18 seacraft - rescue in Vineyard Sound.

[kmoose]

Originally Posted by samaha

Please elucidate, because I do not know.

It depends on the reason it took on water but a lot has to go wrong before a boat gets that low in the water. Once one has gotten to that point the options are to remove as much weight (including people) as possible and work to clear the deck and bilge. Any water you can get out while water is not coming over the transom is a gain and can help the situation going in the right direction.

About 25 years ago myself and 2 other young men cleared an inshore shrimp boat that was swamped to the gunnels with buckets. It took a few hours before it was stable enough to let the pumps finish clearing the hull but we saved the boat. At first it seemed pretty hopeless but by cutting the trawl loose and stuffing the scuppers with rags we were able to bucket the deck first and then slowly bucket water from the cabin and engine hole.

With assistance from another boat towing from the bow ring on this SeaCraft the right person could of cleared this swamp in the state it was in. Without assistance it would have been tough but it looked doable once they got the people off. If a person hung on the bow enough to keep the transom edge above water some bailing could of occurred. The real key would have been to start before it got to where it was. My guess on this one is the plug was out and it wasn't noticed until water started over the transom. By that time the one or both on board was in full panic.