29' Larson sinks SW of S. Bass Sunday

[branhamautomotive]

drifter sorry to hear about your boat, glad to know everyone is ok. I looked at the pics and the video, very said and amazing to see. I would agree it seems odd that a 5 foot wave to sink a 29 foot boat. But something to think about a 5 foot high wave assuming that the average wave is 2 foot at its base from start to finish and assuming your boat is 10 foot wide, that wave would hold about 100 cubic feet of water. Now i know the wave is not a perfect square and so these numbers are not 100% acturate but something to think about. 100 cubic feet of water is the same as 748 gals. and water weighs about 8.3 pounds a gal thats 6200 extra pounds landing on the rear of the boat, if your boat is 8 foot wide or assuming the loss from shape of wave, thats 80 cubic feet which is 598 gals that just short of 5000 pounds. Now that weight alone might not put a boat down but if it would drop the back low enough it could start the water flowing in continuosly. Not saying its the answer. I am by no means a boat expect or anything......but thats alot of extra weight

again glad to hear everyone made it ok and no one got hurt

I know this will make me think about anchoring at the stern which i know i do alot. My boat has a long nose and the cuddy opening is a long way from the nose and my railing around the edge is very low( more for looks than to keep someone on board ) I always use the stern cause i dont want to fall off the noise when pulling the anchor in, but i guess swimming is better than sinking a boat

[bobd47fish]

A 29' boat should be able to be anchored of the back with only three people in it in much tougher conditions.

Looking at the photo of the boat bobbing in Lake Erie I notice 2 important points:
1. There IS an anchor on the front of the vessel.
2. Look CLOSELY. It actually has a windlass!!!

Enough said.

[Eyezcrazy]

I agree with the comment about how much a large wave can put in your boat in a hurry. I would also like to add that the design of this boat would make it even more dangerous due to the fact of the low opening at the stern. This makes it even more easy to swamp a boat that takes on a large wave by allowing a lower filling point from the water level. All these comments have been very educational to me. I once thought it would be nice to have a boat with a walk thru door at the stern, this certainly changed my mind about it.

Stay safe everyone, education helps all of us.

[Drifter]

After many expert reviews, it has been determined that a single wave or a series of waves sunk my Larson Cabrio 29'. No drain tubes disconnected, both aft and mid bilges operating. Anchoring off the back, even on a nice day is a Bad idea and on lake Erie you are still are subject to other boat wakes.

There was a real current that day.

I will have a windlass and will not be anchoring off the back in any boat with a walk through stern door. Mine has a gap under it also, but believe me I have looked a lot of boats in the last month and there are a lot like mine including sea rays.

Hope everyone learns from my mistake and saves themselves an uncomfortable and expensive lesson. Thank God I didn't have some of my older friends out in late October.

Jeff

[Eyezcrazy]

Thanks for posting the update. Is your boat running now or were the engines damaged too? That sure was a nice looking boat.

[Drifter]

The estimate of repairs is finally done. Waiting on ins company response now. Rescue marine "pickled" both engines the next morning meaning they changed the oil and ran the engines up to temp and changed the oil again. Did this 3 times. Jeff Wilson at marine tch here in port Clinton / Catawba will fix it if it gets fixed. Engines and hull are in excellent condition. Everything electrical, pumps, wood or fabric will be replaced plus outdrive bearings and u joints etc.

Jeff has been at thIs a long time and has been very thorough.

[Hoss928]

I have been following this thread. It is insane to see the pics and YouTube video. Gives me a new respect for the water. And better attention to detail will be taken.