Boat Sink Veterans

[Freeebird]

Okay, i'll share my two stories of sinkings.

First was when I was around 16-17 years old and duck hunting with a friend. We were cruising along in a Monarch aluminum v-bottom when the tiller operated outboard kicked up after hitting something that pretty much stopped us in our tracks, throwing us both forward. We went to the stern to check the prop, and that's when I noticed we were... sinking. There was a big hole in the hull, so I told him to get the motor back down and get us beached on a sandbar before it got ugly... and VERY cold. It was freezing, and we were the only ones on the lake.

We managed to beach the boat on sandbar/island in the middle of a big stretch of water, and there we sat. This was well before the days of cell phones, and we basically had to just sit there while hoping someone would eventually come along, or our families would start searching for us when it got dark. Luckily a guy came along a few hours later and gave us a ride back to my friend's house where I had left my car. We took another friend's boat back and hauled in the wounded Monarch. We found the culprit which was a metal pole driven into the top of a stump that ripped a hole in the boat. Had it repaired a week or so later, and it was good to go.

Second involved my son, and luckily it was during summer when the water was warm. I had a 15' Gheenoe (made in Titusville, FL) which is basically a square sterned (outboard), fiberglass canoe with a flared hull which was really quite stable. He was around 7 at the time, and we were heading out on one of our adventure trips. We were cruising along at a leisurely 12MPH as verified by the Navionics app I had recently installed on my iPhone which was laying in the bottom of the boat. Little did I know it was about to be lying on the bottom of the river.

It was like slow motion as the outboard kicked up and out of my hand, and I then went overboard, back-first. I tell you, that was a strange feeling for sure. For whatever reason, the boat was going over, and the last thing I saw was my son with eyes as big as saucers as I hit the water. When I came back up to the surface, he was clinging to the side of the boat. Much to my horror, the outboard was still running, but thankfully only for a few more seconds. He was wearing his vest, and it definitely made me rethink not wearing one myself.

He was surprisingly calm as I swam towards him, and he turned to me and said, "Oh well, I guess we won't be finishing our trip" and, "we should have gone fishing". Luckily a couple of guys in a bass boat saw us go over and came running to our aid. One of them said he couldn't believe what he had just seen as we were cruising along and just rolled over. Once we got loaded up into their boat and put a line on the partially submerged Gheenoe (great floatation when full of water), I could see what lead to that particular chain of events. Joey Chitwood couldn't have staged that stunt any better as there was a partially submerged tree which caught the outboard with one limb, and the next limb had a good angle to it which rolled the boat as it ran up and over it.

They had us load our boat onto their trailer at the ramp (half mile away), and they were kind enough to take us back to the "mobile mansion" (my divorce transition 5th wheel camper on my lake lot) from where we started. I had the outboard running again within a few minutes, so the only loss was my iPhone. Luckily enough, our fishing rods survived the rollover as they were secured in the gunwale and held in place by being under the middle bench seat. We kept that little adventure to ourselves as anything I did or said could and would be used against me in a court (divorce) of law.

[Jammin']

We kept that little adventure to ourselves as anything I did or said could and would be used against me in a court (divorce) of law.

My ex accused me of child abuse decades ago because we went on a vacation in a car without air conditioning.

[Freeebird]

My ex accused me of child abuse decades ago because we went on a vacation in a car without air conditioning.

Ya gotta love it. I still have the best divorce courtroom drama story that I've heard (her attorney left in an ambulance), but this is one thread I don't want to take off track... for at least a few more days.

[Freeebird]

Can't believe Yachtsman Willy hasn't shown up for this one given he bought a sinker and resurrected it.

[jim rosenthal]

You beat me to it! Of course, YW didn't sink that boat, did he? I think he bought it from the guy who owned it when it sank, or is my memory faulty? Anyway he had some great photos to document its' resurrection.

I've had boats take on water in a minor way but nothing like the experiences here. And hope never to have them, frankly.

[rsmith]

Speaking of sinkers ft Pierce fl 2004 I bid on a 58 Fleming and a 52C Hatt out of this mess. Thank god I didn’t get the bids. The 52C a 58 YF and a bunch of others are still sitting at Crackerboys in Ft P. I don’t think you can ever get the salt oil and mold out of these sinkers. I’ve been on Lazarus boats that have been resurrected and no matter what anyone says or how many ozone machines they run in them that stench never goes away.

