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View Full Version : Friend's Supra almost sank- is this common?



skiyaker
08-10-2010, 08:08 PM
Here's what happened to my friend and neighbor Sunday- I wasn't there but it sounded exciting. He was at cruising speed in his 24 ft supra (2006) when he apparently hit something below the surface. He never saw what it was but I know the lake he was on and he was in deep water, so best guess is that it was a big log or something. He immediately shut it off and put on his goggles to inspect the prop- that's when he noticed that his entire drive shaft had dislodged from the transmission and he could grab the prop and slide it back and forth along with the entire shaft. Soon after is when he notice his boat filling with water through the shaft hole. He quickly turned on the bilge and used all 3 of his ballast pumps to pump out water (until they submerged and shorted out) and signaled for a tow which apparently took awhile thanks to some jerks who refused to help out a sinking boat. He finally got back to the ramp and pulled the boat out but by that time he had water above the floor and his entire engine compartment was swamped when he pulled it up the ramp.

His boat is already in the shop so I don't have pics, but aside from the driveshaft being free he just has a little ding on one blade of the propeller to substantiate the fact that he hit something. No hull damage at all. Has anybody heard of this happening before? Had it been my little OBV it would have swamped the entire thing- and I hate to think I'm just one underwater obstruction away from having a total loss on my hands. Also would anyone have launched a flare in this situation? Sure I don't think his life or kids lives were really in danger but after all his boat was sinking-granted I'm told a modern boat has enough flotation to not completely sink. Anyways thanks for your thoughts!

ian ashton
08-10-2010, 09:18 PM
I think if it was me I would have stuffed something in the hole (thats what she said?) to stop or slow the flow. Its not that big of a hole (thats what she said?) to plug, I'm sure a rag or towel would have helped a ton.

skiyaker
08-10-2010, 09:37 PM
yeah I thought of that too- and on my boat it's easy to get to from inside but I guess on his he couldn't get to it from inside his boat without removing the floor. The rudder was keeping him from pulling the shaft completely out and stuffing the hole from underneath but dang I would have been shoving anything I could find around the shaft.

walb0244
08-11-2010, 12:03 AM
Dang. Glad he got to the ramp.

kaneboats
08-11-2010, 10:07 AM
That is a very odd and difficult thing to happen. No one can say exactly what they would have done. I'm sure his instinct was to plug the hole but when it's gushing in and you can't see where it's coming from it can be very difficult. Using the ballast pumps along with the bilge was smart and shows he had his head about him. You are right that modern boats will "swamp" but usually won't sink completely. I'm glad he got it to the ramp.

sandm
08-11-2010, 10:36 AM
if you can find the hole to plug, mush up the floatie on the keychain(you all have one right?) and stuff it in the hole. it should expand and fill most of it.
they were designed, from what I understand, to fill the hole where the plug goes incase you forgot to put it in and end up out on the lake..

I haven't heard of the propshaft coming out like that. sounds like it must have been a solid hit, and maybe one of those freak things?

Sled491
08-11-2010, 11:12 PM
When you get feedback from the shop I'd be curious to know if the bolts on the shaft coupler were all sheared off. That would make the most sense to me and would explain the shaft sliding.

skiyaker
08-13-2010, 09:40 PM
When you get feedback from the shop I'd be curious to know if the bolts on the shaft coupler were all sheared off. That would make the most sense to me and would explain the shaft sliding.

Sled from the third hand information I'm getting that's exactly what it sounds like. At the time it happened the water was calm, he was pulling a three person tube, he was in 50 ft of water, and nobody saw any floating debris including the tubers. Plus he has video of the tubers and it doesn't show anything in the water right after his boat jerks to the side. He had a ding on one prop blade and some scratches on the hull to suggest he hit something at one point- but he doesn't recall hitting anything that day prior to "the incident." It sounds like his boat will be in the shop for another week or two.

Seems like I've seen on this forum that lots of guys have hit rocks and stuff and this doesn't normally happen so that's good. I guess it underscores the importance of a thorough inspection after hitting anything.

Ian Brantford
08-13-2010, 10:37 PM
Sled from the third hand information I'm getting that's exactly what it sounds like. At the time it happened the water was calm, he was pulling a three person tube, he was in 50 ft of water, and nobody saw any floating debris including the tubers. Plus he has video of the tubers and it doesn't show anything in the water right after his boat jerks to the side. He had a ding on one prop blade and some scratches on the hull to suggest he hit something at one point- but he doesn't recall hitting anything that day prior to "the incident."[...]

If he hit a dead-head, it might have been pushed well underwater by the impact and not been visible for some time thereafter -- or ever.