Friend made a very expensive mistake.

[rrkyle]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Yeah i know i think it happened right before dark.

I actually talked to some guys that said they saw a blue boat seat and lifejacket floating out there and were wondering how it got there!

 

[bitterboater]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

...... I'm guessing it wasn't reported, and there is enough information to figure it out. Not like DNR and other officials don't browse through this site. ......

That may be why it was posted here.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

I think the local LEO has enough info to work with.
The when and where could be defined better, though.

Glad that all are safe. It didn't turn out well last year...

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20090326c

Missing Boater Recovered on Belton Lake, AUSTIN, Texas ? Texas Game Wardens today recovered the body of Jarod David Dawkins, 27, who was missing since the boat he was on capsized March 17 near Sparta Valley Park on Belton Lake. Dawkins? body was recovered at 9:03 a.m. just north of the water treatment plant near Westcliff Park....

..."Life jackets are a big issue," said Game Warden Maj. Alfonso Campos, chief of marine safety enforcement for TPWD. "About 90 percent of the boating fatality victims we recover are not wearing life jackets. Children 12-years-old and younger are required by law to wear life jackets anytime a vessel is not anchored or tied-up. If adults would make that leap and think of a life jacket the same way we think of seatbelts in automobiles, we?d have a lot fewer fatalities."

Dugan, who is leading the Richland-Chambers search, said three of the game warden boats are equipped with side-scan sonar and the search team has requested divers to assist in locating the victims of the accident.

On 12,000-acre Belton Lake, about 5 miles north of the City of Belton, the week-long search involved game wardens, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rangers and members of the Bell County Sheriff?s Office. Frederick D. Munger II, 39, of Belton, died in the March 17 accident, and three other passengers on the boat survived.

"The investigation is ongoing, but it appears that the boat was overloaded, nobody had a life jacket on and alcohol was involved," said Game Warden Maj. Rolly Correa, who led the Belton Lake search. "People who live on the lake or spend a lot of time out there sometimes get complacent and just get in the boat and go. This is a tragic reminder that accidents like this can happen to anyone and can happen in seconds."

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

So the LEO's can look for an oil slick within a half mile of here?
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.as...uMTExODgwMzczNzc4MiU3ZS05Ny41NjIwODM5NzQ0ODA2
I would rather the boat was recovered, than me, as a volunteer, spending time with it while looking for a missing boat/boaters.

 

[Shife]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

So the LEO's can look for an oil slick within a half mile of here?
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.as...uMTExODgwMzczNzc4MiU3ZS05Ny41NjIwODM5NzQ0ODA2

I would rather the boat was recovered, than me, as a volunteer, spending time with it while looking for a missing boat/boaters.

I doubt you'll get much of an oil slick from a old 2 stroke, but the vent on the tank will produce a surface sheen for quite some time.

Recovering the boat is the right thing to do. The owner should have called for help when he got to shore. Now he is facing serious fines and possible legal consequences.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

I doubt you'll get much of an oil slick from a old 2 stroke, but the vent on the tank will produce a surface sheen for quite some time.

Recovering the boat is the right thing to do. The owner should have called for help when he got to shore. Now he is facing serious fines and possible legal consequences.

And that sheen, besides the environmental stuff, would attract my attention if I was looking for a missing boat/boater.

 

[Tig]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

A map showing lake depths can be found in this document.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

So I saw the time was described as "right before dark".
The OP was Monday. So this happened Monday evening?

That was a pretty windy day if I'm remembering right.
I know Stillhouse was pretty choppy.

 

[rrkyle]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Sunday. I heard the news monday. Is Stillhouse less crowded than Belton? Im getting sick of all the high school kids cutting donuts in wake boats all day.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Sunday. I heard the news monday. Is Stillhouse less crowded than Belton? Im getting sick of all the high school kids cutting donuts in wake boats all day.

I don't have a Texas boat this season, but we like Stillhouse.
Closer.
Less traffic.
Less over zealous LEO.
A good skiing zone on the cliffs even when the south wind is kicking.
Some good coves to anchor and grill out.
Biggest bass in Texas. (According to my friend on the Pro Circuit)

Downside is you can get in trouble if you don't know the lake.
The forest under the south side has bitten many a boater.
On the west side, I've seen my depth guage go from 40' to 3' when I cut inside on a bend.

