Grady CAPSIZES Saturday 12/30 in the Chesapeake

[croixboy]

Hey Guys,

Check out this story that was posted on tidalfish.com this week. It looks like a newer boat, and serves as a reminder that even though you have a newer boat to check your hose fittings and pumps on a regular basis. These guys were lucky.

Mike

Here is the link to the original post ...

http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/showthr ... tress-call

but if it doesn't work, here are the details and a few pictures ...

Just so everyone knows what really happened today....We departed Cove Marina around 1400 headed to the High Rise. While leaving the ramp at Little Creek, I checked the bilge and there was a little water in the bilge that quickly drained out and we were on our way. We were making great time doing about 35 mph and slowed down for a larger vessel that was going through the channel to let her wake lay down before proceeding.

The bow was riding very high and when I turned around there was water coming over the back of the boat. All the access panels on the aft deck had popped out and were floating in the back of the boat. There was a VB Police boat just across the other side of the channel and we quickly hailed him and he was right there with his lights on. We put our pfd's on and the officer said for us to follow him back to Lynnhaven. I told him that the boat was taking on water too quickly and that it was not going to stay up much longer. He then nosed up to us and we jumped on his boat. It was only a matter of 5 minutes and my boat had capsized. Yes, the drain plug was in and tight.

Rods lost, Engine submerged, electronics submerged, Camcorder, Camera, I-phone all gone. We are lucky to be alive tonight and if it were not for Officer Yates of the Virginia Beach Special Operations division, we would be dead. It took the coast guard 30 minutes to get there! I am forever grateful to this guy! He never said one thing negative and was only concerned about our well being. Called Sea Tow and Ed Schrader went out and brought the boat back to Cove Marina around 2000.

Looking at her, you would not know a thing was wrong with her. Her bilge pump was still going as they brought her back to the ramp. Thank you Sea Tow. My Insurance is covering the salvage costs to recover the boat which comes to around $3000! I will take the boat to Norfolk Marine first thing in the morning to have them take a look at it and do up an estimate for the repairs.

After draining the bilge tonight, I discovered the live well pump had come apart! This would be the reason for taking on all the water! Glad to still be around! Thanks for all that have thought about me and my friend from Carlos' report. Here are a few pictures as she went over.
Jim

 

[RAINMAKER]

Jim, Glad everyone is alright!!!! That's the main thing . Sorry for your boat though. Hopefully insurance will make you whole again.
What brand /and type of pump caused this? You said the pump came apart, any photos of said pump.
Once again glad ya'll are all right.

 

[peterlindstrom]

That's an unbelievable story. Awesome rescue by local police boat.

Was the live well pump filling the boat with water?

 

[ocnslr]

Terminology

First, we should learn the difference between "SUNK" and "CAPSIZED". The boat in question capsized, but did not sink. It was towed back to shore.

In other posts on TidalFish, the owner posts additional information and photos.

This incident seems to be the result of two main factors:
1. The livewell thru-hull fitting was OPEN. The owner was not in the habit of closing it.
2. The 'cartridge' section of the livewell pump detached from the body, while the boat was running at 35mph.

The scoop injection thru-hulls will move a LOT of water into the boat in a situation like this.

The primary lesson to learn is one I have been teaching for over 30 years: All thru-hulls should be closed unless actually in use.

The thread on TF is long, and many have posted indicating that they leave their thru-hulls open all the time... until now.

Brian

 

[croixboy]

Re: Terminology

The primary lesson to learn is one I have been teaching for over 30 years: All thru-hulls should be closed unless actually in use.

The other lesson that should be taken from this story is that you should wear PDF's when boating at all times ... and PUT THEM ON BEFORE LEAVING THE DOCK. Most especially when the water temps were 43+/- like it was when they went fishing. These guys put them on when they realized they were taking on water. Boats capsize quickly and usually there is no time to find and put on a jacket.

 

[dduflo]

Thanks for posting. I rarely close my thru hulls when running. Good lesson learned. They WILL be closed from now on!!
Glad everyone was OK.

 

[ocnslr]

Thanks for posting. I rarely close my thru hulls when running. Good lesson learned. They WILL be closed from now on!!

And spread the word to your friends and dock neighbors.

 

[jekyl]

Something else to consider is whether thru hulls are a good idea or necessary for live bait tanks and washdowns..........?

Previous boats I've owned have had external pickups/scoops to get raw water onboard. In hindsight this seems a far safer method of access to raw water.

It is easy to leave a seacock open inadvertently and with necessary amenities onboard ie head, shower etc there are several to check and some that you want open for convenience ie head and washdown, ours is nearly always being used to clean the deck, defrost bait, rinse stuff etc. I can see if a boat is left in the water , it makes sense to close all inlets when not in use.

I think it is a definite inconvenience and probably not realistic to be switching seacocks off and on all the time you want to use something..... unless they were easily accessible and grouped together? The seacocks for my head and shower would be difficult to close and or notice if water suddenly started to fill that compartment!

I've never been in a large boat where seacocks were constantly being switched on/off?