[jim rosenthal]

C'mon. Bird, I want to hear about how that lawyer managed to hit you right in the hand with his jaw, that time. Friend of mine in PA (Carlisle) just finished restoring a Gheenoe- loves it. His kids love it, too.

[Freeebird]

C'mon. Bird, I want to hear about how that lawyer managed to hit you right in the hand with his jaw, that time. Friend of mine in PA (Carlisle) just finished restoring a Gheenoe- loves it. His kids love it, too.

Well, since you're a moderator and you asked...

Long story short, after being in the courthouse for a little over ten hours before our case was heard (temporary parenting plan filed by the ex) after being there at 9AM, I watched a very "interesting" display from the ex and her attorney. I mean it was awesome as I got to see her entire war chest! Her attorney (on the clock since 8AM whereas mine was local and there for other cases) irritated the judge to the point that it was almost comical. He kept reminding her we weren't there for a divorce, and the only thing he wanted to hear about were things directly related to the welfare of our son.

The ex took the stand first and proceeded to reveal some very interesting facts, complete with color bar graphs! I really should have asked for those after everything was over as they were quite impressive. She's an MBA and is very good at presentations... had a pointer and everything. I'll skip the details, given this is a public forum, but let's just say that I couldn't believe she said what she did, in color, right there in front of God and everybody. My attorney certainly enjoyed it, and I'm pretty sure the judge's eyes crossed. It garnered a, bless your heart, from yours truly as I sat there and shook my head in stunned disbelief. Hey, at least she told the truth. Let's just say it had something to do with our wedding vows and let it go at that.

After she finished, my attorney said to me, "Get up there and let's get this over with". He asked how long I had owned by business along with a couple of other things related to my son. After my last answer, her attorney stood up and blurted out, "I think I'm going to be sick". I looked at her as did the judge and my attorney, all of us with puzzled looks on our faces as she sat back down and took her seat. I mean I personally thought my answers were pretty good.

Nothing more was said, and my attorney asked me another question. Before I could answer, she stood up again and told the judge she thought she may be ill. The judge asked if she needed medical attention and she responded that she wasn't sure, but she said she felt a little dizzy, and my attorney looked a little fuzzy. It was all I could do not to bust out laughing when my attorney responded with, "You're fine. I always look like that."

I left the stand and took a seat beside my attorney as we awaited the ambulance which could be heard in the distance. I leaned in toward him and quietly asked, "I take it this is a first for you?"

He responded (not as quietly as I think he intended), "Ah, I've seen people fake illness before". That's when the ex's attorney gave him a quick, Exorcist-like head spin and the best, go to hell look, I've ever seen on a woman who wasn't looking in my direction. My attorney then said, "Oh, I wasn't implying that was the case here".

At that point I excused myself to the restroom as to avoid laughing out loud in that courtroom! Yes, I walked (quickly) into that restroom and started laughing my ass off at how these proceedings had... proceeded. When I walked back into the courtroom, the EMT's were loading up the wife's attorney onto a gurney. No, I didn't laugh (on the outside), but the expression on my now defenseless, wife's face was priceless as her attorney was being wheeled out of the building . The judge addressed her by saying it was obvious we couldn't continue what she had started, and if she wanted to try again after her attorney was feeling better, she could. Meanwhile we were directed to do what we had been doing for some six months at that point, and that was to maintain equal time with our son.

In the spirit of this thread, I suppose all this could be related to shipwreck, but the ex and I survived (along with her attorney who fired her) and never entered another courtroom again. Gotta love a happy ending.

[Freestyle]

My wife and I have 7 marriages between us which, when combined with our business interests, means we have spent some time in court. Age has required some hospital time including replacing her hip this week.

We have concluded as follows:

A good year is when we spend more money on lawyers than doctors.

A great year is when we double that spend on diesel fuel.

Bruce

Freestyle
1986 62 CPMY
Tampa

[jim rosenthal]

Not for the first time, y'all have made me feel lucky.