50 Hatt C destroyed

[rsmith]

While I am sure some drift was involved, 22 miles out is pretty close to the stream. It does not make a lot of sense to be fighting the stream on a Southern delivery. There is a ton of commercial traffic out there but, in my experience, the barge traffic is closer in. I would imagine a bulbus bow would easily skewer any FRP boat.

We've drifted over 45mi in one night off Jupiter. I remember a few years ago seeing a picture of a ship that pulled into port somewhere with a sailboat mast and rigging hanging from the anchor. The crew said they never saw a thing.

 

[rsmith]

http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2011/04/19/deep-cargo-an-ocean-of-lost-shipping-containers/

 

[dsharp]

I saw a boat that had an old onboard co2 system that the cylinder exploded that tore the boat all to hell. I'm not sure when they quit using those. I 've never been a big fan of running offshore at night for that reason. I wouldn't sleep below deck.

 

[Jasper]

C'mon doc give me credit for knowing something will ya? Seriously big ships at night are traveling faster than you think. Anyone thats swordfished off Fla. or even the Ne canyons will tell you that these big turkeys will sneak up on you very quickly. Many are manned with foreign crews that could care less about altering course to avoid a small boat. I swear sometimes I think they aim at you. In any event darkness at sea is no time to let your guard down.

I agree with rssmith.
For the last 15 plus years I have taken my family to an island called Moreton and we anchor behind a group of wrecks for shelter and great fishing/diving.
The Port of Brisbane is nearby so on the way we have often been overtaken by gigantic container or other commercial ships and their speed versus size is hard to believe the first time you see them. If I am cruising at 12 knots and they pass, then the waves are huge and the mass of steel going past takes a while to digest.
At anchor behind the wrecks, these same ships will often cause the less experienced boaters to pull up the pin and go home, as the swell is too much to take.
I would hate to be in their way at night, it would be like standing in front of a locomotive waving a flag while it is being driven by a blind and deaf engineer!
R.I.P to the sailors involved. There should be a serious investigation into this because there is NO way an entire ship full of crew did not notice anything! The fact they are crewed by people from countries with little regard for life is a contributing factor, no doubt!

 

[geofish]

I saw a boat that had an old onboard co2 system that the cylinder exploded that tore the boat all to hell. I'm not sure when they quit using those. I 've never been a big fan of running offshore at night for that reason. I wouldn't sleep below deck.

That sounds bad.... I would feel less secure without one though. I have one cylinder maybe 75 -100 pound tank that had not been serviced for 12 years when I bought the boat it was on my list of things to do while I was getting her up and running. One morning a charter captain was helpin me in the eng room and he bumped into the manual pull on the valve at the top of the cylinder ( the pin was out)and that tank was charged! out comes the co2 and we jump out of the engine room and on to the dock. That tank discharged for several minutes seemed like it got stronger as it went until it was exhausted. That was scary and reassuring at the same time, I definatly wouldn't take my family out boating on a fiberglass boat without one. I have it serviced annually and like knowing that it will most likely put out a major fire, if the bracketts are secure the system should be safe.

I have a 30 125 pound cylinder system on the ship that I work on. It is a law that you must have and maintain them..

Geo

 

[Artzco]

Here's today's update stating that it was a Hatteras.

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/...-whether-collision-demolished-boat-where-body

 

[jim rosenthal]

The amount of water that is dragged along in the wake of a large ship is astonishing; I have had two experiences with this, once in Baltimore harbor, and once in the lower Chesapeake (Navy sub) It was more frightening with the sub because I couldn't figure out what was doing it- my boat was suddenly moving sideways- until he surfaced. In Baltimore harbor I got too close after the container ship had gone past, and the same thing- suddenly sideways.

I think subs generally keep a better lookout, although by no means perfect- there are verified accounts of subs colliding with surface ships and in one case surfacing under a fishing vessel and knocking it over, with several people killed on the fishing vessel. This may be known as the CEFU maneuver- the "career-ending-f--k-up"

The only things I can think of that demolished the Hatteras convertible in question are an explosion inside the boat that blew it to pieces, as someone pointed out, or a collision with a large ship traveling at offshore cruise speed. Crossing a tow in the dark is also a possibility as well. Any way you look at it, it's a damn shame, is what it is.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Just read the update. I suspect they will figure out who hit the Hatteras based on transponder data of ships in the area at the time; they are tracked and recorded. They may find the vessel and evidence that it hit the Hatteras.

And then everyone on the vessel will swear they never heard anything and had no idea they'd hit anything until the CG contacted them..... just saying.

 

[saltshaker]

Based upon the info in this thread - this is (was) the boat.

BTW Eric is correct, this was the boat.

 

[dsharp]

I was looking around to see if there were any updates on the sinking and noticed that this particular boat was listed at 84,900 with a " motivated seller-bring offers" tag. I realize she was30 years old but what kind of shape would a 50' Hat be in for that kind of money? I can't imagine the navigation package being very up to date but I could be very wrong. I always questioned the people that are willing to head out in open water with a boat that was just purchased. I've never run a boat north of Daytona but is the Icw that bad to run inside? As these poor souls found out a lot of things can go wrong in open water at night. Does anyone know what condition the boat was in? How is visibility off the coast of Florida this time of year? How deep of water is she likely to be in? Sorry for the 50 questions but these poor guys went through what I've always been concerned about. Off the coast of tx and la its crew boat city at night but everything's pretty well lit up.

 

[magnawake]

I've had lots of blow boater friends almost get run over out at sea. They call the ships who wont answer the radio, so its up to the slow boater to change course and keep alert. It's very unfortunate how these huge ship seem to be asleep at the wheel. I'm sure yall have heard these same stories. I hope they find these creeps.