Perhaps there is a need for discussion of alternative ways of accessing raw water more safely , than having numerous holes in the hull that from a safety point of view should/need to be checked constantly.

Perhaps a raw water strainer and box with numerous outlets would be better engineering and eminently safer.......

As Grady's get bigger then perhaps the engineering needs to take the next step in safety?

The other worry was that the bilge pump was working all the time but obviously nowhere near enough to shift the volume of water. I think it is time to reconsider how much/many bilge pumps is enough?

As for lifejackets , here in the tropics a t-shirt is often too much so getting folks to see the sense in wearing PFD's all the time would be like "pushing bricks ?$%^#@ up a hill". On the positive side I always make sure my Jackets are ready to wear and the overhead zipp is functioning. That is a great idea i would strongly endorse for all size ships/boats.

There have not been many larger boats I've been on where the PFD could easily be accessed let alone found!

It is often from these type of accidents that new standards are developed......thank God no-one was hurt.

 

[Pez Vela]

I'm glad everyone was safely rescued and lived to tell us about it.

It is better to be safe than sorry, and I appreciate that the skipper of this boat had to quickly make a "captain's decision" as to whether or not to "abandon ship" under the dire circumstances. I just wonder how many of us would have made the exact same decision given the fact that:

There was a VB Police boat just across the other side of the channel and we quickly hailed him and he was right there with his lights on. We put our pfd's on and the officer said for us to follow him back to Lynnhaven.

I infer from the above that the officer made a judgment call, based upon what he saw, that it was safe for the crew to remain on board and proceed to port under his escort. It doesn't appear that any effort was made by the skipper to determine the source of the water intrusion prior to abandoning ship, nor to remedy the problem. I do not have enough information to make the judgment that the skipper of the boat made his choice to abandon ship too hastily, but I wonder who among us, having learned from this sad experience, might have made a more valiant effort to "save the ship."

This kind of reminds me of the movie "JAWS," when in the face imminent disaster, Quint calmly instructs, "Put out the fire, will ya Chief?"

 

[viperdrum]

Ok, I am an idiot but what are thru hulls and how do I check them? We have a lttle family cruiser 225 and in 100 hrs I think I used the livewell once. This story and the pics scare the heck outta me.

 

[GulfGrady]

A high water alarm would of made a big difference.

 

[cedarholm]

Ok, I am an idiot but what are thru hulls and how do I check them? We have a lttle family cruiser 225 and in 100 hrs I think I used the livewell once. This story and the pics scare the heck outta me.

A thru hull is a hole in the boat that either allows water to drain out or allows water intake from a pump.

Live well intake on Grady's is that raised bronze screen on the very bottom of the boat.

Should be a 'shut-off' in the bilge for the live well water intake.

 

[Capt Bill]

A high water alarm would of made a big difference.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[The Black Pearl II]

thru hull

there should be a better way to cut on and off the thru hulls. on my 360 they are very difficult to get to as the wash down and live well are under the rear berth. anyone seen any motorized cut off's?

 

[viperdrum]

Thanks. I have to say that as much as I have liked my 2 GW boats, the owners manuals are pretty awful and don't cover much of this stuff.

I buy a lot of cars and do my own work on them. I am somewhat of a novice with boats--2 years, have taken the safety courses.

But I continually have quetions, and then see episodes like this and when I refer to the mauals I find them way too generic and non specific. Grady needs to step it up IMO. Thanks for the follow up.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Re: thru hull

there should be a better way to cut on and off the thru hulls. on my 360 they are very difficult to get to as the wash down and live well are under the rear berth. anyone seen any motorized cut off's?

http://assuredautomation.com/?gclid=COn ... 5QodyUsoLw

 

[striped bass]

Viper
The sea cocks for the thru hulls are located in the transom of the 225 Tournament. If you can't see the handles contact Grady White in Greenville (or your dealership) and they will guide you to them. Its good to open and close them on a frequent basis so that they do become stiff or freeze up.

 

[Bama96]

Was that a 209 or a 180? Looks like a 209. Not that it matters. It could happen on any boat. Just curious.

 

[GW VOYAGER]

I'm glad to hear no one was hurt.
What I would like to know is as follows
1 Does this come apart on a pump happen very often
2 Was this the type pump where you replace the head if it burns out and is held together by the plastic clips on the side of the pump.
I had to replace a raw water pump and did so with one that comes apart maybe not a smart move on my part.
I feel it is better to buy pumps that don't come apart than trying to remember to turn sea cocks on and off.
If you do a lot of fishing that would be a lot of turning on and off.

 

[okletsfish]

I have a 1998 ,228.A few years ago I had a problem with the extention
rods which connent to the seacock tru-hulls.The ball joint on the tru-hull side was made of mild steel and failed when I attempted to operate the valve,leaving me with the rod in my hand in a half open position.I was lucky because this happened while the boat was on the trailer beside my home.I replaced the hardware and pumps at the time and have been diligent since then on inspecting that area.I exercise the valves about once a month.What I had`nt done until now is run with those valves closed,but the will be off from now on.