On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:02:12 -0400, "Don White"
wrote:


"HK" wrote in message
...




Boat dealer sued over damage to sea grass

snip...

Wow..that 's scary.
I hope the protected areas are well marked

The consequences of damaging sea grass beds down there should be well
known by boaters. I've run across almost every time I've read Florida
boating and fishing regs.
Also been mentioned numerous times in boating forums, like the
Carolina Skiff forum.
Wayne boats in the keys, and he could shed some light on it.
I'd bet that if was grounded he would get kedge off or get towed off
instead of tearing up the bed with his props.
Paying for that would be less than the fine for tearing up the bed.
This guy should have known better.
Another problem they have down there is boats tearing through the beds
at high speed, and even if they don't ground, they can scar up the
bed. I don't have any sympathy for them when they get fined.

--Vic

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:20:57 -0600, Vic Smith wrote:


Another problem they have down there is boats tearing through the beds
at high speed, and even if they don't ground, they can scar up the bed.
I don't have any sympathy for them when they get fined.

Yeah, I've seen quite a few grass flats with scars criss-crossing them.
One wouldn't think the damage would be all that severe, but I've read
that many sea grasses are already under considerable duress, and in some
cases, already endangered.

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:33:16 -0600, thunder
wrote:

Yeah, I've seen quite a few grass flats with scars criss-crossing them.
One wouldn't think the damage would be all that severe, but I've read
that many sea grasses are already under considerable duress, and in some
cases, already endangered.

Once the grass is scarred it seems to change the whole ecology
underneath. On the flats the scar frequently creates a channel for
tidal run off and that tends to make it deeper over time and keep it
open. One thing that's being done in the Keys is to install public
moorings in areas where people frequently anchor for diving or
fishing. The new "screw pile" moorings cause very little bottom
disruption and anchor scarring is minimized.

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:20:57 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Wayne boats in the keys, and he could shed some light on it.
I'd bet that if was grounded he would get kedge off or get towed off
instead of tearing up the bed with his props.

If you run aground in the Keys you really do not want to call for help
if you can possibly avoid it. It will invite a lot of unwanted and
expensive attention.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:20:57 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Wayne boats in the keys, and he could shed some light on it.
I'd bet that if was grounded he would get kedge off or get towed off
instead of tearing up the bed with his props.

If you run aground in the Keys you really do not want to call for help
if you can possibly avoid it. It will invite a lot of unwanted and
expensive attention.


I remember reading an interesting story a few years ago regarding boat
damage to protected areas like sea grass and coral. I've forgotten the
details, but I remember the main issue.

In Admiralty Law, the responsibility for the damage stays with the boat, not
the boat's owner at the time of the occurrence. In the case involved, a
large pleasure boat caused damage to sea grass or something off the coast of
Florida. Before any legal action was taken against the owner, the boat was
sold.

The new owner was sued for the damage. He fought it in court for years but
eventually settled by paying (I think) around $20K which was a fraction of
the original monetary damages pursed by the government agency that brought
the lawsuit.

Eisboch

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:07:45 -0500, "Eisboch"
wrote:

I remember reading an interesting story a few years ago regarding boat
damage to protected areas like sea grass and coral. I've forgotten the
details, but I remember the main issue.

In Admiralty Law, the responsibility for the damage stays with the boat, not
the boat's owner at the time of the occurrence. In the case involved, a
large pleasure boat caused damage to sea grass or something off the coast of
Florida. Before any legal action was taken against the owner, the boat was
sold.

The new owner was sued for the damage. He fought it in court for years but
eventually settled by paying (I think) around $20K which was a fraction of
the original monetary damages pursed by the government agency that brought
the lawsuit.

We were at Everglades Park ranger station at Flamingo (southern tip) a
few years ago and they were telling us that there was a large
sportfish stuck somewhere in Florida Bay that had been there for
months. The park service would not allow it to be salvaged unless
there was a guarantee of no sea grass damage and no one wanted to take
the risk.

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:16:04 -0500, Wayne.B wrote:


We were at Everglades Park ranger station at Flamingo (southern tip) a
few years ago and they were telling us that there was a large sportfish
stuck somewhere in Florida Bay that had been there for months. The park
service would not allow it to be salvaged unless there was a guarantee
of no sea grass damage and no one wanted to take the risk.

Sometimes the park service comes across as Nazis. It's not like leaving
that boat there isn't going to cause any damage. The early settlers of
Flamingo must have been a hardy lot. I can't imagine living there before
the invention of Deet. ;-)

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:26:22 -0600, thunder
wrote:

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:16:04 -0500, Wayne.B wrote:


We were at Everglades Park ranger station at Flamingo (southern tip) a
few years ago and they were telling us that there was a large sportfish
stuck somewhere in Florida Bay that had been there for months. The park
service would not allow it to be salvaged unless there was a guarantee
of no sea grass damage and no one wanted to take the risk.

Sometimes the park service comes across as Nazis. It's not like leaving
that boat there isn't going to cause any damage. The early settlers of
Flamingo must have been a hardy lot. I can't imagine living there before
the invention of Deet. ;-)

If the bugs don't get you the crocs will. We only go in the winter
months. There are some beautiful wilderness areas going north from
there.

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:56:20 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:20:57 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Wayne boats in the keys, and he could shed some light on it.
I'd bet that if was grounded he would get kedge off or get towed off
instead of tearing up the bed with his props.

If you run aground in the Keys you really do not want to call for help
if you can possibly avoid it. It will invite a lot of unwanted and
expensive attention.

Well, the guy who powered off got $240k worth of attention.
And he was there for 2 days trying to get off, so it's no secret the
park service would be looking at the damage,
Doesn't sound fiscally responsible. Maybe he's a mortgage broker.
But I was hoping you would shed some light on what you would do if you
were grounded.
For instance if you couldn't back off, and it was near high tide,
would you try to kedge off?
I'm totally inexperienced with these grass fields.

--Vic

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:58:27 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

For instance if you couldn't back off, and it was near high tide,
would you try to kedge off?

It's difficult enough to kedge off a 5,000 lb boat, almost impossible
with 70,000 lbs. We try to avoid marginal water depths at high tide,
it being much more preferable to go exploring on half tide and rising.
If you are going slow and nudge the bottom it is usually easy to back
off. Otherwise the best strategy is to try and turn the boat towards
deep water and power it off. A dinghy with a large outboard can be
used as a mini tug boat to turn the boat in some cases. I know one
guy who is a full time cruiser on a boat with an 8 ft draft. He has
a 35 horse on his dinghy just for that purpose. It can be tempting to
try and power through a shallow spot but that can lead to big trouble
if it doesn't work out.