Scuba Shack's Boat Get Wet Sinks in Key Largo

[oceanbound]

Very sad story

 

[Blue Sparkle]

BTW, What sort of things would a person look for on a boat, that would indicate maintenance problems? I'm guessing you don't want to see too much duct tape and baling wire.

(Warning, may be long and too detailed; feel free to skip!)

That's kind of a tough one, because while percentages might favor a boat that looks good being safer and better maintained, that's not a given. You can have a "rough" looking boat that is sound. Work boats especially: They are a tool to to do a job with, and, like a contractor's pickup truck, they may not always look pretty and shiny. They work for a living. They get banged around. To further the analogy, the dented bed and cracked window of that work truck don't have to mean the brakes are bad or the steering is going to give out. It might, but it also might not.

A lot of the things that I would look for as potential problems (if I were inspecting a boat, say), aren't things that it's probably going to be practical to check out as a diver hopping onto a boat. Are the hoses good? How about the clamps? Through-hulls? Do the valves close easily? Are the bilge pumps in good shape and installed intelligently? (Not that any normal bilge pump is going to keep up with a 3" or larger hole) Is the shaft crevice corroded? Coupler secure? How does the stuffing box look (if there is one)? Can the marine head siphon water in?

And then in addition to that you have things like: How big a seas is this boat going to be able to handle (you asked about windows: they are probably not going to be an issue unless they are subjected to "green water," say in large seas; but it all depends on the boat/design). Has a superstructure or gear been added that may affect the ultimate stability?

I can look at a boat and get some idea. And I do look around at boats (can't help myself, really) and see things I might wish were different. But basically I trust the boat just like anyone else does. Because there's not a practical way for me to make a full inspection (time or access). Just like I wouldn't inspect a bus or airplane (of course I do try not to fly...).

I don't meant to make it sound like you are powerless, or like you should just trust people blindly; but on the other hand I'm not sure there is a set list of things to look at, either, especially on a working vessel. Note that I'm not saying this as an absolute, but more as I would if we were sitting around the table discussing this, and this is just my first thought, subject to discussion.

Edited to add: I was just talking to my usual buddy, who is also a boater, and asked him what he thought along these lines. What he said echoes what I do, now that I think about it. And that is this: I check out the whole operation: Do they seem conscientious? Are things -- if not completely shiny around the shop and on the boat -- at least tidy? Does the captain seem like the sort of person who is conscientious? How seriously does he or she approach the safety briefing? Does he/she sort of laugh off the idea of a problem, or discuss the possibility and explain how to handle it?

If I get a good feeling about the above matters, then I generally just go on trust with the boat (unless I see something obviously egregious, of course), and presume they have maintained it properly.

Blue Sparkle

 

[Hetland]

I check out the whole operation: Do they seem conscientious? Are things -- if not completely shiny around the shop and on the boat -- at least tidy? Does the captain seem like the sort of person who is conscientious? How seriously does he or she approach the safety briefing? Does he/she sort of laugh off the idea of a problem, or discuss the possibility and explain how to handle it?

Reputation goes a long way too.

Sparkle's comment about all boats being different rings true as well. I've been on deck and taken a 6ft wave in the face (6ft above the deck that is) fully expecting to be washed overboard, or sunk. Twenty seconds later, the deck was clear and we were still underway.

 

[spoolin01]

I wonder if the boat had a leak. It operated for years with removable hatches. If there was a leak the hull would be loaded with water, when the boat was throttled up all the water that was evenly distributed would rush to the back of the boat, sinking the stern, followed by everyone on board.

I just read the Herald story, it does sound like a pretty good leak

Seatow, a commercial salvage company, worked Monday afternoon to recover the boat and bring it back to land. The boat was brought to the surface, and the water pumped out. But it sank again.
Read more here: One dead, seven saved on sinking charter boat in Upper Keys - Florida Keys - MiamiHerald.com

This makes the most sense so far I'd say. A lot of information on the boat construction, sea conditions, and events just preceding the sinking is missing, but the prospect that small following seas alone sank the boat seems hard to believe, unless there were some serious gaps under serious desk wash. There must have been a leak below decks as well. That, and some big holes, would make the thrust, squat and sink theory a possibility.

The trapping of passengers is also hard to imagine, with even a minute of warning, unless one was in the head or in the bilge trying to deal with the problem. The only thing that comes to mind is a concern I've had - when things start to go bad you're supposed to be instructed to put on your flotation gear. That pretty much guarantees that when things go topsy turvy, you'll have a hard time swimming out of anywhere that's underwater. It also leaves a lot of sturdy strapping to catch on things.
But again, with one or two minutes notice on a boat that simply sinks by the stern, there should have been time to get free of the boat.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I've been on deck and taken a 6ft wave in the face (6ft above the deck that is) fully expecting to be washed overboard, or sunk. Twenty seconds later, the deck was clear and we were still underway.

If a boat has a self-bailing cockpit, and adequate scuppers (drains or slots where the water drains overboard), that's what you'd expect under normal conditions. Not all boats have self-draining cockpits, though, especially smaller ones (because the smaller the boat, the more of a challenge it is to have the cockpit sole above the waterline).

