Coast
Guard investigators say they found evidence of a rupture in
the propeller shaft seal that most likely caused a Carolina
Classic 35 sport fishing boat to sink off of Oriental two weeks
ago.
The problem with the shaft seal was found on Saturday after
the boat was pulled from the water at SailCraft Services boat
yard in Oriental. Two Florida men who were delivering the brand-new
boat from the factory in Edenton, NC to Florida, were found
dead in the Neuse River almost two weeks ago.
Knowing What, But Not Why
Coast Guard Lieutenant Charles Fluke, one of the investigators
in the case, said Tuesday that he was "confident"
that the shaft seal rupture caused the sinking. He added that
they were "not so sure why" the rupture itself happened.
The shaft seal, under normal circumstances, is supposed to keep
water from getting in to the boat via the propeller shaft opening.
In some boats, the packing around the shaft allows some water
in -- a drip -- in order to cool the shaft. Other boats, such
as this sport fishing boat, had a "dripless" system
installed. It relies on injected cooling water to keep the bearings
cooled.
In the case of the sunken boat, Lt. Fluke says, "we know
the hose was melted down.. and ripped." That let water
in to the boat.
How fast the water got into the engine compartment is unclear.
Lt. Fluke told TownDock.net on Tuesday that the boat had three
bilge pumps, each rated at 2,000 gallons an hour.
Lt. Fluke says he is forwarding details of the case to the Coast
Guard’s Marine Safety Office in Washington, DC. “They’ll
do the math,” Lt. Fluke says, to determine the rate at
which water entered the boat.
Another issue before the investigators is what caused the rupture
to happen in the first place. The investigators say they have
to remove the shaft to get a better idea. Among the possibilities:
overheating, a seizure, a mechanical failure, a failure of the
water pump that provides cooling water.
Those factors could help determine how much time the crew had
to deal with the problem. The boat-width engine "hatch",
which covered a significant part of the boat’s floor,
was found in the open position when divers first got to the
boat last week. That might indicate that the crew detected a
problem and was investigating the engine.
Question: Could They Have Called
For Help?
Another question that looms in the case is whether the two men,
said to be experienced at delivering boats, called for help.
The Coast Guard says it has no record of any incoming distress
calls around the time they think the boat got in to trouble.
The boat, brand new from the factory, did not have a fixed VHF
radio with external antenna installed. The crew did have handheld
VHF radios. At least two were reported to have been found on
the boat. But at 5-watts, the signal from the handhelds from
the middle of the Neuse, may not have not strong enough.
The Coast Guard Commander for NC, Captain Dean Lee says that
when the Coast Guard itself was at the site of the sunken boat
in the middle of the Neuse River last week, their own handhelds
“weren’t working”. That is, they weren’t
reaching the Coast Guard stations.
The two men delivering the boat were also said to be carrying
cell phones. Lt. Fluke says that when he was out at the site
of the sunken boat last week he found that some cell phone services
-- Nextel and Alltell -- did work.
But that may have been moot if the cell phones were not nearby
when trouble broke out on the boat.
Lt. Fluke says that when the boat was brought to land, two cell
phones were found in a duffel bag near the front of the boat.
However, he added that with the floor hatch raised, the crew
would have had to climb four steps on a ladder to get over the
raised hatch in order to get forward.
Lt. Fluke says the final report on the case will consider the
communications question.
Weather Factor?
Another practical consideration may have been the conditions
on that Sunday February 5th, when the men set out to deliver
the boat from the Carolina Classic factory in Edenton to Florida.
In an earlier interview, Coast Guard Commander for NC, Captain
Dean Lee described the weather as “rough” on the
river and the lower Pamlico Sound, with winds of 30 knots.
“It's Never Just One Thing”
Among the Oriental residents following the case has been George
Wisnesky. During a 20-year career with the Coast Guard he worked
on boating safety issues and in the office that reviewed investigations
such as this.
Wisnesky says that "it’s never just one thing"
in a boat sinking or accident.
Sometimes, he says, "radios don’t work and next thing
there’s a squall line. And a heart attack .. "
When a problem arises, “it’s natural,” Wisnesky
says, for experienced sailors to think “’I can fix
this. I can do it all.’” instead of contacting the
Coast Guard to say, “I’ve got a problem. Please
stand by.’ and then put on PFD’s”
The case has captured the attention of many in Oriental, each
with a suggestion of whether it was weather, communications,
mechanical failure or a crew with little time in which to deal
with an emergency.
Amid the questions of why this boat sank and two men died, there
may also be lessons to help others avoid the same. In any event,
there are still more questions than answers.
How much did the weather contribute to the sinking and deaths?
Could the crew have made a cell phone call if their phones were
within easy reach?
Would they have survived if both men were wearing PFD’s?
(Only one man was found wearing a PFD. There were more PFD's
onboard.)
Could the boat have be run into shallow water for safety - allowing
them to simply walk to shore?
Could the crew have stood on the very top of the boat after
it sank and waited for help from a passing boat -- the Coast
Guard says the upper structure was 4 feet under the water surface
when a helicopter spotted it 5 days later -- or would the chop
that day on the river have kept them from staying with the sunken
boat?
Is a handheld VHF enough to have onboard?
Or is a fixed VHF (with its much great range) a must?
Related
Links:
Boat Delivery Turns Disaster,
Feb 11
