SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

Well, almost, anyway. Tom and I decided to take a last blast on Lake Ontario Tuesday, so we launched at local town ramp I have never used. There we 2's and 3' breaking on the inlet, but no problem - it's a SeaCraft. We launched and while Tom was parking the truck, I ran the little inlet slowly, carefully picking my line in the un-marked channel. The 20 took the little breakers nicely so I turned around between swells and picked up Tom at the dock. Out we went again on the same line, except this time, we took a big breaker in the shallowest part of the channel and the motor dropped so low she clunked a basketball size rock and the motor stalled.

The motor did not restart after clunking hard again on the next swell. In less than a minute, the 20 MPH winds had the boat bow first against the low rock breakwall. Our attempts to raise the motor failed and now she was grinding skeg on rocks and tipping the boat. In the waist deep water we go (55 degrees). We decided to wedge the boat between some flat rocks to prevent dammage from the hull pounding. The motor dug it's way in about 6" down into baseball sized rocks. So now that we're that were stabilized, we tried to get the motor up. Standing at the transom the "little" 3' breakers were hitting us about neck high and starting to fill the boat. Within 5 minutes, the water worked it's way into the bilge (the scuppers worked OK) and overwhelmed the brand new Rule 500 GPM automatic pump and quickly the electrical system shorted. So she settled in nicely with about 2000 pounds of water weighing it down. It got dark and we were mildly hypothermic (not really, but it seemed like it, so we left the boat for the night.

The wind shifted overnight to our favor and we got back to the boat at 6:15 AM. The waves had layed down to 1' and we were able to de-water the boat with my little 4 HP Honda water pump (highly reccomended) and got it floating again. With 2 x 4's, Tom lifted the stern with each wave and we were able to work it out into deeper water and walk it back to the launch along the shore. Recovered!

Assessing the damage, we found that the prop was trashed, but the skeg intact. We found less than 10 gel coat chips the size of a quarter or smaller.

Morals of the story: 1> Don't hit rocks. 2> Wear your PFD.
3> If you wanted to paint the hull of your boat, but couldn't justify it - just slam it on some rocks for a few hours and now you have a reason. 4> That splashwell enclosure is starting to look pretty good...

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

Man O man, glad you guys are OK, other than the old girl
gettin' beat-up :(
Sounds like our Matanzas Inlet north of Daytona by Marineland. You have to do three hail Mary's, and tighten up the Sphincter to go out or in! :eek:
See ya, Ken [image]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...untitled-1.jpg[/image]

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

Ha Otto;

Wow, sorry you had some bad times on the water. Things can go bad and go bad fast on the water glad to here you guys are OK.
At least you have 3 Back up boats when one goes down.

FellowShip

_______________________________________________

My motto: Just for the Grins :D

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

No kidding! Oh, yea, I also learned what power trim was invented for...

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

Screw the boat- glad to hear you guys are all right Otto!!!! (besides you have plenty more where that came from right?) :)

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

Glad you guys are OK Otto. Get that stern closed up.

strick

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

FourBoatTheory,

Sorry you had such a bad time of it. At least no one got hurt, or worse.

At the risk of appearing crass or rude, I'm in the process of redoing a 20 right now, and wondered if you would agree to answer some "lessons learned" type questions regarding what happened in your situation?

How did the water get into the bilge; through the tops of the seats in the stern quarters, rigging holes in the splashwell, the live well, the boot for the rigging tube under the console (I assume the entire deck was flooded to some degree)?

Why did the electrical system short? Where are the battery's located, did they get flooded, did the cables run to connection blocks in the bilge (that got flooded)?

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

Glad you're OK, Otto. Glad the old boat's OK too! Rocks and seawall and all, still lucky you were right at the shore and could walk away. Inlets are scary, especially inlets you don't know!

The first thought I had was bigger bilge pump. In the situation you were in it probably wouldn't have helped, although it might have bought you more time to get the boat off the rocks and out of the surf. I'm trying to figure out what to put into the '65 bowrider (no scuppers!), and I'm looking at 800 gph, probably one auto and one manual. Or an auto 500 and a manual 800, the 800 for a SHTF (S**T HITS THE FAN) scenario.

