WHAT NUT ??? was alleged to have caused wreck ?

[fishnfireman]

No disrespect.

I will simulate the exact wake crossing in the video for you on film.

That wake crossing is an every tournament thing on the waters I run.
I'm not seeing the danger of crossing that wake in the video at top speed full trim in my boats



JAZII

I watched your video. The wake does not appear to be as large.. You crossed at more of an angle.. biggest thing-- you stayed in the throttle..
When you film yourself doing the "EXACT" wake crossing as the one in question---be sure to cross at very little angle and get out of the throttle at the same point so the keel will drop over the front of the wake while the back third of the boat is still on it. Not saying you will do a bow turn.. But I bet it will rattle your cage even in a Gambler with a somewhat shallow keel that does not come very far forward.

Not trying to one up you; but ---- --After 30 years of tournament fishing, with the rigs I've owned---I have passed my share of tournament boats.
There was a time when I would pass everyone, just because I could.. If nothing else it taught me when, where and how to pass or NOT to pass..

[BMCD]

Now I'm really confused.

Whats confusing? I see it as a bow hook event. If the steering broke it was after the event happened. But reality is no one really knows.

[JAZII]

Someone posted in Gambler boat forum that they know the boat operator and seem the failure.

No pics of anything.

I still believe I saw right hand trying to steer the boat left, right before it hooked.

If you watch the steering wheel is still turning left as the driver is being ejected.

JAZII

[JAZII]

I watched your video. The wake does not appear to be as large.. You crossed at more of an angle.. biggest thing-- you stayed in the throttle..
When you film yourself doing the "EXACT" wake crossing as the one in question---be sure to cross at very little angle and get out of the throttle at the same point so the keel will drop over the front of the wake while the back third of the boat is still on it. Not saying you will do a bow turn.. But I bet it will rattle your cage even in a Gambler with a somewhat shallow keel that does not come very far forward.

Not trying to one up you; but ---- --After 30 years of tournament fishing, with the rigs I've owned---I have passed my share of tournament boats.
There was a time when I would pass everyone, just because I could.. If nothing else it taught me when, where and how to pass or NOT to pass..

I hear you on the passing of other boats, of when and when not to pass.

JAZII

[fishnfireman]

I don't see it as the drivers fault, he could that a 100 times with different results, as he prolly has before. Just unlucky. My guess is the steering failed due to the violent bow hook movement.

To answer your question -----"Whats confusing? I see it as a bow hook event. If the steering broke it was after the event happened"
In the first sentence of your original reply. You say; "I don't see it as the drivers fault" In the last sentence you say; "My guess is the steering failed due to the violent bow hook"
That's what's confusing.----- Your saying If the steering broke it was caused by the violent bow hook.. Then what caused the bow hook if it was not the drivers fault ??? Still

[fishnfireman]

Sorry it bothers you. Hopefully no one is holding a gun to your head and making you stop and read this thread.
From the number of views it's had --- I would venture a guess that more than just a few of us are interested in this as a SAFETY issue.
And would like some definite answers as to WHY this wreck occurred.. A bow hook that violent can and has caused a much worse outcome... This is the first video I have seen that has captured such an event from that angle....I view it as some good knowledge to study... Since there seems to be no solid information coming from those involved, all we can do is give it our best answers based on what knowledge we have.

[DixieChicken]

While I don't have any input (real or otherwise) as to handling of a bass boat at speed. (As I just introduced myself this week as looking for my first bass boat.) I'd say the driver did start to turn to the left as the boat was moving right. Then right at that point when the bow dropped he did give it a (half hearted or better) yank to the left, yet it kept moving right and just at that point he let out a big yell a second or two before they were ejected.

Could have been many things, (file that under coulda' woulda' shoulda') but we know the main thing was SPEED.
After having owned a towing business for almost 20 years, there is one thing I know that kills.... SPEED.

The funny thing though that folks don't realize, (and it'd hold true on water as well as on the road) is it's usually not YOUR speed if you're just out there alone, by yourself. Very seldom does a car at speed just crash on a high speed roadway. (Unless of course it's an idiot in a stolen car running from the Cops.)

The MOST dangerous part of speed is the DIFFERENCE of speed between vehicles. If everyone would all drive 75 on the interstate, following the 3 second rule, not tap the brakes, and not change from lane to lane to lane we'd all get somewhere much faster and SAFER. Unfortunately.... until we all get self driving cars we'll still be stuck with radical lane changers, following too close, people in the hammer lane doing 55 (or less), and the all to often "oops I missed my exit, there it is, I'll just drop across 3 lanes NOW" type of driver.

Actually I was behind a guy in a Camaro one day on 285 driving my rollback, running 70 that had a gal that was vigorously looking for something in his crotch, she must have been swatting flies they way her head was a bobbing, hair was a flyin'.... and all of a sudden he jumped across ALL FOUR LANES to hit his exit! Or maybe he had an exit. I remember thinking..... "DUDE It's only 63 miles back around, just take the long way. She'll certainly find what she's looking for by then."


But what REALLY ticked me off about that boat crash was the fact that you had these guys, HELPLESS in the water, boat dead in the water, and not 1, not 2, but I think it was THREE boats that just blew by. I mean SERIOUSLY!

