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The story of a 23ft spider


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Ok guys,just thought I'd share a story, hang with me tho , its a long one but worth sharing for many reasons:part 1 of the story starts close on a year ago, got an excited phone call from a good mate and fishing partner, “mate, I think I have found the bargain of the year”Goes on to tell me that he has been givin the heads up on a 23ft Huntsman that needs a tidy up for under 2K.I proceeded to discuss it with him with the usual bargains arn’t always bargains specially with boats etc, but if you need a hand with mech/fabrication I’m in.A week later he rings me again, this time in tow of the large Vessel, he is stoked, 23ft of 80’s fishing boat hitched on the back of his landcruiser and heading home.He tells me that trailer is for a 18ft boat, with no brakes and the boat has wiring issues thus the inboard V6 doesn’t go.He made it home OK and parked the thing in his front yard.So within a few weeks, I go up to have a look, nice boat, very sound hull, intact floor, transom, but sitting on a very dodgy trailer that is 1.5m too short and after closer inspection the V6 chev is seized and never goin to go again.Over the next 6months my mate (who is a mechanic) starts the refurbish, strips the V6 out, rips the carpet out and starts to generally tidy up the big “Huntzy” as we begin to call it.The plan is not to restore, but turn it into a boat he can load up with 4 mates and spend a weekend out in it, safely and sensibly fish out wide in it.Upon stripping the carpet out, he confirms the floor is really sound as is the rest of the hull. More research shows that the leg on the back is rated at 300HP+ and originally the big old boat was powered by a 350 chev. Makes the decision easy, it will get re-fitted with a crate 350, fingers crossed the leg is all good, seems fine.For the time being tho, he continues to fish in his 13ft tinnie, a few times alongside my 13ft plastic tub, all is swell, all the time, a few spare pennies get thrown at the “Huntzy”.It slowly comes along, floor re sealed and painted this time, a few excess seats are removed and a spanking new 350 gets installed. New risers etc and generally everything tidied up.It’s the middle of last summer and the deadline for completion gets set , snapper open this year!!, Nice I think.Its late March and havn’t spoken to my mate for a couple weeks, Im at work late on a Monday and get a phone call from another mate watching the 5 oclock news, he is all worried , “mate I just seen B***y, he is on the news, his boat capsized off KI,”” holy s**t, you sure its him”…… “ yeh, they spent the night on the upturned hull, rescued in the morning, boat looks stuffed tho”Im like: “you sure? I didn’t think the “Hunzty” was finished yet?” He replies “it a 2 tone hull , white over blue, big bow rail, it’s the Hunzty man, has to be, B**y was on there, wrapped in the silver blanket”I hang up and start trying to call my mate, his phone is turned off, so I start calling mutal friends, no one knows anything………Part 2 coming in afew hrs, must do some work.