There are quite a few possibilities, when you consider the various boat designs and what can possibly fail or go wrong. It will be interesting to find out what did happen.

I took a look on line to see if I could get a better look at a 30' Burpee. I didn't do an exhaustive search, but I found mostly Burpees that were either smaller or larger.

Here is another 30' Burpee, a sister ship (sorry, the image was small to begin with):



And here is a Burpee 27' which looks similar although of course smaller. You can see that even this smaller boat does have a self-bailing cockpit - there is a largish oval scupper just to port of the transom door, under the "SC" in DISCOVERY. So probably the 30' does too. Also, at least on this boat, the transom door is level with the cockpit sole, so it can act like a large scupper.

A 30' can be exponentially larger than a 27', so there may be differences.

 

[japan-diver]

I highly doubt unsealed deck hatches causes this boat to sink. Looking at a Burpee design the hatches would have to be missing and a large amount of water would have had to come over the transom quickly to cause the boat to sink. A little silicone would not have been the difference. I suspect that the boat was somehow holed below the waterline- which would explain the resinking after salvage. This could be caused by shaft seals or drive seals or a variety of other problems. Saw a boat sink out here on the reef 2 years back when they broke a shaft and water overwhelmed the bilge pumps in about 5 minutes she went down.

 

[LynnB]

This makes the most sense so far I'd say. A lot of information on the boat construction, sea conditions, and events just preceding the sinking is missing, but the prospect that small following seas alone sank the boat seems hard to believe, unless there were some serious gaps under serious desk wash. There must have been a leak below decks as well. That, and some big holes, would make the thrust, squat and sink theory a possibility.

The trapping of passengers is also hard to imagine, with even a minute of warning, unless one was in the head or in the bilge trying to deal with the problem. The only thing that comes to mind is a concern I've had - when things start to go bad you're supposed to be instructed to put on your flotation gear. That pretty much guarantees that when things go topsy turvy, you'll have a hard time swimming out of anywhere that's underwater. It also leaves a lot of sturdy strapping to catch on things.
But again, with one or two minutes notice on a boat that simply sinks by the stern, there should have been time to get free of the boat.

We were diving on that boat for a week in July. There are no heads on it or cabins.
Very sad. My thoughts are with all that to experience this....

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Okay, hopefully I'm not boringly taking over the thread here; as you can tell I have an interest in boats. Anyway, I was just remembering an incident I was involved in (years ago) where a boat basically sank out from under me in just a couple of minutes.

The vessel was a steel pilothouse cruiser, around 45' long. Twin diesels, open cockpit aft with reasonably high gunwales. (It wasn't my boat, I was there as pickup crew for the owner/captain.) We were not really even underway yet, in a practical sense, but had just left the home dock and puttered over to the fuel dock. There was another boat there taking on fuel, so we had to jog around a bit while waiting for our turn. Since the boat had twin engines, the captain was doing a bit of forward/reverse with the opposite throttles, which sort of "power holds" you in one spot (as opposed to drifting semi/aimlessly). The water was utterly calm and flat.

Next thing you know, we were going down by the stbd/stern. And I mean quickly. Just as I yelled to the captain (I was on deck; he was in the pilothouse), he also figured out something was wrong (by the growing list), shut the engines down (trying to avoid/minimize water damage) and ran back to the cockpit. He flung open the cockpit hatches and jumped down into the very-rapidly filling engine room/bilge to see if he could figure out where the water was coming from, but there was no way. We were sinking too fast and there was already too much water in the bilges to see what was going on.

So, we "ran for the pumps" (in addition to the automatic bilge pumps). The boat had a gasoline powered pump which we rushed to get running. The water was rising incredibly quickly - it was all happening much faster than I can even type this. Somehow in all this the other boat moved off the fuel dock and we drifted a bit closer to it, and they threw us another pump/hose (maybe it was the pump-out hose? I can't remember).

Fortuitously, the Coast Guard HQ was right across the street, and they were THERE, nearly instantly, with two massive pumps (800gph sticks in my mind; not sure if that is correct). These were large pumps that lived in 55-gallon type barrels, just for this type of occasion. So within probably 2 minutes of when we first started to take on water, we had our bilge pumps, another gasoline pump, the pump-out hose from the dock, and one of the big Coast Guard pumps running. Even so the water kept rising and got to within inches of coming over the gunwales, which would have meant "curtains" for the boat.

Then, seemingly simultaneously, the CG got their second pump running, and also came alongside with one of their vessels and tied up to our port side. Between that, and the pumps, and the fact that there was a Travelift well about 100 yards away, we were saved (we picked a good place to start sinking). The CG vessel got us over to the lift, and they put the slings around our boat, and with a slight lift + the pumps all running we were able to keep from sinking. The boat drained for hours once it was up in the slings.

After most of the water was out, we were able to find what had caused the problem: A 3" exhaust hose had slipped off it's through-hull fitting (later, when the owner really dug in there, it seemed as though the hose had been a tight fit - not unusual - and the previous owner had decided to apply large quantities of grease to get the hose to slip on... not recommended). I wasn't there at the exact time of the hose dissection, so I'm not sure what the fitting or clamps looked like (I was walking around town getting various parts and supplies).

