes we did hear John's briefing: it was serious and thorough. Made no difference that his two passengers that day had logged several thousand hours aboard and captaining boats. We didn't roll our eyes and look at each other either. We listened to the captain.

A captain is responsible for his crew, and their well-being. Safety is paramount. If you are running a boat and there are injuries....be assured a lawsuit will follow.

Everyone thinks boating is "let the good times roll." And good times of course are what boating is all about. But Murphy has a habit of rearing his ugly head in a boat. I have been thrown from a boat against my will. I have had to go overboard twice with a knife in my mouth to remove mono from the prop. Fishing line shut her down.  Once by myself in 4 foot seas. I was 29 and thought I was King Neptune. King of the Sea.

DO NOT go offshore alone. Don't even think about it. Thirty years ago a friend of mine went 36 miles out, the boat was trolling, went to the stern to urinate. Boat pitched, he went over. Grabbed a trolling line....drag peeled out. Got to the end of the spool, pulled himself back 250 yards on 30 lb. test. Against a boat trolling 6 mph. The Good Lord blessed him, he got in the boat. True story.

A couple more stories I can tell you, but they weren't happy endings.

Please be safe guys.

[CLM65]

Glad things turned out all right for you.  I grew up in that area, so I pretty much know where you were.  I had a similar (but not nearly as risky) situation when I was a kid off of Pt. Pleasant beach.  My cousin and I were drifting just outside the waves while fishing for fluke.  We started getting close to the surf so I attempted to start the engine, but nothing.  My cousing threw the anchor out, but the force of the waves was too much for the smallish anchor and limited chain to hold.  Fortunately another boater was nearby and saw our troubles.  When he got close enough I instructed my cousin to toss him the end of the anchor line.  Unfortunely he tossed him the entire line, with the anchor still in the water.  At that point I was accepting that my boat would end up on the beach.  But the other boater managed to pull in the anchor and heave it into my boat.  Punctured a seat cushion, but saved the boat.  The coast guard then arrived and towed us to a marina inside the inlet, where I turned the key and the motor fired right up!

As others have said, it is good to go over every important aspect of the boat and your day's plans prior to leaving the dock.  At work (power plant) we have something called a 2-minute drill.  Prior to all tasks, we are expected to go over the job, think about what could go wrong, make sure we have all the necessary protective equipment, etc.  Safety has really become a priority in the power industry, and it is driven into our daily culture so much that you can't help but internalize it and take it home with you.  So now it has become second nature to review the important safety information with guests on my boat just in case the unexpected happens.

[jahoward1]

Hey fellas, just getting off work--tired. Anyway, I asked God to not let me forget the lessons I've learned.  Thanks again and oh yeah... this site is Freakin Awesome!!!  I've have pics up and the insurance update soon.

[jaycal3]

Thankfully you and your crew were ok... it doesnt always turn out so good.  This incident below happened a couple days ago in an area I am all too familiar with.  I am not sure what happened or what they may have "hit", or how someone could have died so close to the ramp but they did...


Posted: Dec 09, 2012 10:32 AM EST
Updated: Dec 09, 2012 10:32 AM EST
SHELTON, Conn. (AP) - A 55-year-old man who was pulled from the Housatonic River in Shelton after a boating accident has died.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection told the Connecticut Post (http://bit.ly/Uvqzsu ) that the man died Saturday at Yale-New Haven Hospital. His name is being withheld pending notification of his family.

Shelton police say several people were on a boat that struck an object in the river near a boat ramp Friday night. 1 of the boaters fell overboard and others in the group couldn't find him.

Firefighters found the man about 15 minutes after being called to the scene. He wasn't breathing and was given CPR.

State authorities are investigating the accident.



Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/20298553/b ... z2EliLZ74b

[jahoward1]

I posted my account a few other places to spread the word. I'm feeling much better. Thanks to you guys, and ready to "SAFELY" get back out there just waiting for the adjuster. Anybody know a good fiberglass shop in the south Jersey area, please let me know.

[200CCPMerc200]

plenty of room on the stern for an auxilary/trolling motor.Glad you guys made it out in 1 piece !!

[jahoward1]

Got a call from Liberty Mutual today.  Young lady advised me that they are going to disburse $8K to me--$4k for the hull and $4k for the engine.  However, I can spend the money however I like; including, I can keep the money and not repair the boat.  She further advised that I must first send her some pics of the damage but I'm not sure if I'm "REQUIRED" to put her in a repair shop for an estimate but she did mention that.  It don't know why I'd have to do that unless I was planning to repair the boat.

I was discussing this situation with my wife and I'm leaning towards using the money to get the boat I wanted--the 1999 245 explorer with the hardtop and full enclosure would be a whole lot easier to buy.  Of course I'm interested in a 215 and a 225 also.  This might be an opportunity that I can't pass up.  The real funny thing is that I had a buyer for my boat that told me he was 99.9% sure he was going to buy my boat the day before the accident.  I talked to him today and he said that he still might be willing to buy the boat (at a really reduced price) after I get the estimate on the hull repair.

So anyway, I'm going to start tomorrow with the pictures and then see if I can find a fiberglass guy.  Thanks for reading.

[Curious]

Here are a couple of cases in my area recently that REALLY got my attention and got me thinking about boating safety:

http://www.ack.net/hemingwaycase033111.html

http://www.capecodtoday.com/news/headli ... ew-rescues

There is a lot to learn from each incident.  In the first incident, the deceased boater's leg, foot and boot washed up and was later positively identified.  In the second incident, they got lucky and were soon rescued.  I've since gotten very serious about safety and I stopped caring what other people think about me wearing a life jacket, keeping the engine running, wearing the kill switch lanyard, giving a safety briefing, etc.  There is nothing to be embarrassed about and thank you for sharing your experience.  We all make mistakes.  The travesty occurs if we all don't learn from them.  If you are second guessing a decision regarding safety, just ask yourself if you want your loved ones reading about your leg washing up on the beach.....

[seabob4]

James,
All has been said that needs to be said regarding safety, so I won't belabor the point...

GRAB THE 245 EXPLORER!!!  

[jahoward1]

Once again aquasport family, I really appreciate all the feedback. I may do dumb things from time to time but I'm not hardheaded. I actually spent the last couple days thinking about what could have happened.  I even thought about what could have happened if my family would have been on that boat and I wasn't ready.  They would have never been out this late in the season but we've drifted the same way in the summer looking for fluke.  So any other suggestions are always welcome but for at least the issues I brought up--never again.  I got a lot of response on www.thehulltruth.com also.  So once again, thanks..

[jahoward1]

I just uploaded the pics I sent to Liberty Mutual--12 pics.  There in the photo gallery section.  Definitely could have been worse.
http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=6323&title=insurance-pics&cat=500

[seabob4]

I'm sure some THT vets have been waiting for this one...

"That'll buff right out!"

[jahoward1]

I'm sure some THT vets have been waiting for this one...

"That'll buff right out!"

Lol...  Yeah, OK.

[wingtime]

With the exception of the one pic with some cracking around the damage the rest of the damage is a simple repair.  I didn't see a pic of the skeg on the motor but those can easily be replaced.