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Ok, part 2:Its not till the next day that a mutal friend calls me, I’m relieved to hear that B**y only had to spend a few hrs in hospital and that the Huntzy was safe and sound in his front yard, he was in a mates boat on the weekend!!!!Later on that day, my phone rings, it’s my mate, shaken up but doing OK. He’d been resting, trying to figuring stuff out and getting around to ringing all worried parties.Hard to do when his phone, keys, wallet any fishing gear he’d owned was now on the sea floor of investigator straight!!!We spoke for a small while, got the basics of what happened and was just relieved to hear he was OK and the Hunzty was on dry land awaiting a date with the electrician for a full rewire, it was his mates 23ft Young craft that went under.At this stage I hadn’t met this mate, but there was 3 off them on the boat.A few days later we caught up and got a proper rundown on what happened that night:They’d left on a sat morn, out from Wirrina and had told everybody they would be back late Sunday. 3 off them onboard, had been doing well on the KG's till the early hrs of the night. Then they settled for a sleep before sunrise.My mate was sleeping in the cab, skipper next him, other passenger, dozing out the back in a swag when he noticed water coming over the gunnel and transom.He woke the others up, and at first they tried to start bailing water, it soon became obvious it wasn’t working. They had little time, the boat was going under quickly. In the Kaos, the skipper was grabbing the life jackets but as per most boaties, they where stashed well away. In the mean time, my mate and the other guy, throw the ice chest ( with all the KG’s in it ) over board and jump in and hang on.The boat went under in less than a minute they reckon, Skipper wasn’t to be seen straight away. He popped up a few moments later, the other boys called him over to the tub. In the mayhem, he had dropped the epirb, couldn’t be sure it was activated and didn’t get the jackets. All the while, the contents of the boat started floating past them etc and they could make out the dim glow from the lights of the boat under the water about 50-60m away. They made their way over and took up a position each on the bow of the upturned hull, using the bow rail as a foot rest. The lights on the boat stayed on for an hr or so, then went off.Just to recap, they where 18nm off the closest land, dodge tide with a 1.5m swell, 4 o’clock in the morn, no life jackets, pretty confident the epirb hadn’t gone off and going under every 15 secs or so (baot was still at anchor) due to the swell coming thru. No one was going to even start looking for another 20 hrs or so. They had already said their good byes and spent quiet a few moments in silence reflecting on their lives prior to sunrise.It wasn’t till daybreak that things took a turn for the better. Sun came up and they could now see into the water. The youngcraft was a centre cab walk around, and up against the inside of one of the cab windows, in an air pocket they could make out the reflective band of the epirb hard up to the glass!!IWith new found hope, determined to save the day, the skipper, attempted to swim under to get the epirb. Quite a mean feat considering the conditions and the size of the boat! It was a fair old swim all the way to the back of the boat , enter the cab, grab the epirb, then swim back out, all in 1 breath, after bouncing in the cold ocean for 3 hrs.Skipper tried a few times, but being a smoker had limited lung capacity. B***y was the was the only non smoker, so he had a shot. On his second attempt, he resurfaced , epirb in hand!!!They where airlifted within 1hr of activation, and where told another couple hrs in the water and they would've been in trouble!!! Il let the story sink in now, and let people reflect on what happened and how to avoid it.Il continue with part 3 and 4 of the story and my thoughts 2morro.But for now, my mate is a hero in my books……but much much the wiser.Now for your thoughts:

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It's very easy for us to sit back in the comfort of our homes, dissecting the issue, pointing mistakes, and speculating on what should have happened.That's vastly different to what actually happens on the water during the dead of night though.Boating can be dangerous, especially in some of the waters we have around here, so preperation, experience, maintenance and knowhow can make the difference between a safe and happy voyage and imminent disaster.I'm sure a lesson or two have been learnt, and we could also learn a few things from this tale! How many of us go onto friends vessels for a trip and know where all the lifejackets and safety gear is stored? How many know how to activate an epirb or set off a flare? How many can keep a level head in a crisis? How many can call for assistance on the radios? How many can use the GPS to accurately convey our current position? How many know what to do when you are in the water, and how to retain your body heat? How many could take the controls if the skipper were injured or worse?It's so important to keep the epirb and lifejackets within arms reach, ensure all safety equipment is on board, operative, in date, and that you also know how to use the stuff, because when things go wrong on the water, they tend to go wrong very very quickly.I keep my lifejackets strapped under the bimini with occy cord, so that they are up out of the way, but always close handy and directly overhead.At the end of the day, the safety of all on board is the skippers responsibility, none of us should take that responsibility lightly, and this tale should serve as a warning to us all.It's also so important to listen to your skipper and be ready to act, and there's no room for arguements or debate. On the water the skipper is the boss and if you go out with him you should be prepared to do as he says, when he says, without question. He is ultimately responsible for your safety and he's gonna have his hands full in a crisis.I'm glad to hear that your friends all made it back safely, and that rescue teams acted promptly.I'm also interested to hear what actually caused the boat to take on water.

