Quote:
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Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal
Quote: The Eagle Tribune - September 02, 2007 12:00 am
“James Larsen's Cobalt Bowrider took on a big wave around 11:25 a.m., Marine Patrol Lt. Tim Dunleavy said. The eight people aboard donned their life jackets and jumped into the lake as the boat quickly filled with water and started to sink, Dunleavy said.” We’ve had really big waves crash over our bow on big chop days and the water empties into the drain hole without a problem, of course we do get mighty wet. Were we really in jeopardy of sinking and just oblivious to the danger?
I sure hope the search for the boat will result in finding this elusive bugger. Best of luck to Diver1111 and the recovery crew, we’re rooting for you! |
The problem with taking a wave over the bow on a boat like the 246 is that the water goes right into either the bow cockpit or the main cockpit. Now the boat is suddenly not only heavier but it has an unpredictable load balance since the water can slosh all over the place. If there's, say, 50 gallons of water added to the boat all of a sudden, that's 425 lbs of added weight that can suddenly roll from the main cockpit into the bow cockpit when the bow goes down on the next wave. That can easily cause the bow to stuff into the next wave and take on another 50 gallons or more of water. Now there's 850 pounds of water rolling around, imagine how tough it's gonna be to get the boat to ride up and over the next wave... The 246 is an awesome boat but it has low freeboard and a very pronounced downturn at the bow. That can't help. Look at the models that have replaced the 246 in Cobalt's line, they all have less droopy looking bows and lots more freeboard...
In rough water, a bowrider skipper would be wise to ensure that the bow canvas remains on. Wonder if that was the case here?