Lost a big one!

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Happy no one was injured! Sadly, could have been prevented. "get-there-itis"??? dunno. I am under the, perhaps wrongful, impression boats over a certain length (75'?) require persons with certain enhanced/certified skillset(s)? Maybe USCG-driven.
 
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The Oracle said:
Happy no one was injured! Sadly, could have been prevented. "get-there-itis"??? dunno. I am under the, perhaps wrongful, impression boats over a certain length (75'?) require persons with certain enhanced/certified skillset(s)? Maybe USCG-driven.
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There is no such law, unless you are using your vessel for commercial purposes. Much like operating an RV without a CDL, if you personally own it then there is little to no regulation for any sort of license to operate.

Some insurance companies might require a captains license to operate, depending on the policy and owners experience. Some timeshare agreements also require a captains license.
 
Great thread -- thanks Bart as well as others adding to the story/info. What a tough loss of that boat, it was a beauty, and I'm glad no one was hurt.

We've boated down to Page from Bullfrog a couple of times -- once in 2002 and again around 2018. I think it's fair to say it takes about 15 years to forget why it's not a really fun run going through the big waves in the straights, getting totally disoriented in the wide open spaces, and missing the safety and beauty of the high canyon walls. But having said that ----- man-o-man are the boats beautiful down south! There is nothing up north that looks anything like this boat that was lost.

I'm looking forward to hearing how the salvage operation goes.
 
Back in my younger days I raced on a 63' sailboat, crew of 21. We were on a race from Key West to Tampa St Petes. It was considered a night navigation race. The boat owner hired a local navigator for this race. He ran us up on a coral reef and with the high wind and heavy seas we were stuck aground and couldn't get off. We started pounding up and down, the mast broke and with a 14' draft we were in trouble. The boat started taking on water and we worked the bilge pumps non-stop. We called the Coast Guard and they came out fast and lowered a big pump which we placed in the bilge, it sucked us dry in just a few minute, then they towed us off the reef and into the harbor. The marina was waiting for us and we were pulled (lifted out) within minutes of our arrival. We had the pump going the entire trip to the harbor. All this happened in the dark of night.

Sorry about the long post, but I would think there would be some kind of plan and equipment for this type of emergency.

Thoughts and considerations:
1. The cost to add powerful bilge pumps for a boat costing in the millions seems like a good idea for safety with just a small cost.
2. Is there any emergency service available that would have on board pumps for such an emergency, again a small cost for the service provider?

There is always something interesting happening at Lake Powell and this event has legs.

Love Lake Powell!
 
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There must be more here than I am understanding. We owned a share on a 68' summerset. It had a bulkhead separating the engine compartment from the rest of the hull. Bilge pumps on both sides of the bulkhead. It had the vents in the engine compartment like most seem to all have, but I found some comfort ( justified or not) that a flooded engine compartment wouldnt sink the boat. Now disabled and damaged from getting on the rocks would make sense. I look forward to more details.
 
UPthecreek, we have a 65' Summerset and one time a few years back we had a engine water intake hose rupture,
the entire engine compartment was full to the rear deck hatches,
boat was floating low in the back but not one drop of water went into the main hull,
so the engine compartment should be sealed from the main hull for water and well as fumes.
 
I have an old Boatel. 1984. The thing is just bullet proof. 35 footer. It's basically a travel trailer bolted onto pontoons. Each pontoon has 5 separate chambers. You can ram it full speed into rocks and I bet you couldn't damage more than 2 chambers and it would still float.
Twin 60 horse Johnson's. Only a tach for guages but they always bring you home.
It's as simple and unsinkable as it gets and I think I have just as much fun as the guys on the big boats with all the new technology and I don't need to hire a guy to bring it home.
I have friends that I've met on the dock this last year. Many of them have some very impressive boats. All of them are light years ahead of my old Boatel. I see all the work and expense they do just to take visitors a few miles up lake for the day.
My boat? Fire it up, untie and GO.
I like simple.
Perhaps it might be different if I actually had the means to own a boat like those guys but I'm happy with my little boat.
Unfortunately I sold it last week but I'll get another.
 
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Maverick5207 said:
I have an old Boatel. 1984. The thing is just bullet proof. 35 footer. It's basically a travel trailer bolted onto pontoons. Each pontoon has 5 separate chambers. You can ram it full speed into rocks and I bet you couldn't damage more than 2 chambers and it would still float.
Twin 60 horse Johnson's. Only a tach for guages but they always bring you home.
It's as simple and unsinkable as it gets and I think I have just as much fun as the guys on the big boats with all the new technology and I don't need to hire a guy to bring it home.
I have friends that I've met on the dock this last year. Many of them have some very impressive boats. All of them are light years ahead of my old Boatel. I see all the work and expense they do just to take visitors a few miles up lake for the day.
My boat? Fire it up, untie and GO.
I like simple.
Perhaps it might be different if I actually had the means to own a boat like those guys but I'm happy with my little boat.
Unfortunately I sold it last week but I'll get another.
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Like they say, From any boat the views the same
 
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