Second, I just bought a (long overdue purchase) inflating PFD, so it's on all the time from when I get out of the car to launch, till I'm back in the car after the trip. Big peace of mind.



rockdoc

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

Yikes!!! :eek: glad you guys are all right and you still got the boat. I have a fear of bilge water so I have two 2000gph pumps(wired seperatly), one pumping out each side of the boat with 1 1/8" hose and a 750gph automatic that dumps into the splashwell to let me know that theres something going on in the bilge. I hope I never need them but the more the merrier. Old Seacrafts sure can take a licking and keep in ticking! Glad you guys were near shore and are ok ;)

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

otto,

glad you are fine. as mention earlier, the lesson learn here is seal all hatches, 2 bilge pump, etc. i would also advocate putting foam in the bilge. that is what i would further add to my 23' seacraft.

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks!
 

two 2000 gph should be the minumum, bilge pumps are rated at 14 volts input, with no hose or head pressure. Corrigated bilge hose futher degrades the performace, by the time you add in the rise and run of the hose, you'll be luck if that 500 gph will pump 100, next time your at the ramp and have time, back your boat in without the plug and see if your bilge pump can keep up, you'll be suprised how porr they perform. I usually wire two pumps with separate harnesses, both hooked to auto and manual switches, use breakers rather than fuses, easier to reset rather than replace. mount one auto switch higher than the other and hook an alarm to it to let you know something is wrong.

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

Thanks for all your replies. We appreciate your conserns.

dcobbett,

I'm pleased to give some feedback. The point of the post to learn something. So here's my de-briefing in retrospect:

Tom and I had inflatable PFD's on before we left shore. They did not come off until we got back to the truck.

We did not deploy an anchor, choosing to use the less-than-one-minute til grounding to get the motor tilted up so we could walk the boat out into deeper water. The anchor, if it held would have kept the bow into the waves and prevented waves from breaking on the transom. However, I doubt it would have held with only 50' or less of rode. I guess you could do it anyway...

The water entered the bilge from the splash well. There were 2 openings, a 3" dia. for the steering rigging with the rubber boot not "entirely water tight". The second was a 2" opening for fuel and controls, which had no rubber boot. Finally, the rear seat hatches were in factory condition, but allowed water to run in from the top of the splash well. Ok, so we will replace both rubber boots and make them as water tight as posible. The seats, we can router a channel and install a gasket and either Velcro, snaps or latches to secure them. A splash well surround would not have helped. Interestingly, the scuppers, that are in the floor and goo out the transom managed the water quite well and were the least of the issues here.

The battery was under the starboard rear seat. I had wired a an ON-OFF switch as high as posible. When the water reach the switch, everything stopped working. We removerd the battery when it became covered with water. It was fine the next day.

The Rule 500 GPM bilge pump was installed direct to the battery to manage rain water while docked at the cottage. For 35 years, she had no bilge pump (an old brass manual one came with it). I agree that had I installed a 2000 (which I will, it may have kept up, but only until the battery failed. Because the waves had us pinned down, that's what would have happened anyway. I'll probably move the battery up under the console on the shelf and re-wire some connections low in the boat

When we finally gave up, I attempted to call the USGC to alert them to the situation on a Standard Horizon submersible handheld VHF (5 watt) with no reply. Upon calling them on the phone, they said they would not hear it if I was more than 2 miles from the base. Nice... For several years, I assumed that they could hear everything - apparently not... I'll install a 25 watt this winter.

I was also equipped with a water tight ditch box with the radio, Lowrance waterproof GPS (courtesey of Finster), flares, another inflatable, air horn, 2 strobe lights, whistle, mirror, dye marker, knife, etc. From now on, I'll put the cell phone and my wallet in there too, as the phone is useless in your pocket as soon as your ass hits the water.

Finally, Strick's comment regarding closing the transom is a well taken, however, this boat is intended for "light duty" and not to be renovated. A bracket is only in the picture if this 20 gets a multi-year contract instead of being traded for future draft picks as most of the others have. In the event of a repower, as long as you have to add 5" to get to 25", might as well go the distance.

I think that's enough "lessons learned" for now.

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

Otto,

Just read about your experience...WOW!!!! So glad to hear all came out ok.... Knowing as much as you do, saved you and the boat...so give yourself some credit!

Glad you're safe.

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

Ha Otto

Glad to hear you are re evaluating what to have on the boat for the next time BUT some times even if you did have every thing on the boat it might not have made any difference. Sometimes Murphy Late just can’t be broken. One thing I have gone with for 25 years that I consider Very Important it a Sea Anchor large enough to pull the bow of your boat into the on coming Sea. I do a lot of drift fishing and with out a sea anchor I would have gone blub blub blub for sure long ago.

