Question on different types of boats

[tuffr2]

The young man that was rescued Sunday that was found by a freighter as he floated 100 miles off the coast has me thinking. At 1st I read that their 31' aluminium fishing boat capsized.

So thus my question:

East coast of north Florida.

Of all the boat types (sailboat, catamaran, center console, small cabin crusier, go fast sport boats) are least likely to be capsized? Why?

Boat lengths are between 25' to 30'.

Right now I am leaning toward a small express cruiser but like the other boat types also.



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[boatman61]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

The young man that was rescued Sunday that was found by a freighter as he floated 100 miles off the coast has me thinking. At 1st I read that their 31' aluminium fishing boat capsized.

So thus my question:

East coast of north Florida.

Of all the boat types (sailboat, catamaran, center console, small cabin crusier, go fast sport boats) are least likely to be capsized? Why?

Boat lengths are between 25' to 30'.

Right now I am leaning toward a small express cruiser but like the other boat types also.



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The sailboat is the only one likely to recover.. provided you've battened down the hatches to suit the conditions.. the ballast in the keel is designed to continue the roll to a full 360.. tho' I'd not bank on it with a Macgregor..
A catamaran can also capsize tho in most case's it will stay afloat inverted.. combined wind and wave action or human error is the usual cause.
For the rest.. I'll leave that to the folks more knowledgeable than me about power boats.. I have my opinions however I'm no expert.

[tuffr2]

Each boat type has its strong and weak points. I saw the movie 'Abandon' where the tri-maran was hit by a rouge wave and capsized.

And just read another article about the boy that was rescued after 8 days at sea. In that article it just said the boat sank. The mother is still missing.

They were in a 31' foot boat. My boat will likely be smaller 26' - 29'.

I spent a lot of time on small runabout type boats on inland fresh water lakes. Never ever was I worried about sinking. I am just trying to understand boats capsizing or sinking.

I realize on the ocean a storm with high winds causes huge problems. But on nice normal days is the ocean relativly safe?



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[DDabs]

get a Boston Whaler- unsinkable!

[Lepke]

The Titanic was "unsinkable". Seamanship keeps many boat types afloat. It's not as much about the boat as the knucklehead that maybe running it. Unskilled, unprepared people, poor judgement, poorly maintained boats and equipment are the real sinking causes.

[DDabs]

Yeah, look how many of the boats that go missing in the Atlantic turn up later on... without the people.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Each boat type has its strong and weak points. I saw the movie 'Abandon' where the tri-maran was hit by a rouge wave and capsized.

That must have been in the "wine-dark sea" that has been discussed recently

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by Lepke

The Titanic was "unsinkable". Seamanship keeps many boat types afloat. It's not as much about the boat as the knucklehead that maybe running it. Unskilled, unprepared people, poor judgement, poorly maintained boats and equipment are the real sinking causes.

The Titanic was considered unsinkable because of its waterproof bulkheads a Boston Whaler is unsinkable because it is positively boyant. Completely different things. A BW is unsinkable in the same way a block of styrofoam is unsinkable.

[nortonscove]

Yeah. Why does that sentiment sound familiar? Oh yes I just remembered I live in Newfoundland.

Originally Posted by DDabs

get a Boston Whaler- unsinkable!

[Dave Lochner]

A common way for powerboats to sink is to take water over the stern. A couple of easy ways to do this, especially on outboards with low transoms.

If the boat comes off plane quickly the stern wave can catch up and dump water in to the transom, which weighs the transom down, allowing more water to enter.

Another way is to back up quickly, the stern buries and water pours in over the transom, weighing it down and allowing more water to enter.

Backing into a wave or slowing down too quick with a following sea, just makes it worse.

Some Mako's and Steigercrafts are prone to this problem.

A few years ago during a large festival in a harbor, a hotshot in his big overpowered speed boat was showing off in front of the crowd. Had the hood open to cool the engines and threw the 4 engines into reverse, the stern buried, water flooded the engine compartment and down she went stern first. Sat there for a day with the bow pointed skyward and the stern on bottom before it could be salvaged.

[tuffr2]

Thanks Dave - That makes sense. This would happen even on the little 17 ' 18' runabouts that I have owned. Boats are not designed to go in reverse. On YouTube you can watch a larger sport fisher boat sink because the captain was chasing a marlin in reverse.

The small express cruisers have a large swim platform that would act as a giant water scoop, but have fairly high free board. I typically know enough not to stop too quick as any following wave may come into the boat.

Again - thanks for this info.

[hsi88]

Enjoy the speed of a motorboat, but would like to sail when the conditions warrant it? Buy a MacGregor 26X or 26M. Positive floatation so it won't sink. With water in the ballast tank, is self-righting. On a windless day can cruise at 20 MPH. I have a 26X and although I like the extra room of my Catalinas, find the boat meets a lot of needs. Want to sail in Maine and 2 days later, sail in Florida? Just trailer it down. Want to sail the Erie Canal and don't want to pay any money to step the mast, no problem. And although not a racer, they sail better than expected and the light weight works well in light air which happens often in the summer time. Very versatile boats.

[tuffr2]

The McGreagor 26x is on my possible lists of boats. So is the Hunter Edge. I need to see one in person.





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[tuffr2]

Hurricane Matthew has me looking on YouTube at boats in a hurricane.

Saw a small crusier getting bashed but it never capsized. It came close a few times as it was rolled on it's side but it again, never capsized.

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