Why Boats Sink
 

According to Boat / US and their insurance pamphlet, the reason for boats
sinking on open water a


Reason
Percentage
Taking Water Over the Gunwales: 30%
Leaks at Thru-hulls: 18%
Leaks at Raw water Cooling System/Exhaust: 12%
Drain Plug Missing: 12%
Navigation Error (Grounding): 10%
Boat Construction (Hull Split Open): 6%
Leaks at Outdrive Boots: 4%
Struck Floating Debris: 4%
Other:
4%

I was surprised that leaks at Outdrive Boots only accounted for 4%.

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 20:08:24 -0400, "The real ME"
wrote:
According to Boat / US and their insurance pamphlet, the reason for boats
sinking on open water a


Reason
Percentage
Taking Water Over the Gunwales: 30%
Leaks at Thru-hulls: 18%
Leaks at Raw water Cooling System/Exhaust: 12%
Drain Plug Missing: 12%
Navigation Error (Grounding): 10%
Boat Construction (Hull Split Open): 6%
Leaks at Outdrive Boots: 4%
Struck Floating Debris: 4%
Other:
4%

I was surprised that leaks at Outdrive Boots only accounted for 4%.

===================

I'm surprised that capsizing wasn't mentioned unless that is
considered "water over the gunwales".

The real ME wrote:
According to Boat / US and their insurance pamphlet, the reason for
boats
sinking on open water a


Reason
Percentage
Taking Water Over the Gunwales: 30%
Leaks at Thru-hulls:
18%
Leaks at Raw water Cooling System/Exhaust: 12%
Drain Plug Missing:
12%
Navigation Error (Grounding): 10%
Boat Construction (Hull Split Open): 6%
Leaks at Outdrive Boots:
4%
Struck Floating Debris:
4%
Other:
4%

I was surprised that leaks at Outdrive Boots only accounted for 4%.



Do you have a link to the site that supports "the hull split open" as
the definition of boat construction?

"The real ME" wrote in message
...
According to Boat / US and their insurance pamphlet, the reason for
boats
sinking on open water a


Reason
Percentage
Taking Water Over the Gunwales: 30%
Leaks at Thru-hulls:
18%
Leaks at Raw water Cooling System/Exhaust: 12%
Drain Plug Missing:
12%
Navigation Error (Grounding): 10%
Boat Construction (Hull Split Open): 6%
Leaks at Outdrive Boots: 4%
Struck Floating Debris:
4%
Other:
4%

I was surprised that leaks at Outdrive Boots only accounted for 4%.

I had one in the "other" category once ;-)

"The real ME" wrote in message
...
According to Boat / US and their insurance pamphlet, the reason for boats
sinking on open water a


Reason
Percentage
Taking Water Over the Gunwales: 30%
Leaks at Thru-hulls:
18%
Leaks at Raw water Cooling System/Exhaust: 12%
Drain Plug Missing:
12%
Navigation Error (Grounding): 10%
Boat Construction (Hull Split Open): 6%
Leaks at Outdrive Boots: 4%
Struck Floating Debris:
4%
Other:
4%

I was surprised that leaks at Outdrive Boots only accounted for 4%.

I'm surprised that rainwater isn't more represented. Battery goes dead,
pump stops, boat sinks at dock or mooring.

My boat "sunk" at the dock once this year already...... good thing my dock
is in 2.5 feet of water or so.
The boat just sits there waiting on the bottom till I charge the battery.

-W

Drain Plug Missing: 12%

12% ??? Outch!!!

Matt

Gould,

Go to: http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/sinking/default.asp look half way
down and you will see the list of why boats sink when underway. click on
the link for Hull splits open and you will see:

Three of the boats--six percent-- sank because their hulls split open. In
each claim, the cause of the failure was a lightly built hull slamming into
waves or, in one case, another boat's wake.

Prevention: How can you tell if your boat was intended by the builder to
withstand offshore conditions? A boat's weight, relative to other boats the
same size and type, can give you a clue. So too can the quality of its
hardware and finishing work. The best source for finding a boat's
reputation, however, is other boat owners, marine surveyors, repairers, and
the BoatU.S. Consumer Protection Bureau. The BoatU.S. web site (boatus.com)
includes a "Boater to Boater Directory" that allows you to ask over 1,100
boat owners about specific make and model boats.

Don't depend solely on a manufacturers' promotional literature. A surveyor
called Seaworthy recently to talk about a lawsuit that involved a boat whose
hull split open after flying off of a large wave. The boat's manufacture
claimed that the boat had been abused. The owner countered with a photo of
the same model boat flying off a wave at high speed. The photo was being
used in the manufacturer's promotional literature

wrote in message
oups.com...

The real ME wrote:
According to Boat / US and their insurance pamphlet, the reason for
boats
sinking on open water a


Reason
Percentage
Taking Water Over the Gunwales: 30%
Leaks at Thru-hulls:
18%
Leaks at Raw water Cooling System/Exhaust: 12%
Drain Plug Missing:
12%
Navigation Error (Grounding): 10%
Boat Construction (Hull Split Open): 6%
Leaks at Outdrive Boots:
4%
Struck Floating Debris:
4%
Other:
4%

I was surprised that leaks at Outdrive Boots only accounted for 4%.



Do you have a link to the site that supports "the hull split open" as
the definition of boat construction?

Clams,
This list is the reasons why boats sink underway. When at the dock, rain
and snow accounted for 32% of the claims submitted to Boat/US. I started a
different thread that lists the reasons boat sink at the dock.


"Clams Canino" wrote in message
nk.net...

