CONTINUOUSWAVE

There is an interesting recording of a modern Boston Whaler 13-footer getting swamped while transiting Haulover Inlet in Florida, available on youTube at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1jFjP55fic

This boat has been re-powered with a Yamaha 70-HP engine. I think the original power would have been a Mercury 40-HP. The larger engine has seriously reduced the freeboard at the transom, and the boat has a noticeable down-by-the-stern trim.

When the engine stops working, the boat is adrift in the inlet, and the outgoing tide pushes the boat toward the Atlantic Ocean. The boat travels stern-to the incoming waves, which then start to come over the transom, further reducing freeboard, until the transom eventually dips under water. The three occupants do a good job of avoiding capsizing, and the boat is still afloat when multiple law enforcement agency boats arrive, alerted to the problem by a Good Samaritan 9-1-1 call from shore (by the person recording the incident).

Actually, so many law enforcement agencies arrive--including a helicopter--that the threat to the three passengers probably increases from all the "rescue" assets on-scene circling around and from the downwash of the helicopter.

The recording them jumps forward in time, to the point when the crisis is resolved by another Good Samaritan boater who has taken the three people aboard and is towing the 13-footer away, with the Unibond hull probably self-bailing over the transom most of the water that had come aboard.

This recording is an example of the Boston Whaler "Unsinkable Legend" hull in action.

Losing all propulsion power while trying to transit an inlet with outgoing-tide running against in-coming ocean swell is never a good situation.

Reminds me of an event that happened to me 25 years ago.

A buddy and I were fishing in my 1971 21' Outrage. We got into a school of stripers close to shore at Monomoy Island off Cape Cod. Probably they were feeding off tumbling baitfish in the big surf. My job was to hold the boat in place and stay headed straight into the incoming waves. Andy was in back absolutely sleighing 'em. At one point Andy hooked a nice fish and I got distracted and didn't notice the string of 3 rogue waves headed our way.

It was too late to power forward to deeper water so I told Andy to open his bail and hold on. We made the first wave no problem. Coming down the second wave I heard the motor momentarily come out of the water. The third wave crashed right over the bow. I was now soaking wet head to toe and frankly relieved the console was still attached to the floor. I turned around to see how Andy was making out.

Andy was standing in, i dunno, it was so long ago, maybe 4" of water. He was relatively dry, smiling, and still fighting his fish. He told me "I now know what that trap door in the motor well is for!". He said that when the water rushed by him it forced the trap door open and the majority of water simply poured through it and back out to sea. 5-10 minutes later the bilge pump had us dry again and we were back to fishing, this time a little further out.

I learned the obvious lesson: bring spare clothes in a waterproof bag to you can keep fishing in comfort after eating a big wave!

Nice find, thanks for the link, I loved it because I did the same thing back in the 1980s. 13 ft whaler from 1975, 40 horse Johnson, three adults. Tried taking a turn too sharp at full speed on flat water, the boat flipped up on its side, threw two of us and the gas tank out. Luckily my brother who was driving hung on to the wheel and managed to pull the throttle back because he was not using the lanyard. We got back in the now swamped boat, all 3 sitting on the captain's bench with water up to our waist. The transom was underwater but the motor head was not. The motor was still running in spite of the fact that the gas line had disconnected at the motor. Gave it full throttle the boat went almost vertical and 95 percent of the water came out. We circled around to pick up the gas tank, hooked up the hose and pumped the bulb before the motor stopped. The only thing those people in the video needed was more throttle.