Worst Case Scenario: Hitting A Sunken Container - What To Do!??

[hpeer]

A big cc Hunter came into the marina yesterday. They hit a bouy at 7 knots. Watcherson dozed and helmsmans sight line obscured.

Big bouy, commercial shipping lane.

Took the hit about 2 back from the bow. Maybe centered 3 feet above the water line.

Clean through the hull, pushed out the balsa core. Big cracks right through ran out in close to 2 foot radials. Luckily right on the anchor locker.

They were OK because it was a calm day, off shore would have been a different matter.

No pics.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by hpeer

helmsmans sight line obscured.

.

Helmsmans sight being obscured.... mmmm let me think about that one.

[stevensuf]

No offense to hunter owners, but they are not known for being heavily built boats!

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Helmsmans sight being obscured.... mmmm let me think about that one.

Yeah. But it's easy to criticize. I've been to close to doing the same thing.

[captain58sailin]

Was the helmsman's vision obscured by his eyelids?

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Helmsmans sight being obscured.... mmmm let me think about that one.

That can happen in the ICW. The real fault here is the person who was supposed to be on watch.

[Mr B]

I dont know if its been posted on here, But a Cargo ship has just broken in half and dumped heaps of containers in the water,

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

That can happen in the ICW. The real fault here is the person who was supposed to be on watch.

That's the helmsman.... else its like saying a car crash happened because the front passenger was not watching where they were going... that's why we have mouths...
" Yo Frank... is all clear to port...?"

[Group9]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Yeah. But it's easy to criticize. I've been to close to doing the same thing.

I remember going along one day, kind of daydreaming, and watching a day marker the sail had blocked from my view, slide right by.

Talk about a wake up.

[hpeer]

The point of the post, and germaine to the topic was the degree of damage.

Had this boat, or others of similar construction hit a submerged container, holing the hull below waterline, it would have been traumatic, and quite possibly all over shortly.

I know folks sail these yachts all over, I just find them unforgiving for the time you screw up. And we all do.

[Ocean Girl]

Says the man with the steel hull .

[Charlie]

When I did the 2009 Baja ha ha there was J/120 that was sunk by a whale. The whale stove in the rudder thru the hull. The first report said the boat sank in 7 minutes. I think there were other reports that said it took longer but am not positive. Latitude 38 - 'Lectronic Latitude Here is another report that goes thru a number of sailboats struck by whales. http://iwc.int/cache/downloads/5qggd...20Lonsdale.pdf IMHO whales or shipping containers are one of the risks that you take at sea. Just like you take a risk getting behind the wheel of a car or flying in a plane. The earth is a pretty dangerous place and probably all people who read this forum are members of the "Lucky Sperm Club" worrying about things that may happen as opposed to someone in Somalia worrying about where their next meal may come from, or in the Middle East worrying about the stability of their government, or East LA worrying about drive by shootings.

Wow where did that rant come from.

I think that a good method of stopping a major leak would be a reasonably heavy yet pliable rubber mat and self tapping screws along with some type of underwater sealant

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by hpeer

The point of the post, and germaine to the topic was the degree of damage.

Had this boat, or others of similar construction hit a submerged container, holing the hull below waterline, it would have been traumatic, and quite possibly all over shortly.

I know folks sail these yachts all over, I just find them unforgiving for the time you screw up. And we all do.

I reckon if you hit a container full on with your bow you'll likely survive and limp into port...
however a glancing blow will likely give you a Titanic type slash along the hull and your screwed.. this is a hard edged and sharp cornered object... with little or no give..
And hitting a container is not screwing up.. hitting a big buoy is..
A containers just bad luck... so's a whale...
I've sailed through pods.. had them swim along side, around and under and never felt threatened... wonder if there's something about certain boats that P's them off...

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Says the man with the steel hull .

Matches me head!

[captain58sailin]

I've had Orcas rub their backs on my keel. Sailed/motored next to many Humpbacks, never had a collision. Though there was a dramatic collision in Prince William Sound, where a broaching Humpback came down on a small vessel. Didn't break the boat, but they had to use the bilge pump to evacuate the pee. There are lots of hazards that can take your vessel from you. I fear a broken hose/hose clamp, through hull, far more than the impact of a container. The old saying, "rust never sleeps", comes to mind. The more below the water line holes you have in your boat the more likely you will have an problem, it's why I don't stint on the the quality of hose or clamps. Containers and whales can and do occur, but I've been struck by lightening on boats more times, than hitting unwanted flotsam or Jetsam. We get big tides, dead heads and logs are frequent. Nothing replaces vigilance, and even that cannot prevent all collisions no matter what the safety gurus say.