"H K" wrote in message
...
On 10/17/09 6:52 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:45:10 -0400, H the K
wrote:



How many times have you been aboard an open boat that swamped?

In nearly 60 years of boating in small boats, I never have.

Once, but I've done very little boating.
Weather kicked up quick when fishing with my grand dad.
Luckily, he was able to run it ashore and beach it, almost half full
of water.
It the engine had quit, who knows what would have happened.
But boats swamp all the time. It's a leading cause of boat fatality
mishaps. Pretty sure anyway.

--Vic



Well, on smaller round bottom boats, it's not that hard to be capsized.
It's harder on 18' and larger wide flat-bottomed or vee or semi vee hulls,
but, of course, it's not impossible. Plenty of guys go way out in the
ocean with small boats, and have for centuries. I've done it on good days
with weather reports and a constant eye on the horizon.

On the Bay, which usually only has a constant chop or two-footers, the
biggest problem seems to being run down by old farts in monster power
cruisers, or hit by sailboaters during the high heat when their captains
are semi-comatose. But that's mostly outside of Annapolis harbor.



Small flat bottom boats flip all the time. Mostly Boston Whalers. They may
not sink, but they need hand rails on the bottom. Which SOLAS lifeboats do
have.