FellowShip

_______________________________________________

My motto: Just for the Grins :D

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

Hey man its is real simple,you are here to talk about it.good job and get that boat back in the water.Keith

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

Otto-
Also-Glad to hear your ok! I appreciate your candidness of getting a swift butt- kicking by the sea! Most of us here realize that the decisions start with the guts of our boats and end with the navigation choices we make to decide our boating experiences. That story my save somebody here one day. I hear tomorrow is the "trade deadline" in the NFL....that may apply to this 20 SeaCraft?! Good to hear your ok.

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

FourBoatTheory,

Thanks for the responses. Just about everyone I've spoken to regarding so-called sink craft issues identifies holes/openings in the splash well area and non-water tight hatch covers on the stern seats as key factors.

Right now, I'm planning on installing a 1,500 gpm primary pump and a 2,000 gpm back up. I know what I need to do to make the seat hatches tight, and I've replaced the existing 10" round deck plate in the face of the splashwell with a new, 10" x 20" Armstrong. I've filled in all of the old rigging holes and openings in the splashwell and I am planning on running new controls through T-H Marine's tube and flange assembly.
web page
I've never used the T-H rigging boot; is it water tight as is, or does it need some work/upgrading?
I was also thinking about running hydraulic steering tubes through the sides of the well using these fittings;
web page
Anyone used them and know if they are water tight and hold up well?

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

i used the T-H boot only, didn't use the tube and fitting. The tube and fitting will work much better, just a pain to install, when I rigged my boat, I used the boot that has a tie wrap that tightens it up, it didn't work too well, so i took a can of spray foam and filled the boot up, sealing it, while i was at it, i sprayed every hole and opening that would allow water to enter, seems to work. DOn't scimp on the bilge pump, I would put two of the 2000 gph pumps in with 1 1/8 hose, make sure to use the smooth wall hose and proper size discharge fittings. I have a friend with a flats boat that i rereigged for him last winter, he called me last Thursday to check a couple of things out, one of the two bilge pumps were not working, apon insepction, i found the pump full of debris, it had locked up the enough to overheat it and ruin it, I told him to get another pump and i would install it, he fished a tournament anyway, while fishing he started to take on water, the back up pump was pumping but would not keep ahead of the incoming water, he ran the boat up on a bar to let the pump catch up, afterwards when he got the boat back on the trailer, he found the hull had a split in it, you never know when you will need every bit of pump you have! and remember to keep your bilge clean of debris.

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

Thanks for sharing,glad to hear all is OK.I guess even I learned from your mishap.I have some upgrading to do to prevent a poss. mishap to. :o Even I have below min. standard and looking for trouble if I don't bring all up to snuff.
Thanks.

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

Yea, last week whas really something. After grounding, sinking and recovering a perfectly good 1971 20CC on Tuesday, Tom and I were had the pleasure to engage a second near miss.

We were in Toronto on business and crossed the border at Niagara Falls at 8:30 PM on our way home. "No Sir, we have nothing to declare". The routine with the U.S. Customs/Homeland Security going to and from Ontario, Canada is pretty easy really. I got a CanPass where they run you with the FBI and Scotland Yard and find anything. They found a record from 1972 where I was "detained" for questioning regarding the consumption of illegal substance, but thats another story.

So we leave the Sin-City of the north, Niagara Falls. As we cross the bridge over the upper Niagara River, you could see the marina below with scores of boats starting to accumulate snow. It's starts coming down pretty good and within 15 minutes, we run into 6" on the ground and 3-4 car length visability. It's the kind of storm that you turn off your lights and run with the fog lamps. By the time we pass by the Buffalo airport, it's a foot of snow and not a plow in sight. We were using the rumble strips to stay on the road. This is when one blink may miss something. 20 MPH... The fuel light has been on for 10 minutes.

We stopped at a Service Area on I-90 East to take a break and get fuel. We got a soda, Peanut M&M's and 22 gallons @ $2.51 (pretty good for us). As we pulled away from the pumps, the lights went out on Buffalo and areas east. The New York State Thruway (I-90), closed for the first time in 2 or 3 years. We snuck through and made it home safe thanks to experience and a 2004 Yukon XL AWD with new GoodYear Wranglers. Traction was NOT a problem. People got stuck out there for the night until they could get it plowed out.

So, yea, long week. Don't get me going on the all-day Saturday Varsity Cheerleading competition at SUNY Brockport.

Finally, Monday comes and I go to the warehouse to hug the SeaCraft fleet. All 3 were tucked in all snug, ready for a fluke Indian Summer day or April 15th, whichever comes first.

Life is good... :cool:

Re: SinkCraft 20CC sinks! - Lessons learned
 

I think you should stay home for a while and not tempt fate anymore! :D