Offshore IV

Thanks guys. I’ve got her back on the trailer with the help of the winch, a tractor and a car jack. I don’t have time to get it anywhere this year tho. I’m always looking for another project. I’m glad there’s a few positives out of the whole thing.

Thanks for your honesty.

Pretty much no matter what I’d be parking a white meat rig with white flasher at 90’. id start at 100’ and troll out leaning toward the plant from Mexico point. Go to about 250-300 and see what marks you get and adjust to the best depth. I run two high spoons (typically wonder bread and green emerald) about 20’ down on boards. Then dipsey rods flasher flies and meat rigs on riggers. again, white MR with white flasher out fishes every other bait I have 3:1.

If the floor is all that needs to be replaced, why sell as a parts boat? Are the stringers shot too?

Thanks LB. the engine is like new, and I don’t think it’ll take much for her to be back on the water. I think the boat is 100% totaled tho. Breaks my heart.

Thank you for your story. I hope everyone recovered from your accident. Here’s some pics of the boat as it stands. Plus a pic of the jacket worn by the 9 year old

Plug was in the whole time. Let me reiterate- my boat is not a normal size aluminum. It’s very much so big water ready. It’s the smallest aluminum made specifically for the ocean. I’ve been getting a lot of guys telling me the boat wasn’t ready for big water. It was, and has been for the past few years. Well. Now it’s scrap but lol

I was part of the iboats forum during the build and there were a few guys with the same boat that had no issues with the same motor. That said I almost got the 70 yami because it was a full 100# lighter. I don’t have a kicker and actually just recently moved the battery to the front so both batteries and gas tank (20 gal) were in the front.

The article is incorrect in saying the boat ran aground at 30’. The 30’ is where I swam the boat to. That’s what was reported by the coast guard. Tho the damage to the prop and the skag could have occurred upon the recovery I suppose.

You’re welcome. It was about 75 that night and I completely lost my voice within 20 minutes and I was only yelling to the other three every five minutes or so. You lose your voice much quicker than you think.

Idk because my skag is very scraped up. I’ll drove myself nuts if I analyze it anymore. I just hope I can help someone be more safe and be cognizant of different scenarios and be ready as the captain of your vessel.

Appreciate the input. I wish I had a lot of things that night.

I’ve thought about this a lot. I think what happened is this. I think water slowly came over the transom little by little as the day went on and then when I hit whatever I hit, we all stood at the back of the boat and that was enough weight, in addition to the water, to allow it over the transom. I’m only assuming. I did notice a bit of a dent near the drain plug so I’m gonna flop it over and fill it with water from the inside to see where/if there’s a hole there. Also realized my spoon foam pad survived. I’ve gotta flip the boat over and I don’t know how I’m gonna do it yet.

Pics of the prop. My hydraulic trim/tilt is toast too.

The one I bought for Logan and I were neon green and black from runnings, $60 each. Neoprene and I used mine a lot. I have mine on most of the time but didn’t the other night unfortunately. His saved his life tho. Shop around and try a few on. They don’t go bad so spend the money for a comfy one.

All good. I opened this thread to discuss how to make everyone more prepared and safe. The law is just the base level. Anything that will enhance safety that is improved from the existing law, we are all for.

I can also confirm. I was stopped by the coast guard two years ago with my gear in the exact same orientation as it was when we went down and they did not suggest moving anything from where it was. one thing I can tell y’all is the guide says you should have a rope and an anchor, but it does not specify that they need to be attached. Seems like common sense and the coast guard did not advise that the anchor and rope need to be attached, but according to the sheriffs office, they indeed need to be attached. there’s nothing illegal about them being in the Cuddy, but it seems like they will be moved by common sense and safety, rather than by law. Good on you Hachimo.

Thank you all for your support. I don’t want anyone to lose confidence in their boat, gear, crew etc... Sometimes you’re put in a no win situation. Run through what you’d do in any bad situation you can think of. I know I ran through what I’d do if what happened to me actually happened, and it was fully automatic because of that repetition. Have a plan on who will do what, what you’d give to who first to last, etc... I knew the young one had a jacket on, so the next most vulnerable person was my gf, so she was next in line for a jacket, and finally the least vulnerable was her father, who was last to get a jacket. I did not have time for myself but I knew what was happening probably 20 seconds before everyone else, and you can get a lot done in 20 seconds. Once you realize you’re going under, accept that fact and start getting as much done as you can. Know your boat, know where your gear is, and try to remain calm. The very last thing I did was instruct them to get to the blinking red light, which was the break wall. I didn’t get the full sentence out because I went under but they heard “blinking red light”. My gf informed me that she got tangled with three rods when she first exited the boat but worked through it, so tie everything down to avoid that. I do not remember when the boat went from right side up to bottom up. I was under water while that happened. again thank you for all the support.

Thanks Clark, I appreciate the kind words.

Thank you. My boat is more adequate than most 18’ you see out there. For anyone who’s seen it, they know. Very high gunnels. Very safe. There’s nothing it could have done better.

I agree. Everyone is telling me it’s a log but the prop tells a different story. I’ll post pictures when I can. Thank you I rebuilt the boat myself too to bottom. The floor to bottom of the boat was packed with closed cell foam. By the time I knew what was happening, it wouldn’t have mattered. one piece of advice was given to me By the diver who was there solely to retrieve my dead body that I will forever do- Put a whistle and a glow stick in all of your life jackets. Smart idea. Having a convo with the guy who was sent to get your dead body was humbling....

Can you send me a google maps pin please?

Thanks everyone for the kind words and generous offers. I don’t know that I’ll be ready this year to go back out. 12 years Air Force didn’t really prepare me for the guilt and mental aspect of all this. I typically have my pup out there too, but didn’t due to heat. She wouldn’t have made it. I truly cannot understand what I hit. I’ll throw a pic up tomorrow of the prop. It was not something soft. It demolished two of my three blades. im not exactly a seasoned LO fisherman but I’ve been fishing my whole life. Anyone will tell you that this and deer hunting are all I know. I’m always looking for a larger (24’) boat so we will see. by the way, Trevor from colosse recovery was very professional, and loaded my boat onto his flatbed in no time. He’s 24 hours open and charged very fairly. For those without insurance, consider it. My boat isn’t worth anything but my motor is a 2017 with 400 hours. It’s under warrantee so we will see if merc can/will help me out at all. The DEC was going to charge me $1500 if I didn’t have the boat out at sunset yesterday. I called them at 7am to tell them we are doing everything we can. They were kind enough to afford me extra time before a fine was placed. i know I’m grateful no one was even hurt, but I lost a lot of gear. I keep adding it all up and I’m out at least $15k. My parents had just bought me a brand new fish hawk. It was its maiden voyage. I think it might actually still work as long as it’s ok being submerged for 10 hours. We actually ended up going 3/5 with all small fish. Again, all replaceable items. If I do end up calling it quits, I’ll part out the boat and post for sale. I lost my beautiful ranger net. My foam spoon pad that had prob 25 spoons on it so if someone finds it, and they prob will, you’ve hit the jackpot.

Thank you sir. 8 months worth of a build gone in the blink of an eye. But the make em every day. I am unsure if I’ll fish next year or not given what I just went through.

Thank you 👌