Boat sinks off port stephens

Peter35 · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:56 am Post subject:

Cant see the similarity in the two incidents. The most recent one obviously very different conditions to that in PPB.

Having just returned from Eden where we chose not to fish the bigger, uglier conditions a few days ago, there were plenty who tried. The one problem that no brand can control - Evo, HH, CC, Edencraft, Formula, etc etc - is whether their customers are experienced or intelligent. I'm not referring to the people off Port Stephens, but clearly there are plenty out there that lack brains or experience.
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stevej · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 12:34 pm Post subject: Re:

stevej · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 12:36 pm Post subject:

so my point was from time of activation to being plucked from the water 2 hours is pretty good when you consider all factors at play

i now have a 406 gps eprib in the boat and both life jackets have a plb attached

so if we get separated from the spirb in a rapid sinking it is still transmitting and they can at least pick up the plbs attached to the life jackets

all for less then the cost of one reel and rod

frozenpod · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:20 pm Post subject:

In terms of the EVO and two of them going over;

These boats are supposed to have a very very high initial stability reportatly as good at rest as a cat.

A high initialy stability normally results in a low ultimate stability (exactly the same for a cat and shalllow V mono hulls) which means worst case being tipped over the boat is less likely to self right.

A very deep V hull which rocks around at rest and most people would say has a poor stability at rest ie low initial stability typically has a very high ultimate stability and will be more likely to self right.

Whilst very few people (and we all hope we never have to) test the ultimate stability of there boat it can be the difference between a boat that stays upright and a boat that rolls over.

This could be the reason this boat tipped over but I think anyone with common sense would agree that given the conditions and much bigger boats turning back this boat should have never been in this situation in the first place.

frozenpod · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:22 pm Post subject:

Re EPIRB the older units had a very basic oscillator circuit and also needed to warm up before they output the correct signal.

IMO this was in many ways a poor design but it was extremely reliable.

catcher cold · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 2:00 pm Post subject:

stevej · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 3:54 pm Post subject:

Lol at thinking they should
Immediately send out a chopper that costs thousands per hour to send up

Becon response received
Home number called
Mobile number called
Emergency rescue closest called to see if the boat has logged in
If so the local rescue will try to contact the boat by radio or even check the carpark to see if the trailer is in the car park

Then the decision is made with what available and or suitable vehicles are ready to find the vehicle

Sometimes commercial aviation is asked to keep an eye out

If a chopper is available you still have to wait for it to prep board takeof and fly to the location
If a boat is available it could take a few hours to get to you

If you have the cheap spurn they have to search a 5km square grid for you
If you gave the gps epirb they have a smaller area to search

People still die in the water even with life jackets and epirbs

thrillseeker · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 4:36 pm Post subject:

Thanks for posting about response times, it raised a number of questions so I went looking for answers.
I'm kicking myself now for buying the non GPS version.
Response time of the LEO satellite , on average, takes 90 minutes to pick up the signal and because of conditions, may not pick up the signal for 5 hours, so as you say, response time was very acceptable.
My only thought is that could be too late if hypothermia was an issue.
The Geostationary satellite however will pick the signal up in seconds if it's sighted.
Something else I learnt is that you can log on on-line for a days fishing and give exactly the same details as you do to the VMR.
I wonder how many people do that?
It's been a useful post for me.

thewalrus · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 4:59 pm Post subject:

It was mentioned earlier that 2 Evo's had rolled over. Has anyone actually contacted the manufacturer and found out the reason why the first rolled ?? If they did and saw the maritime report perhaps they could then comment with actual facts.
Until the report on the second incident is finalised, everyone's comments are pure supposition, unless of course you were in the boat, and no one yet has said they were. So fess up if all of you saying it did this, and it did that, if you were in the boat and really know what happened. Of course the information you have comes from your best mates, cousin's, sister's uncles, brother, so of course it just has to be accurate.

Go into records of all maritime incidents involving small craft. How often is the actual design of the craft at fault? How often does the boat actually break without having been abused. Nearly all "accidents" are the result of negligence, incompetence, inexperience, or just plain stupidity of the skipper.

So as I said before, try and wait for the facts of what happened, instead of sledging any manufacturer, that happens to have a boat involved in an "accident" with comment based on rumour and supposition.