 

[pinecrestwoods]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

A brief tangent- sorry....

rrkyle, my first car was a '74 Gran Torino. 2 door. Copper in color. 400m/C6. Met a fiery conclusion on my way to school my Soph. year, due to a short in the starter (stuck on, overheated, and lit up the engine compartment).

Sorry about the sidenote.

As you were... (ha)

Jeff

 

[TahoeQ4Pilot]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

I have a friend that had never been on a boat before but after going out on mine once and me telling him how i tinker and turned one for a profit decided to buy his own boat.

He spent 1400 on an one of the old narrow 16 ft tri hulls with a 50s Johnson 40 horse.

After finally getting the boat running he decided to take it out. Without any sort of marine background or boat safety course.

At Lake Belton there are a few spots over 75ft deep where when the wind picks up can have 3 and 4 ft swells.

He and two others without lifejackets were out on the lake and he plowed the little boat directly into a wave. The wave swamped the boat and it sank almost instantly. The three had to swim about half mile to the dock.

His boat now sits at the bottom of Lake Belton along with toolboxes wallets keys and cell phones.

Its amazing and lucky that only the boat was hurt but i do sort of feel bad for the guy.

Wow, what rotten luck. Can't he get it pulled out? Which doc was he nearest to when it happened? Sorry to hear.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Wow, what rotten luck. Can't he get it pulled out? Which doc was he nearest to when it happened? Sorry to hear.

rrkyle said they launched from Sparta Valley,

rrkyle, "The launch was sparta vally they were out there by blora."

I'm assuming the boat is within a half-mile of there.

When I talked to some folks at BLORA today, they said there was a boat fire last weekend, but nobody had been notified of a sinking.

 

[rrkyle]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Doesnt suprise me that it wasnt reported. I tried to tell him he should. Who knows

 

[rrkyle]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Off topic but Hey Tahoe by the way you have an awesome boat. Yall do any kneeboarding?

And Pinecrest that sucks man. Mines not even new but i would be upset. Mine has 70k and is mint except for a little crack in the dash pad i got really lucky finding it and trading for my dually

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Doesnt suprise me that it wasnt reported. I tried to tell him he should. Who knows

Because he was trying to dump it in Belton?
Game wardens recovered a boat fitting that description near that location.
No motor and holes punched in the bottom.
It had been left to sink, but didn't.

Ask your friend about that.

 

[rrkyle]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Im pretty sure the whole thing went down motor and all. Two guys lost their wallets cells and keys cause they put them in a storage compartment

Heres the link to his boat he was trying to sell it

http://killeen.craigslist.org/boa/1784434118.html

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Im pretty sure the whole thing went down motor and all. Two guys lost their wallets cells and keys cause they put them in a storage compartment

Heres the link to his boat he was trying to sell it

http://killeen.craigslist.org/boa/1784434118.html

Thanks for the link.
Nothing to be gained by sinking that boat.
After re-reading my post, I apologize if that came off accusatory.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Im pretty sure the whole thing went down motor and all. Two guys lost their wallets cells and keys cause they put them in a storage compartment

Heres the link to his boat he was trying to sell it

http://killeen.craigslist.org/boa/1784434118.html

btw...Texas Parks and Wildlife thanks you for the link.

He really needs to call them before they call on him.
The latter starts bad and can go downhill rapidly from there.

480?
That's a California area code.

 

[TahoeQ4Pilot]

Re: Friend made a very expensive mistake.

Hey thanks, rrkyle, you can usually see me cruisin around on the weekends. I got my hands on a hydroslide this season, been trying to figure it out. Look for me dragging down the boat on Sunday with the kneeboard!

I am still waiting to hear the outcome of this, I suspect the idea of letting your swamped boat settle to the bottom of this COE lake is not going to turn out well.

Off topic but Hey Tahoe by the way you have an awesome boat. Yall do any kneeboarding?

And Pinecrest that sucks man. Mines not even new but i would be upset. Mine has 70k and is mint except for a little crack in the dash pad i got really lucky finding it and trading for my dually