Hit a dumpster last week...

[Zydeco IV]

Last week my wife and I were winding up an beautiful week of cruising the Florida Panhandle when we returned to the Pensacola / Orange Beach area to drop off our guests at Beach Marina on Pensacola Beach. The marina is a small facility located right off the ICW on tiny (actually just a very large pond) Little Sabine Bay.

The entrance off the ICW into the marina is from a well marked channel of no more than 150 - 200 yards in length. The marina has a fuel dock that's one of very few back up and operating in the area after Ivan ripped this place apart. We've refueled there maybe 2-3 times over the past year with no problems navigating the channel, though Hurricane Dennis's paying us a visit just a few weeks ago had us paying close attention to possible shoaling changes in the area.

After dropping off our guests at the marina dock we headed back out of the channel clearing the last marker that opens into the generally safe and deep portion of Santa Rosa Sound / Pensacola Bay. Having cleared that last marker by about 35-50 ft. and still at dead idle (with my sounder showing 8-10 ft.)I turned her slightly to port and was slowly throttling up to maybe 1100 rpm's when we were jolted by an awful boom from underneath followed by the unmistakably lound grinding sound of metal impacting metal at high torque.

My first reaction was "You idiot. You must have missed the last marker and cut too soon!", thinking I'd run aground on the shoal area to port of the channel. But a quick review of the water and my chart plotter showed I was exactly where I thought was and where I was supposed to be. Nothing was floating up in behind me like a lost piling or debris. But I new from the sound I hadn't hit a shoal, piling or submerged tree trunk. And my immediate reaction was it couldn't be a sunken hull (of which there are no small number here after Ivan); that's not the sound or impact I would have expected. This was hard impact, short duration.

So I quickly ran down below to check for hull damage and any evidence we might be taking on water. There was none. But my port engine was down and my starboard seemed okay. Naturally, I got her in to the closest full service marina where we could do a full inspection with divers down.

My hull is scraped but okay. My port Nabril prop, on the other hand, wasn't dinged or damaged it was absolutely mangled. Total loss. I've never seen anything like it. My back-up set of spares came in handy.And perhaps because I was at a reasonably low rpm there appears to be no significant shaft or strut damage. Although I've got some new minor vibration around 1500 rpm.My stablilizers are fine.

The apparent culprit: a dumpster blown off one of the island's construction sights nearby . No sooner had I secured her at the marina and began describing my experience to another Hatt owner and a local Detroit Diesel specialist (who looks after our 53MY, "Zydeco"), we learned we were were at least two other boat owners who'd recently shared the same fate near Beach Marina. Our Detroit guy's reaction was, "they said they'd cleared the damn thing!" So I'm at least the third victim.

No marker, no warning from the marina. Nothing. I've called the marina, asking to speak to management about it. The chart indicates the channel is privately maintained. No call back yet.

I know there'll be other possible problems I need to check for. I'd welcome advice.

[Genesis]

You may have taken clutch damage, but there's no good way to know until you're back up and running, and have had some time on the boat if all appears ok at this point.

Pull an oil analysis on the gear involved and watch it closely over the next couple hundred hours.

If you have new vibration find out what it is - you may have also bent a shaft slightly, and that's nothing to leave alone - it will tear up gearbox output bearings over time.

[Traveler 45C]

Are you still in Pensacola?

[67hat34c]

would be interested to know if the marina is responsible. Let me know what you find out. Possibly your insurance adjuster will know as they will most likely have delt with this before. Maritime law is very different than everthing else

[Zydeco IV]

Are you still in Pensacola?

Traveler, Yep. Still in the Pensacola area... in Orange Beach at Sportsmans Marina. And you?

[Zydeco IV]

would be interested to know if the marina is responsible. Let me know what you find out. Possibly your insurance adjuster will know as they will most likely have delt with this before. Maritime law is very different than everthing else

Thanks, that's a good idea. Certainly worth pursuing. I'll let you know.

[spartonboat1]

Ouch...open ocean has similar issue, as striking free floating multi-modal stacker storage boxes that have fallen off cargo freighters can occur.

[Genesis]

I came VERY close to striking a container a few years ago offshore.

That was a serious pucker-factor incident, especially since it occurred under full cruise power. While these Hatts are pretty tough that sort of thing is known to hole boats - and having that happen ~70nm offshore is not a good thing.

I missed, but by literal inches..... if I hadn't seen it at the last second I would have rammed it head-on.

I don't know what - if any - liability issue might exist in a situation like this on an inland, privately-maintained waterway. Your marine insurance company probably does though.....

[41-Hatteras]

I feel for your mishap, I had almost the same occurance last year in Galveston as my 41-Hatt hit a metal object. $27K damage. Both props & shafts, Starb gear gone, port had damage plus rudder shaft. Plus two months of repair and fighting with insurance. The bost was never right after that so I repower with 6C-450 cummins and 1.5 ZF gears. She tips 33kts on the pins @2600 rmp cruse at 26-27 @ 2100-2200.
Good luck,
Ron

[Traveler 45C]

I am “in” Pensacola.

If you pulled into the Pensacola Shipyard for repairs/inspection, my dock buddy thinks he saw you. We’re right across the bayou from there.

I put the word out around here about your mishap. Hopefully no one else will get hurt.

The fuel guys should have warned you about the danger, at least they could have posted a sign…