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Thanx for your post ranger, you are 100% right, lots of should'ves would'ves and could'ves but until your put in the situation its all speculation.The point of this thread is not to boast about hero's or bag out peoples shortcomings, but to help, /educate and learn from other's experience, ultimatly so we can enjoy our angling, whilst being safe and understanding the enviroment we put oursleves in. Plus, the story of the Hunzty has a good ending, a celebration of sorts.:cheer: I also know why the Youngcraft went down and will spill the beans next installment

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Definitely a very lucky break for your mates , and just goes to show that while on the water you can never be too prepared!It sounds like they had the Epirb with the immediate recognition feature, as opposed to one of the more base models that apparently can take some time to have their signals recognised

Now for your thoughts:

Sleep with a lifejacket on :blink:;)
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Every now and then I think about getting one of them life jackets that you can wear and it only inflates if you hit the water. The amount of money spent on Navionic charts, boat fuel, lures and fishing reels, not to mention the boat itself, it would make sense to get myself one of these.But instead I'm guilty of heading out to the horizon with the lifejackets stuffed in the bow. Good story so far mate, those youngcraft are a top boat too, so I'll be interested to hear what did her in.

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Morning guys, part 3.Like I said, they had launched from Wirrina, and where airlifted to flinders. The searescue boat had also gone out to over sea the airlift and stay with the sunken Youngcraft.Whilst in the hospital, Searescue rang the skipper to see what he wanted to do with the boat. They informed him that a large charter operator offered to retrieve the Youngcraft for $$$$ and asked the skipper to ring his insurance company to see if they’d cover it.In the meantime, the big Police rescue vessel rocked up on site and somehow dragged the boat all the way back to Wirrina. How exactly I don’t know. But here the skipper's brother managed to put it back on the trailer and take it home.My mate spun out when arriving home later that day from the hospital to see that the Youngcraft was sitting in the skipper's front yard!! (they are neighbours)The boat was back on dry land, internals ruined, and 90% of their gear was gone.The new motor ruined, but the rest of the hull looked sound with all the bungs still installed. At this stage its wasn’t clear how the 23ft plate Ali Youngcraft went under, but they where 3 lucky guys!!The Skipper had used the boat on the previous weekend, with wife and young family!!Understandably,angry/confused as to why it went under, and but not really caring about what happened next.The thing went to one of Adelaide biggest boat yards to await the insurance asses. He really didn’t car why, what or how, he was just glad to be alive and ready to cut his loses.The boat had recently had a major overhaul, full rewire, new electronics and a brand spankers 225hp outboard. All of it was ruined…..Months pass, and my mate slowly gets his head around what had happened, declined a few offers out in my tub, and his tinnie stayed dry for the winter, all the while the Huntzy sat idle in the front yard with the odd tinkerIn the next 3 months or so, he slowly started to get back onto the Huntzy, the big girl got sent to the electrician to get a full rewire. A new engine cover was made for the bigger motor, all the small things started to come together and I get a phone call.He’d stumbled across a second hand trailer for a song that we wanted to try the boat on, so arrangements where made to head to the ramp and see how it would go.Having a fabricating background, I was asked to attend the floating and see how it would sit on the new trailer and see what mods where needed.Upon arrival, I quickly got a true indication of how these big old boats sit in the water. Its was wide, solid and just purpose full. Not fancy or showy, just a nice roomy old boat that us boys could do some serious fishing out wide in and not care too much about some squid ink or blood on nicely trimmed internals.Moment of truth: the “new” trailer was reversed into the water and the Hunzty whinched on, yanked out and after close inspection the hull sat on it perfectly!!!I had a good look at the trailer, and it was rusty, but still safe. Working brakes, and more importantly, the right length!A deal was struck, and the Huntzy (which also tested to be water tight) had a new home a little bit rusty, but a huge improvementIt was on this day that I met the skipper of the Youngcraft for the first time.He was down there and I said hello’s only.But I did ask my mate what the post mortem on the sunken vessel was.After lots of mucking around, the insurance company had come to the party and the hull inspected.I was told that under the captain’s helm, in the hull of the boat, a 300mm crack running lengthwise with the hull was found.( in the plate, not a weld).In addition, the seals on the transom mounted scuppers leaked.From what I gather, once at anchor, the hull of the boat started to take on water, and in the dark and with the swell running it must’ve been hard to tell the hull was sitting lower in the water. Whilst the boys where sleeping, and the hull getting lower, the scuppers might’ve started letting water in as well and once a few splashes start coming over it just snowballed.No one remembers hearing or feeling anything, whilst moving or at anchor.That’s the story I got, and not my place to question it. At this point, the major points that stick in my head are: Know who to activate you epirb and keep it and your lifejackets handy, especially in the dark.Make sure all on board know where they are and at first sign of serious trouble don’t hesitate to activate that epirb!!It’s easy on dry land, with a clear head and a non sinking boat to say would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, but the fact is not many will have ever experienced anything like this.After such an ordeal, I think there is a couple ways of thinking about it, you either swear off boats, not worth the risk of it happening again, or figure that you survived such an extreme ordeal, that if encountered again, you will be much wiser, better prepared and handle it better.I prefer the later, and hope by telling this story we all think the same.Anyway, part 4, the happy ending, after lunch!!