The good thing was, no-one was hurt and the boat was even saved. The CG was very quick and professional. Unfortunately, both engines were ruined (water ingress), and the boat was a major mess due to the fact that the water had come through the engine room and bilges, then partially filled the cabins, so that when it receded it left an oily film over everything. Yuck. I had some electronics all the way up forward in the V-berth and even they were wet/ruined.

I did learn some lessons that day. I should have done more "homework" on the boat (this was not a commercial vessel, but just an acquaintance-of-a-friend boat owner). The owner was relatively new to the boat, and when I had been on the boat the week prior, for some sea trials, I had noticed some pretty un-ship-shape things. But I didn't "bring them up," probably relying a bit too much on the fact that the captain was a former CG member, and, well... the captain. I should have.

I also should have critiqued the set up a bit more (again, it was a private boat; not a for-hire vessel, so safety equipment was a bit more "optional"). For example, when I looked it over later, with the thought of sinking in mind, I found that there was no adequate life-raft - or even dinghy. If the hose had come off in open water, I would have been in for a 100-mile swim in icy-cold water (not too survivable).

While this doesn't directly relate to dive boat, I just wrote it down it because it shows how fast a boat can sink with "only" a small hole below the waterline. In our case we also went down by the stern almost immediately. It was so lucky that we were near a dock and a CG station. I got to live and learn.

Blue Sparkle

 

[Jax]

2 divers trapped as boat sinks

Woman drowns, man remains in critical condition
CITIZEN STAFF

One recreational diver is dead and another was in critical condition Monday after a commercial dive boat overturned Sunday afternoon at Molasses Reef with the captain, a crew member and six passengers aboard, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Aimee Rhoades, 36, of Washington state, was one of two divers trapped below deck on the dive vessel Get Wet, which is operated by the Scuba Shack in Key Largo. Rhoades was pronounced dead by paramedics with the Key Largo Volunteer Ambulance Corps at the docks at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, said FWC spokesman Bobby Dube. The other diver, Amit Rampurkar, 27, of New York, was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in Miami, where he was in critical condition Monday, Dube said.

The 24.5-foot vessel had just left a mooring at Molasses Reef and was powering up when the captain noticed the boat was taking on water, said Dube. The boat quickly capsized and sank, trapping two of the six customers in the forward cabin.

A nearby boater on the vessel Visibility contacted Coast Guard Station Islamorada at 3:15 p.m. as it helped rescue divers from the Get Wet, according to Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer 2nd Class Nick Ameen. The captain of the Get Wet, who was not identified by the Coast Guard or FWC, dove into the submerged cabin and pulled Rhoades and Rampurkar to the surface. Both reportedly were unconscious.

Both were taken aboard the Visibility, where CPR was administered as they were rushed to Pennekamp, said Ameen. Neither the Coast Guard nor the FWC released the names of those aboard Visibility who helped with the rescue.

"The Coast Guard is thankful for Good Samaritans on the water who maintain a watchful eye and stand ready to assist boaters in distress," Coast Guard Capt. Pat DeQuattro said in a prepared statement. "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims of this tragic occurrence."

A commercial salvage company has been contacted to salvage the vessel. Ameen said the Coast Guard is investigating the sinking.

The Scuba Shack opened a year ago at the Seafarer Resort in Key Largo. No one answered the phone at the scuba business Monday.

Molasses Reef is southeast of Key Largo and just east of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

 

[Jax]

Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Diver, 36, Trapped Inside Charter Boat, Dies in Florida Keys

Aimee Rhoads, 36, a tourist diver from Washington state, was pronounced dead after emergency workers performing CPR could not revive her on Sunday (December 18). Rhoads reportedly was trapped inside the cabin of a 25-foot charter boat that quickly sank in choppy seas in the Florida Keys.

Amit Rampurkarl, 27, of New York, also was trapped inside the cabin of the charter boat called "Get Wet," which is owned and operated by Key Largo Scuba Shack. Rampurkarl survived and was taken to Baptist Hospital in Kendall, although he remains in critical condition.

The other six people aboard the boat, including the captain and one crew member, all survived with no major injuries.

COMMENT: The tragedy happened not long after the divers completed their first of two planned dives on Molasses Reef, a popular spot about 30 feet deep and a few miles offshore of Key Largo in the Atlantic Ocean. The boat had just left one mooring spot and was enroute to a second dive location on the large reef when it began taking on water. The boat sank in less than three minutes.

Captain John Nathaniel dove into the cabin and retrieved Rhoads and Rampurkarl, who were unconscious. They were put on a commercial vessel from Pennekamp Park called "Visibility" that had arrived to help, and both were given CPR en route to Key Largo.

Key Largo Scuba Shack, which opened August 2010, has suspended its operations while investigators from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the US Coast Guard determine what happened.

The weather started out fairly calm but the winds picked up and the seas got choppier as the day progressed. The accident happened at about 1515, when winds were at least 15 mph and the seas were 3 to 4 feet.

Updates will be provided on this accident as information becomes available.