Possibility of being swamped over stern.

I have noticed here in Scotland an alarming number of incidents where life has been lost in small leisure craft, this usually is caused by the boat being overloaded and then by being swamped over the stern, also some of these boats seem to have been fitted with engines that were to heavy reducing freeboard, I am now wondering about fitting my batteries up front to reduce weight at stern? would like advise as to what might be best, foam filled voids of air bags up front to keep the boat floating should it become flooded J.B.D.

Re: Possibility of being swamped over stern.

Im not in Scotland, but I too have considered putting batteries up front.

Re: Possibility of being swamped over stern.

You want level flotation should you find yourself swamped. Check your boat for foam. If there isn't any, or what is there is waterlogged buy some of this:http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cgi?keywords=flotation%20foam&*******=299419276&**********=111870996&view_id=38103<br /><br />I'm assuming that you have already made sure your hull is not overpowered and you aren't exceeding the maximum rated safe load of passengers/equip.<br /><br />I always figure that no matter what you do, if it can float it can sink. I plan accordingly (survival suits etc.)

Re: Possibility of being swamped over stern.

A bilge pump will help. Surprising how many boats don't have one. They're cheap insurance.

Re: Possibility of being swamped over stern.

Many thanks for replys, I was surprised when a boat which was being demonstrated to me had a wooden bung placed into the drain hole in the splashwell, this was to prevent water ingress when under way due to it sitting low in water, the owner also commented that he has to slow down gradually again to stop the wave coming over, my boat is 15ft with Evinrude 40HP and appears to sit well in water plenty of freeboard, but then when one considers tank of fuel, plus 2 batteries and self, I think of flat calm conditions! just wondered about some kind of floatation bag/bags, I do have bilge pump. Thanks for help. J.B.D.

Re: Possibility of being swamped over stern.

Being new to boats, I have been thinking about these safety issues as well. My boat is 14' but with 70HP Rude. I could not find a max hp plate, so I have reinforced the heck out of the transom. <br />For a 14-footer, she is quite deep, so should have a decent freeboard for her size, but I won´t find out until spring how she sits in the water.<br /><br />I made another 5" deckplate hole in the floor - all looks great below, but my boat is a shallow-V keel and the stringers are kind of close together and probably just not enough space for foam to flow freely before hardening, so I think I have to do without it. My floor is solid, so I don´t want it to end up as Swiss cheese just to get the foam down. Thought about stuffing foam in the gunnels, but it probably won´t be enough to make much difference, and I´m using them to make lockable storage cubbyholes. <br /><br />Instead, I´m taking all other practical measures I can think of, such as two bilge pumps, wired on seperate circuits directly to the battery + hand bailer. I have devised an emergency safety pack that I can toss overboard if I have to abandon ship. It consists of tightly folded 4-man Coleman inflatable, tied to a floting watertight bag that holds a battery powered airpump, back-up mobile phone in a watertight bag, some flares and other safety items and a bottle of water. Boat also has a fixed VHF. I figure I´ll do some practice drills in the spring to see how it all works. <br /><br />Hope I´ll never have to use it, but if I do, it´s good to have practiced before and just knowing it´s there, gives me a small peace of mind.

Re: Possibility of being swamped over stern.

No better bilge pump than a scared man with a bucket! Don't forget the bailer. Having been swamped over the stern, let me say having the boat float level when swamped is key, as already mentioned. After adding floatation to my boat, I took it to a marina for a "test swamp" by taking out the plugs and lowering it with a boat lift. Good for peace of mind. Using watertight stuff sacks for, well, stuff can also help a little, but not to be counted on.

Re: Possibility of being swamped over stern.

This is all good information for a begginer like me,take a look on the M.A.I.B. site and read the incidents that have taken place even just this year, some were national news and close to me, I also have 2 rule 500 bilge pumps but now thinking about putting one battery up front,I have fixed VHF radio with GPS interfaced as well as handheld, but when you read these incidents on MAIB there seems to no time to put out call? but I like your idea of folded inflatable, I intend to stay within the marina/ harbour area to see what happens and get a feel for it before open water but I would still like to have some kind of flotation so as not to loose boat if somthing happens,I can understand using foam but it's the weight of the engine that bothers me? I also have spare 4hp evinrude which is light but again more weight. thanks for now. J.B.D.

Re: Possibility of being swamped over stern.

Causes of boat sinkings:<br /><br /> http://www.sportfishingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=22046 <br /><br />Study Finds Chief Cause of Sinkings <br />By Boat/U.S. Marine Insurance<br /><br />Thu, Nov 30, 2000<br /><br />Swamping -- taking waves over the sides or back of the boat -- causes 30 percent of all boat sinkings on the open water, according to a recent study by BOAT/U.S. Marine Insurance. <br /><br />Through-hull leaks including stuffing boxes, bait well discharge, and knotmeter plugs caused 18 percent of open-water sinkings. Raw-water cooling system and exhaust leaks were responsible for 12 percent of the sinkings and missing drain plugs another 12 percent. Boat groundings because of navigational errors were responsible for 10 percent of the sinkings, and six percent of boats sank because their hulls split open when they slammed into waves or another boat's wake. <br /><br />For the study, Seaworthy, a newsletter published by the BOAT/U.S. Marine Insurance Program, examined 50 claims filed for boats that sank underway, ranging from a 54-foot ocean-going sailboat to a tiny personal watercraft. None of the sinkings involved fatalities. <br /><br />Seaworthy also found that for every boat that sinks underway, four boats sink at the dock. "More boats sink at the dock because boats tend to spend a majority of their time at the dock," said Bob Adriance, BOAT/U.S. technical services director, who conducted the study. "When a boat leaves the dock, someone is aboard. Therefore, a leak is usually discovered and fixed before it sinks the boat." <br /><br />Adriance said that transom height -- the height of the boat in the stern -- is the single most critical reason boats are flooded in open water. "Out of the 15 boats in our sample group that were swamped, 13 were powered by outboard motors, with engine cutouts only inches above the water," he said. People with low-transom boats should be very conscious of weight distribution on the boat and avoid storing heavy items like scuba tanks or ice chests loaded with drinks in the stern. It's also important to make sure the cockpit drains are open, not plugged with leaves and other debris.