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Some sound advice there.there's a saying...If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.Everytime i talk to a new audience to give a lecture/brief etc... first thing we do is point out to everyone where the exits are and evacuation points in case of an emergency.must say... never pointed them out to people getting into the boat for a first time. that may change now....

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Looking forward to the next installment.Also, I've been mulling over possible causes for the "crack" and the area you mention may have suffered mechanical work stress, constant bending of the aluminum may cause it the harden and crack. Although it is more likely to stretch rather than crack I would have thought.The most likely cause of the crack though, would be a phenomena known as 'hydrogen embrittlment". It is much more of a problem with harder metals such as steel, and the vehicle industry has to be very careful of it.Basically, hydrogen atoms get into the metal during process and cause inherent weekness. The hydrogen pockets begin to aggregate and presto cracks appear. In aluminum which is inherently ductile and softer, it is less common. But if it is there "hydrogen", then salty solutions ie saltwater, will speed the process.Anyway, thought this might be of interest, all the welders out there will know what I'm on about. I could be wrong though. With Young Craft being a respected manufacturer of big plate boats, it would make sense for it to be the material rather than the design or workmanship. Just goes to show that we are only in control of so much out there.Here's a link to H embrittlment in aluminum for anyone interestedhttp://www.seas.harvard.edu/ekaxiras/pubs/Papers/PRL_94_155501.pdf

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Never ever heard of a problem with one of Youngie`s boats. Saw one he was repairing that had been run onto rocks at 10 knots & it still didn`t split the 6mm plate,dented it pretty well but no hole. One of the most sturdily constructed & best riding boats ever put on the water. Same with his fibre-glass ones. Got nothing but praise for the bloke.

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Good post.There's a lot to think about if you venture out on the water - especially at night.One thing doesn't seem to get a lot of attention. Have you ever run a man overboard recovery drill on your boat? That's a sure fire way of finding out what works and what doesn't, and whether you really should be out there - especially in the dark.How would you handle it?What if you were the one that went over the side?Cheers,

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We practiced a real life recovery out bloodworming one night in the dead of July.Gotta say, it's not easy trying to haul a cold, wet and shocked fisherman aboard without a gaff!He wasn't wearing a pfd at the time, and luckily we were in some pretty sheltered waters.Got his wet clothes off, wrapped him in a space blanket, gave him a hot cuppa and stuck him in the shelter of the cabin. Only damage was to his pride and his mobile phone.

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That's a great write-up Ale, and a very sobering review of a potentially life-threatening occurrence (I can't call it an "accident"). I reckon you've probably given a few people a bit of a kick in the pants regarding safety and preparation (myself included).HOPE FOR THE BEST, PLAN FOR THE WORST.Top post. Glad to hear that a few wrinkled fingers, some lost gear and a buggered boat was all that was suffered; there have been more than enough souls already surrendered to the water.Cheers.

