Most boats, even though they advertise that they won't sink due to full foam
floatation, will not remain upright when they're fully swamped. They become
extremely unstable. Riding the storm out with the bow headed into the waves
may have just allowed more water to enter the boat and ultimately capsize
it.

If I were aboard a center console with an outboard and an open transom, I'd
power into the waves and let the water rush right out the back.

I doubt your boat was self-bailing (most bow riders aren't)...and it's not
likely the bilge pump would have emptied it very quickly. Knowing this, you
probably made the right decision...FOR THAT PARTICULAR BOAT!

What do you do in the future? Take Gould's advice and get a very durable
canvas for the bow. At the first sign of big waves or bad weather, cover
the bow, move the passengers (wearing life jackets) to the middle and stern
of the boat, and keep the bow pointed into, or at a slight angle to the
waves. Keeping the water out in the first place should be your number one
priority. Once it gets in there, you don't have many options other than
beaching it.













"pb" wrote in message
om...
I am new to boating and have a couple questions about what to do when
caught in bad weather. Last weekend I got caught on a lake in a bad
thunderstorm in a 16.5' bow rider, deep V fiberglass hull powerboat.
Clearly the biggest mistake I made was not to get off the lake when
the sky began clouding up, but the storm came quickly and this
question is about what to do after the storm is on you. Please no
flames, am trying to learn from my mistakes here.

The waves were surprisingly (to a newbie, anyway) high and the boat
got swamped. The water level was somewhere above the deck and below
the seats, hard to say for sure (it all happened so fast!) We were not
far from shore and had children on board so I chose to beach it ASAP
(unfortunately on a fairly rocky shore) and wait the storm out. Once
beached, the boat was forced by the waves onto its side and waves were
coming into the boat, and the rocks beat up the hull. After the storm
we got some help and got the boat back out into the water and
pumped/bailed out the water.

The question is, what should I have done after we got swamped? I am
told the boat will not sink due to foam filled hull, so I think I
probably should have turned the boat into the wind and waves and
waited the storm out on the water, while running the bilge pump and
bailing. Is that correct? Or what should I have done?

Thanks.