[JAZII]

Sorry it bothers you. Hopefully no one is holding a gun to your head and making you stop and read this thread.
From the number of views it's had --- I would venture a guess that more than just a few of us are interested in this as a SAFETY issue.
And would like some definite answers as to WHY this wreck occurred.. A bow hook that violent can and has caused a much worse outcome... This is the first video I have seen that has captured such an event from that angle....I view it as some good knowledge to study... Since there seems to be no solid information coming from those involved, all we can do is give it our best answers based on what knowledge we have.

I FULLY AGREE WITH THIS OPINION.

JAZII

[BMCD]

To answer your question -----"Whats confusing? I see it as a bow hook event. If the steering broke it was after the event happened"
In the first sentence of your original reply. You say; "I don't see it as the drivers fault" In the last sentence you say; "My guess is the steering failed due to the violent bow hook"
That's what's confusing.----- Your saying If the steering broke it was caused by the violent bow hook.. Then what caused the bow hook if it was not the drivers fault ??? Still

Well I thought that was explained in other posts, But again, It caused by loss of bow lift at the wrong time.

I guess if your a black and white type personality, and u think all things can be controlled, then I understand why your confused. I just see it as an accident that you could not forsee or prevent. And would not happen 9.9 out of 10 times, and therefore I would not fault the driver. Even the most experienced drivers would not have been able to prevent it at that speed.

[fishnfireman]

That's WHY some of us are still debating this topic.
If it was a mechanical failure ... .
If it was the nylock on the steering ram that worked loose prior to the incident-- (I doubt it came loose overnight). In that case it may have been foreseen and prevented.
IF It was not a mechanical error-----IMO an experienced driver who has knowledge of what causes a bow turn could prevent one under those circumstances by doing several things. First... change the angle of attack...second trim the motor down...third never cut the power when faced with that type of situation. By doing this---- IMO-- an experienced driver could prevent that at any speed.

Personally-- Until someone involved comes forward with some hard facts...I'm seeing a lot of GRAY.

[jkarol24]

I don't have an opinion either way regarding if it was driver error or mechanical... well, i do, but it is irrelevant... Anyways, I am happy that this topic came up in our recent college fishing club meeting, and it sparked a great discussion on boater safety, using kill switches, wearing life jackets, etc. That is what we ALL should take away from this.

One question that came up... When attempting to overtake another boat in front of you, what is proper procedure? Do you pass on the starboard side or the port side? I thought I remembered that it is proper to pass on the port side, with the boat you are overtaking on your right, just like you would pass on the highway. Is this correct?

[fishnfireman]

Jason-- Thanks for sharing..
Kudos to your club !!
I believe when overtaking another boat that is under power. It's ok to pass on either side...However I believe you are supposed to signal by horn.. One blast for Starboard two for port.
Which is about useless on most bass rigs as it would never be heard.

[jkarol24]

Jason-- Thanks for sharing..
Kudos to your club !!
I believe when overtaking another boat that is under power. It's ok to pass on either side...However I believe you are supposed to signal by horn.. One blast for Starboard two for port.
Which is about useless on most bass rigs as it would never be heard.

Thanks for the input. After some further research of USCG procedures, you are correct! This is what I found:
Inland Rules
All fresh waters in the United States are covered by inland rules. So are saltwater bays and harbors and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). Chances are the following signals are the ones you'll follow.
1 Short Blast: "I intend to pass you on your starboard side." The privileged vessel will signal agreement by responding with 1 short blast.
2 Short Blasts: "I intend to pass you on your port side." The privileged vessel will signal agreement by responding with 2 short blasts.
International Rules
You must check navigation charts to determine where international rules take place. You'll be following these sound signals.
2 Prolonged Blasts/2 Short Blasts: "I intend to pass you on your port side." The privileged vessel will signal agreement by responding with 1 prolonged/1 short/1 prolonged/1 short blast.
2 Prolonged Blasts/1 Short: "I intend to pass you on your starboard side." The privileged vessel will signal agreement by responding with 1 prolonged/1 short/1 prolonged/1 short blast.

Source: http://www.boatingmag.com/how-to/man...aking-big-boys

[eliteangler]

This is an old thread, but I wanted to chime in on something. The conversation within this thread about using a torque wrench to torque the tiller bolt and lock nut. After you thread in the ARP bolt and torque it to spec, you can start the lock nut on the bolt, then with a torque wrench and an extension with socket, torque the nut to spec. There is room to do this if you tilt the motor up away from the jack plate or transom. You run the extension and socket parallel with the front of the swivel bracket. You will also have to adjust the torque setting accordingly depending on what length extension you use as torque will not be the same when using an extension. Hope this helps.

[06 SB]

Does anyone know what model Triton and engine hp, trx20/250proxs??

It was an 18.5 with a Mercury 150. They were at WOT doing 60ish.

To me it is a chicken or the egg argument if we were not there to inspect the aftermath. Hopefully we can all learn from it (wear PFD and kill switch).

[del]

I am very new to driving a boat. What is the correct way to cross a wake like this? I want to learn to do this safely.