Close call with open bow boat.

[HOGGEMIN]

After a sucessful day fishing catching 2 silvers in the river while waiting for things to clear up. I could not take it any longer people were hammering fish south of the CR bouy and the ocean was calmer than the river which it was.
I was heading north east towards the Columbia River Bar when my windshield wiper quit working, and there was a lot of spray so I followed a larger fiberglass boat heading towards the bar. I followed in his prop wash for a while when I relized he was heading a little close to the jetty, probably 1,000 feet so i headed out of his prop wash went a ways and took 2 or three 4' breaking swells over my open bow. We took on lots of water and almosed stoped, so I swung us around at full throttle which barly moved us, with all the water in the bow and pump partly out of water then we took one over the srearn. Both bilge pumps were working and I started the kicker to head us out of danger while hailing the Coast guard and giving our Gps position. Now heading SW we were in calmer water and out of danger. Two boats headed towards us and the Charter boat The Katie Marie standed by till the Coast Guard showed up with-in 5 mins of my call by then the water was all out, but I had lost my main moter. A lesson well learned to stay out by the red bouys on my approach, and not to follow other people in un familur areas. Also going to have a bow cover made out of aluminum to cover open bow when going into old blue. I thank God above for not letting me panic and my one crew member panic in this time of dispair. Also I have a full fomed hull to thank for since we had about 6 to 8 inches of water in my boat. Hopfully my moter is not totaled, but the only other causulty was my cellphone so if you read this and I had your phone #'s please email them to me so I can build back up my cellphone phone book.

P.S. we had our lifejackets on before we started heading home.

[Sea Jypzee]

I'm glad to hear that you made it out of a dangerous situation ok. :shocked: Yes, it's always advisable to remain in the main channel and use the bouy's as they're intended for navigating than to follow someone unless you know them and know where they're going.

That's always been my biggest fear in an open bow boat, as one good wave can dump a lot of water inside the boat before you have time to react.

It sounds like you did all the right things once you were in trouble though, which kept things from getting worse. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[corrirod]

Yikes! :shocked:

Glad you're ok bud.

You know your craft better than me but to me, an open bow boat is a very dangerous boat to have on big blue, even with a cover. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that your not the first to take one in the face and nearly get into deep trouble. Now that you have a new job...........get a new boat! :tongue: One with no open bow and self bailing deck! :grin:

Anybody know how long it takes to fry a battery in salt water? Imagine if you'd have fried the batteries and the motor and bilge pumps stopped working? :shocked:

Wow, that was a close one my friend. Scares me just thinking about it but you handled it like a champ! Again, glad you and your crew are safe!

[skein]

I wonder about that same thing every time I see a boat with an open bow out on the rockpile or off the lighthouse. I had that 21' Jetcraft for years and never took it out in the blue because of that very fear.

Glad you guys kept a cool head and got back okay. As Corrirod says, it's scary just thinking about it. What would one more wave have done...?

Skein

[Mr. Fisherman]

Mike Mike Mike, I'm glad you are o.k.
Fish are not worth it bud, wait for your Ocean going boat. I sure am glad you and your crew are o.k.
I'm not going to lecture you about crossing a bar except to say that once you are committed it is no time to turn around. The Columbia River Bar does not take prisoners. One look at the memorial at the Maritime Museum in Astoria and you know what I mean.
It scares me to think about it and I'm glad you posted it so hopefully others will head the warning. Maybe you should link this to the main board too? Again, I am glad you are o.k. You are one of the good guys and I don't want to see anything happen to you.
Let us know how your motor problems work out.
I can't wait to have you aboard Sea Lion again.
I'll send you my contact numbers so you can put them in your new phone. Stay in touch...

[Small Fry]

Glad to hear you made it back safely. That can be a real scary situation. PFD all the way!!!!!!

The other thing you can do instead of having a cover built is to have your scupers enlarged. My boat has 2 incher. I dumped a 60 gallon garbage can full of water in the front just to see how long it took to drain. It took me 10 seconds to dump the water and 20 to fully drain. Took 10 min just to fill the can. My front walk through is built so that water can't come in the seals as well.