"The real ME" wrote in message
...
According to Boat / US and their insurance pamphlet, the reason for boats
sinking on open water a


Reason
Percentage
Taking Water Over the Gunwales: 30%
Leaks at Thru-hulls:
18%
Leaks at Raw water Cooling System/Exhaust: 12%
Drain Plug Missing:
12%
Navigation Error (Grounding): 10%
Boat Construction (Hull Split Open): 6%
Leaks at Outdrive Boots: 4%
Struck Floating Debris:
4%
Other:
4%

I was surprised that leaks at Outdrive Boots only accounted for 4%.

I'm surprised that rainwater isn't more represented. Battery goes dead,
pump stops, boat sinks at dock or mooring.

My boat "sunk" at the dock once this year already...... good thing my dock
is in 2.5 feet of water or so.
The boat just sits there waiting on the bottom till I charge the battery.

-W

That did not surprise me. It is amazing how many people forget the put the
drain plugs in the boat when launching. At a fairly busy public dock, one
summer I saw two people who forgot to put the plugs in. After realizing
the boat was taking on water, in their confusion they were not able to seat
the plug from inside the boat. The boats were taking on water so fast, they
beached the boat.

If they had not been loading the boat at the dock, they probably would not
have noticed the problem till they were in the middle of the lake.




wrote in message
ups.com...

Drain Plug Missing: 12%

12% ??? Outch!!!

Matt

Buy a Whaler. I can pull the drain plug on either Whaler, and the below
deck bilge areas fills with a little bit of water, but the boat keeps
floating and the water never reaches the above-deck areas.

Ask me how I know. ;-)


"The real ME" wrote in message
...
That did not surprise me. It is amazing how many people forget the put
the drain plugs in the boat when launching. At a fairly busy public dock,
one summer I saw two people who forgot to put the plugs in. After
realizing the boat was taking on water, in their confusion they were not
able to seat the plug from inside the boat. The boats were taking on
water so fast, they beached the boat.

If they had not been loading the boat at the dock, they probably would not
have noticed the problem till they were in the middle of the lake.




wrote in message
ups.com...

Drain Plug Missing: 12%

12% ??? Outch!!!

Matt

"The real ME" wrote in message
...

Clams,
I started a different thread that lists the reasons boat sink at the
dock.

You started it twice even!!! heh

-W

A good method for the folks with bad memory is to hang the drain plug
on the steering wheel as soon as its removed.. then it comes to mind
next time the boat is launched

Matt

I just bought my (used) boat last fall. Being the paranoid type I
thought about how to keep from forgetting to re-install the plug (a
brass screw in type). I found that I could squeeze it into the ring of
my boat's keyring. I am pretty sure that I won't forget it as I will
at least test start the boat on the trailer before putting it into the
water.

The Other Dave Hall

On 13 Apr 2005 09:05:17 -0700, wrote:

A good method for the folks with bad memory is to hang the drain plug
on the steering wheel as soon as its removed.. then it comes to mind
next time the boat is launched

Matt

Dave,
When I trailered a boat, my boat yard recommended everyone do that. I used
one of those large clips (used by mountain climbers) to attach to my key
ring.


"Dave Hall" wrote in message
...
I just bought my (used) boat last fall. Being the paranoid type I
thought about how to keep from forgetting to re-install the plug (a
brass screw in type). I found that I could squeeze it into the ring of
my boat's keyring. I am pretty sure that I won't forget it as I will
at least test start the boat on the trailer before putting it into the
water.

The Other Dave Hall

On 13 Apr 2005 09:05:17 -0700, wrote:

A good method for the folks with bad memory is to hang the drain plug
on the steering wheel as soon as its removed.. then it comes to mind
next time the boat is launched

Matt

Many years ago, before bilge pumps were popular on runabouts, they sold a
flapper that fit on the outside of the boat so you could remove the drain
plug and drain the bilge automatically when you were on plane. It was
almost a one way value and when using the boat, you would never have a
problem with any appreciable water coming back into the boat.

If you trailered your boat, or reinstalled the plug when you were finished
boating it was a great tool. The problem came about when you left the boat
in the water for an extended period of time. The water slowly seeped
through the flapper, and in a few days the boat would finally sink.

I had a neighbor who sunk his boat because he forgot to reinstall the plug
after a day of skiing.

"HarryKrause" wrote in message
...
Dave Hall wrote:
I just bought my (used) boat last fall. Being the paranoid type I
thought about how to keep from forgetting to re-install the plug (a
brass screw in type). I found that I could squeeze it into the ring of
my boat's keyring. I am pretty sure that I won't forget it as I will
at least test start the boat on the trailer before putting it into the
water.

The Other Dave Hall

On 13 Apr 2005 09:05:17 -0700, wrote:


A good method for the folks with bad memory is to hang the drain plug
on the steering wheel as soon as its removed.. then it comes to mind
next time the boat is launched

Matt




In the good old days, when real boats were made of real wood (and
sometimes fiberglass), and small boats for the most part did not have
built up floor decks over the bilges, you could open the drain plug from
inside the transom and drain out any accumulated water once you got the
boat up on plane.

Gosh. My bare feet actually walked across the exposed wood frame and hull
of Penn Yans, Wolverines, Cruisers, Lymans, all of which could be drained
of water by pulling the plug from the inside.

Nothing was sweeter-looking than a clinker-built Lyman or Cruisers with
that beautiful varnished wood interior, or, for that matter, a clipper bow
Wolverine of molded mahogany varnished inside and out.

Nothing was uglier than the fiberglass boats produced during the first few
years that material began to be used as a "solid" material.









--
Bush and the NeoConvicts who control him
are destroying the once-great United States.