 

[saltshaker]

I was looking around to see if there were any updates on the sinking and noticed that this particular boat was listed at 84,900 with a " motivated seller-bring offers" tag. I realize she was30 years old but what kind of shape would a 50' Hat be in for that kind of money? I can't imagine the navigation package being very up to date but I could be very wrong. I always questioned the people that are willing to head out in open water with a boat that was just purchased. I've never run a boat north of Daytona but is the Icw that bad to run inside? As these poor souls found out a lot of things can go wrong in open water at night. Does anyone know what condition the boat was in? How is visibility off the coast of Florida this time of year? How deep of water is she likely to be in? Sorry for the 50 questions but these poor guys went through what I've always been concerned about. Off the coast of tx and la its crew boat city at night but everything's pretty well lit up.

Boat was in pretty good shape. electronics were older but functioning. They spent a while going through the boat and outfitting her for the trip. Not sure what happened but If they were hit or hit something, the condition of the boat wouldn't make a difference unless they were broken down. As for the price. She was for sale for a long time. 50C series II are tough to sell and this one was a galley down 2 stateroom boat which is even harder to sell. She sold for a lot less than the ask, almost 1/2

 

[dsharp]

Pretty much what I was thinking as far as the condition wouldn't really matter if she got ran over. A lot of the ships I've run across don't have any English speaking crew on watch. The way the glass is broken up it appears she got hit or hit something that was pretty solid. Sad event - you feel for the families

 

[Pascal]

It wouldn't be the first time a boat is run over by a ship, a few year a large sailboat was run over in Long Island sound with casualties.. It was about 80' I think and the USCG found the ship involved

Running at night is fine, a good radar will help but in the back of my mind is always the what if question... It wont take long for a large ship to close a few miles distance onto your disabled boat while your down below. Solving an issue... A securite call on 16, 9 and 13 should be the first step upon being disabled just to alert ship traffic. 16 is not enough as many commercial ships are on 9 or 13 ...

Then keep an eye on the radar and don't hesitate to shoot a flare if a big blob appears to be heading your way

 

[Pascal]

I've never run a boat north of Daytona but is the Icw that bad to run inside? As these poor souls found out a lot of things can go wrong in open water at night. Does anyone know what condition the boat was in? How is visibility off the coast of Florida this time of year? How deep of water is she likely to be in?

ICW isn't that bad but has a bad reputation. You need to do your homework and play the tides in a couple of of spots although with a 5' draft it's pretty easy.

Fog is a possibility, don't known if that was the case.

It s deep... The deck and FB floated thanks to balsa core, the rest is too deep and scattered by the current

 

[Salty Dame]

It seems the consensus is that it was a collision but does anyone know whether they had a propane stove aboard? The fact that both the forward deck and the cabin top are pretty much intact makes me wonder about an explosion. Also I notice the missing fwd hatches and the one remaining looks to be on only one hinge. This concerns me because I do have propane aboard. It's a very good installation but this does make one pay attention.

 

[SeaEric]

I was looking around to see if there were any updates on the sinking and noticed that this particular boat was listed at 84,900 with a " motivated seller-bring offers" tag. I realize she was30 years old but what kind of shape would a 50' Hat be in for that kind of money? I can't imagine the navigation package being very up to date but I could be very wrong. I always questioned the people that are willing to head out in open water with a boat that was just purchased. I've never run a boat north of Daytona but is the Icw that bad to run inside? As these poor souls found out a lot of things can go wrong in open water at night. Does anyone know what condition the boat was in? How is visibility off the coast of Florida this time of year? How deep of water is she likely to be in? Sorry for the 50 questions but these poor guys went through what I've always been concerned about. Off the coast of tx and la its crew boat city at night but everything's pretty well lit up.

Reported selling price on soldboats was $50,000.

IMO, if it was an explosion of some sort the boat probably would not have sunk. Hull to deck joint would have blown apart but I suspect that the hull would have remained intact. That type of event would not likely have sheared off the FB from the top deck either.

 

[saltshaker]

Reported selling price on soldboats was $50,000.

IMO, if it was an explosion of some sort the boat probably would not have sunk. Hull to deck joint would have blown apart but I suspect that the hull would have remained intact. That type of event would not likely have sheared off the FB from the top deck either.

I agree. Originally I thought it may have been an explosion but someone pointed out that everything on the bridge is sheared off as if something sliced it all off. Only thing I can think of that could do that would be crossing a tug's tow cable and or getting run over by something pretty big. Considering how cleanly the stuff on the bridge was sliced off and the deck is in one piece, I still think they got between a tug and it's tow and the tow ran right over them.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I don't think it was a tow cable. I think it was a dead center hit from a freighter. Look at the attachment of the hardtop and tower over the bridge. None of it is attached to the bridge deck, just to the bridge itself. As it rolled over the tower would have acted as a fulcrum and ripped that bridge right off. The weak point was the bridge to deck joint. And if it was caught sideways in front of a freighter, it may have rolled several times before it was pushed off to one side.

Sad, whatever happened.

 

[rsmith]

Like Sky said its a run down. I've seen several expolsions back in the heyday of gassers and usually it blows out the windows and hatches with a resultant fire but not the typical "Miami Vice" blown to pieces deal. The cut by the tow cable happens more than you think. I personaly know of of 2 instances in tournements off Cape May where boats ended up between the tug and the barge. Those of us with USCG MMD and STCW know or should know the light signals for how long the tow is but most recreational boaters do not. Wether it was a ship or barge they screwed up big time. Anyone that counts on a large vessel to advoid them is crazy.