Just my 2 cents.

[ 09-01-2003, 09:45 PM: Message edited by: Small Fry ]

[HOGGEMIN]

Small Fry I wish it was only 60 gallons but the whole bow was full spewing over the sides of the front bow. I am having my scuppers enlarged which is standard now on Motion Marine boats the old ones are way to small. If I had stayed closser to the bouys and just put up with a little spray is was a lot calmer with 4' swells at a reasonable distance.

[CAGEY]

Iam so concerned about my open bow boat that iam seriously considering having a aluminum deck put on it. I have had two many close calls of water almost coming over the bow when the waves are close together. Iam thinking about having it right up to the windshield. My boat is a 16 foot aluminum and i do not go in the ocean but the bays can rough up real bad. I fish the Nehalem jaws a lot and those short span three footers make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Have any of you ever added a deck or know if it being done and could shed some light on how to do it and the cost?

[HOGGEMIN]

Motion Marine has done this and will be doing mine real soon, email me for more info.

[Mr. Fisherman]

Mike, check your profile for a PM

Later,

Glad you made out ok Mike :smile:

[Metal Manipulator]

Makes me think!!! What scenarios could I get myself into and what would I do to save the day.

Glad to here all is well

[SKSPAWNER]

Hey, Mike
This has been one of my concerns also with my 20' Lund. Let me know what you find out about fabricating a bow cover.I just don't think that the canvas one will hold up. By the way, I think I still have something of your from our halibut trip with Fishplay earlier this summer (fillet knife).

Sunny K

[Pilar]

Mike, watch out for 'shorty' (short choppy waves) in your open bow boat. The scenario is the first wave fills the bow and lifts your motor out of the water, the boat goes sideways to the waves and then the next roller flips the boat.

I am so relieved that you skipped the conclusion of that sequence.

I must say, Mike, that you are willing to risk ridicule and criticism for the education of your peers. Thank you sir and I for one, am admiring you my friend for caring so much about the rest of us.

I have nothing to say to you about the open bow boat, what happens when you punch a breaker, the extra 500 pounds in the swimming pool on the bow, The effect that has on the stability and handling of the boat or the procedure for changing your underwear when you hit the dock. No doubt your education is complete on that subject.

As has been said above ... run the red line. You are not saving any appreciable distance or time by cutting across the space between 2SJ and the South Jetty. You are however exposing yourself to considerable risk. Just because others do it ... that doesn't mean you should. There are rips that form there during strong tidal currents. Waves that are 4' high, pointy and no more than 10' apart. Widow maker chop. Also if you lose power, you will be swept along the South Jetty into Clatsop spit. That's the area just south of B-10 that has the huge rollers and breakers on it most of the time.

Thank god you are ok my friend.

[Reel Creel]

You guys dont know me Im Rod Lees neighbor. I go out of the Columbia alot. I had a 18ft searay open bow. What I used was a sheet of plywood that I could remove when I wasnt fishing old blue. There were days out there that the operator needed a mask and snorkel. Now I have a 22ft sportfisher with a self bailing deck and large cuddy to let the water run off.If you can get another boat get one.That bar is unpredictable and those kind of boat rides are no fun. Glad your ok.

[Zippy]

I understand and appreciate that you guys with open bow sleds love your boats. But as I have read many times on this board from various contributors no one boat can do it all.So for my $.02 I have to agree with Corrirod that this type of fishing may require a different boat. covering the deck seems like temporary solution to the problem which is basicly Hull design, Rocker and available freeboard. The boat ahead of you had no problem for a reason- it was meant to be used in these type of conditions. I experienced a dead in the water boat at bouy six this year and relived it as I read your narritive. I am relieved you are OK and thank you for sharring the story.

