[fish_on]

We were listening to the VHF and heard some coast guard talk about a boat that was swamped on the columbia. Sounded like it was swamped by a larger boats wake and they were hunting down the larger boat and taking statements from whitnesses. Anybody else hear this or see it?

 

[Guest]

Probably the same guy that almost knocked you off your bow Pete.

 

[Wang]

I dont understand why people do full power right thru the middle of 100's of boats trolling. Im in a 17' boat and theres much smaller boats around me and and people just plow right thru the middle of everyone as close as 20-30' sometimes.

Why can't they move out into the bay a little ways and make there run up? The area Im talking about has 20' plus water to run in just a few yards out.

Most of these boats are of the "Cruising" type.

It really ticks me off!

 

[freespool]

Seems like the bigger the boat the smaller the brain. On the other hand I see people out there in boats I wouldn't use in Crystal Springs pond. Many fail to respect the third largest river in North America,and sadly pay with their lives.

 

[Pete]

When someone endangers you, they may have broken the law. Use your cell phone or VHF to report violations. Be sure to note the numbers of the offending boat.

Some common issues are:
Unsafe operation. (ORS 830.305)

Operation that endangers or would likely endanger a person or property. Example of violation: Your boat wake causes a canoe to nearly capsize.

Basic boat traffic rules: (ORS 830.340)

Meeting head-on — Except when risk of collision exists, boaters must bear right and pass on the other boat's left side.
Crossing — When approaching at an angle, the boat on the right side has right-of-way.
Passing — A boat may overtake another boat on either side, but must grant right-of-way to the boat that is overtaken.
Boats proceeding downriver have right-of-way over boats proceeding upriver. Note: Having the right-of-way does not allow the operator to endanger others.

Selected Boating regulations

[ 08-31-2003, 09:42 PM: Message edited by: Pete ]

 

[The Chub]

I was right there when it happened! The boat that swamped them was a big cabin cruiser. The driver was drinking a beer also. I didn't see a name on the boat. I took one of the guys wakes also. HUGE! The bigger boat was not on a plane at all. He was just plowing water at about 20 miles an hour. We tried to help the guys out in the water, but they just wanted someone to hook onto their boat, as it was going down. The sinking boat looked to be a speed boat. We watched it sink to the bottom in about 60 feet of water. I was there, another guy in a jet boat, and some guy in a bayiner capri.


There was no way that we were gonna save the boat. It was sinking very fast, and I only have a 4cyl volvo in my bayliner. The guy in the other bayliner was going to hook to their boat, but it sunk to fast. Pretty wild!!! I have never seen anything like it before.

 

[rags]

What part of the Columbia did this happen on?

 

[The Chub]

Also, if I had to guess what happened, it looked like the guys in the speed boat jumped his wake, and the wind caught them, and flipped their boat.
The boat was in the water with the engine headed to the bottom. Just a guess! It was pretty windy, and those speed boats are light as a feather.

 

[The Chub]

Right out from the mouth of the Sandy. In the Channel.

 

[dawhunt]

Thats a fact of life around the Camas,Washougal marina.those yachts have come close to swamping me several times when anchored.They don't slow down or even try to stay away from you.I've got an 18' duckworth and they've put water in my boat
from their wakes several times almost tossed me over a few,there is no EXCUSE FOR THIS !!.I promise you if you go by them that fast while their anchored they will turn you in.They act like they own the river just because of the boats they own.If I ever see them swamp a boat I will chase them down and get their boat #'s might even take the people that were swamped with me and let them have a talk :grin: with them.
Bob

P.S. It gets really bad when their caravaning with 4 or more boats you don't have a chance then,just hang on.This is one of the reasons I don't fish weekends in the summer along with the skiers,and jet ski riders and the drunks at the boat launch.

[ 09-01-2003, 08:56 AM: Message edited by: dawhunt ]

 

[Guest]

When 100's of boats are blocking the channel this can happen, like B10. The bigger boat might have made a smaller wake by going faster.
If a boat doesn't have enough freeboard to take a wake it shouldn't be on the river. There are many boats fishing B10 that I wouldn't take out on a small lake.

I don't know the details and the large boat opperator might have been too close to the other boat, but it might not be all the fault of the larger boat.

[ 09-01-2003, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: Keta ]

 

[Stratocaster]

When 100's of boats are blocking the channel this can happen, like B10. The bigger boat might have made a smaller wake by going faster.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Only if its a planing hull. If its a displacement(as most bigger boats are) then its only gonna get worse as the speed increases.

 

[Guest]

Not necessarily. An efficient hull puts the water back and creates a much smaller wake than a poorly designed hull. Most modern boats are semi displacement or plaining hulls being used as displacement hulls.

 

[The Chub]

I still think that it was the guy in the speed boats fault!

 

[Stratocaster]

I fished thursday on the CR and the yachts heading down were all stern draggers with a wake a navy destroyer would be proud of. Not very efficient and probably not very modern.