"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:27:52 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

You wisely decide it's time to head in, but, alas! That reliable Yamaha
4
stroke suddenly decided to have a bad computer day.

There's an even worse scenario than that: Suppose you wind up a
lobster pot or crab trap on your prop. Now you are not only disabled,
but anchored by the stern as well. The operator will now go to the
rear of the boat to clear the problem and make the low transom even
lower, just as a wave or wake comes along and dumps another 300 pounds
in the back of the boat. This is not a hypothetical situation - it
actually happens, and if you don't have level flotation, the boat
sinks.


Friend did that with his Whaler 2 years ago. Wrapped a crap pot and 2 of 3
went to the back of the boat to untangle. As a wave hit boat, 3rd guy came
back to help. Boat flipped. Lucky for them, the whaler has a flat bottom
and 3 hours later, just before dark, a commercial crab guy saw them. Pulled
them off the bottom of the boat. Gear not in a floating ditch bag and spare
VHF went to the bottom of the sea.