[WP]

I agree that the hull design is more critical than the openess of the bow. Freeboard and depth of the vee, along with other factors. Those things are independant of the open nature of the bow. Closing the bow isn't a "temporary" fix for those things, but it does offer a fix for the water holding nature of the open bow. Personally, the rest is not really a problem and I wasn't ommenting on it. I have seen at least as many closed bow boats that are out on the ocean that I would regard as unwise choices, as I have open ones. Most boats are not well suited to the rough waters that we find on the ocean/bar in the northwest. The one I see the most is low sterns that allow surges of water into an open hull whne drifting halibut, mooching, or back trolling. Scares me to death for them! No perfect answer, well maybe that Bertram! Caution, experience, the safest boat you can get, proper equipment and techniques, and many other controlable factors are what we need to be on top of. The most important thing is that we stay on each others side and avoid the recriminations and demeaning of others choices. I find I am rarely right when my eyes are focused on someone elses behaviors and judgement, rather than my own.
WP

[WP]

I have a 20' Sea Runner that has an open bow. I have it filled with a 1/2 tote when on the ocean. I am also going to increase the drain capacity this year. I toyed with the idea of closing the rest of the top of the bow with plywood/aluminum but haven't completed the plans to do it and keep the space usable. I have had the bow full and not had a problem with handling but I had no follow-up breakers so that is not a good test. I have had the tote full of slurry and fish and the boat handles well with that weight but again, there is not the force of an angry sea. I hope to have a closure by next tuna season. Til then I watch carefully, pick my times, and never cross the Columbia bar!
Glad you are well and lived to tell the tale...I, like John, appreciate that you shared your misadventures with us...it is in those that we all learn and improve safety/reduce risk.
WP :smile:

[Tacklebuster]

Excellent post WP [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

I have two inch bailing holes in my sled and my bow sticks fairly high out of the water. Not a text book boat by no means to cross the CR bar but she has done it quite a few times and has kept us safe and sound. The most important factors that come to play in my opinion is the conditions and the skipper. I see a lot of open bow sleds out in the salt salmon fishing and bottom fishing. There is not a "perfect" boat for all applications so you get one that best suits your needs and pocket book at the time. Problem being times change and then you play the "If I had to do it over again" game.

Glad you made it safe and kudos to you for keeping a cool head in a bad situation.

[Killertraylor]

My 23' Northriver Seahawk has an open bow that is sealed off from the rest of the boat. I've fished it exclusively in the Columbia and the ocean for 3 years in a lot of nasty stuff that would have sunk my old 20' Weldcraft and it has performed perfectly. I've only taken one wave over the bow and that was in the river in some real nasty 6' chop. The boat just rides a lot higher in the water than my old boat - the hull is much deeper and the sides are much higher. I think the hull design has a lot to do with it - I've even taken it over Peacock spit in some ebbing chop that was real scary and it came through unscathed. For those of you with open boats and bow scuppers - make them BIG! I like ones that you can get a popcan through - it makes a big difference when you do take one over the bow.

[Miss B Haven]

Mike - now I know why you haven't called glad you were OK. I poked my nose out Monday to about bouy 4 about 2 hours into the incoming and didn't like it at all, decided to come back in the river. Call me to confirm Saturday's make up run for the TUNA! Forecast looks good and the tides are great for running. I'll e-mail ya with my cell number again!
:smile:

[TundraIII]

Glad you made it out of there. Tell us though, is your motor ok? Any damage at all?

[HOGGEMIN]

My motor had water in one cylinder and the starter stickes to the flywheel but turns over slowly won't just crank over freely with no plugs. I don't know if this is a sportjet thing or not. Looks like a rebuild but will talk with Mike at Motion Marine, Guess I should of worked on it the same day.

[id. painter]

I have a bow cover being built at this very moment. I was in the process before this post .
the cover is Alum. it sits and covers the opening of the bow up to the windshield. I can still use my walk-thru if i leave the little doors at the bottom of the doorway open before i attach the cover. The cover is held on with three screws.
Two years ago while fishing bouy 10 and out into the ocean a guy came up to admire my boat and showed me the bow cover he had . Pretty cheep insurance .Even if its just peace of mind. id. painter

[SPAZZ]

Im glasd you all came out of it ok. I aalso glad you learned a lesson.