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Well, its been over a week since I said Id post the last instalment!!For those who still are still interested, better late than never:It was Friday night of the October long weekend and I get an SMS from my mate, all it said was “tings?” I replied saying the tides where crap all weekend, it would be hard work but I’d be keen regardless, my tub or his tinnie?One word answer: “Huntzy”. I jumped out off the couch straight away and didn’t ask, TOLD the minister for leisure, Il be out all day Monday.So at a gentlemen’s hr of 7oclock I got to the ramp, waited a few minutes to finally spot the Landcruiser come up over the hill, with the huntz in tow, almost dwarfing it. It was game on!!!Got the big girl into the water, and she fired straight up, the sound more reminisant of a speedboat burbling away on the murray than what I was used to at sullies ramp!!Quickly introduced to the first mate, the captain of the ill fated Youngcraft.Slowly motored out of the harbour, headed out towards the barges in 0.5m of glassy swell, just putted out there, keeping the revs of the brand new chev pretty low.At this stage, she hadn’t done many hrs on the water, just a few close in sorting any niggles out the previous week.My mate had been out the previous day aswell, just putted around and got a bag of squid with the missus on board in close. But today was the first time with fishing rods, considering the tides where crap, fish in the esky where going to be a bonus.As the day went on, my mate got more confidence in the big old boat, We covered a lot of kms in the end.,Started in close but as the day went on we headed out wider, 15km out off Myponga as an example.We also gave the big boat a few more revs as the day got on. At one stage our handhelds had the big girl cruising at 45km/hr over the light swell. Handling it like a champ and with more in it!! She didn’t miss a beat, even the dolphins surfing in the big boats wake seemed to love the Huntz.It ended up being an oarsome day on the water, we covered a lot of kms, and even tho the fishing was slow, we ended up with a couple little pinks in the esky, a handful of leatheries, some more squid and a few solid black backs from trolling the Porties reef on the way back home. Not a standout day for the esky, but like I said it was a bonus.It was great to see these 2 guys back out on the water. A special bond had formed between them that will be there for no doubt, a long time.First mate’s confidence also grew as the day went on, more and more hands on, and my mate got the hang of the big girl quickly. Easily steering and manouvering the big boat in shallow breaking swell around Gull rock and behind Porties reef.First mate, informed me he had just got himself a 4m tinny to have some fun with his kids in, and was slowly getting comfortable with the ocean again.No doubt it will be a matter of time before he is in a big boat of his own again.As for the Hunzty, its been used every weekend since, hasn’t missed a beat and providing my mate with great rewards for all his hard work and persistance.Lastly, a few points mentioning:The tub they clung onto that night off KI?, No one knows where it and its bag of big whitting went, but every body hopes that the guys at searesuce shared them.The epirb that saved their lives that night, got sent away to sydney to get checked over and re-certified.It now proudly lives in the huntzy, right next to the captain’s helm, in easy reach of everybody, right next to the lifejackets. A good luck charm of sorts, a sign of many a lessons learnt and many happy times to come from now on.

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  • 10 years later...

Hi you guys

I hope you get this as the post I’ve just read is a fairly old one.

last year my 7.8 Young Craft mysteriously sank in the marina, to say I was devistated is an understatement, I had just fitted a new 250 v8 Merc with complete wiring and instrument upgrade, 14 hours old. Luckily I was able to claim insurance but it has remained a mystery as to why it went down. Since the event I have put the boat into a sea pen, thinking that this will be right now, but I am still getting water into the bilge, I have always put this down to perhaps leaking decks, but after reading your story I’m wondering there’s something more sinister going on. Could you please let me know we’re in the hull the crack was found. I have just slipped the boat to replace the deck and after removing the old deck material have discovered that no way was the water getting in via the deck. Hopefully you firstly get this note and secondly can help me with my investigations.

cheers    Mick

 

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