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C-Otter

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C Dory Year
1985
C Dory Model
22 Classic
Hull Identification Number
DOR22242H585
Vessel Name
C-Otter
Just heard on the news that the 34'-0 sailboat that capsized watching fireworks in New York last night had 27 persons aboard, three children died.

Is their any common sense left in this country? C-Otter
 
Probably does belong in the "general"--section. It was not a sailboat, it was a Silverton 34 with a flying bridge this is a motor boat. Yes 27 people are too many for a 34 footer. I was forced due to safety issues to take 36 people (and yes I had enough life jackets) on my 42 foot Symbol motor yacht. That was too many--but proportionately the volume of the Symbol was over twice that of the Silverton--and no-one was injured.

There are some 34 foot boats which are designed for over 20 passengers, but not that Silerton. A sailboat would have been more stable, but it probably would not have had the deck area to allow that many people aboard.

Blamed on waves/wake. It was overloading.

Yes, bad things happen. You may have noticed an astronaut was killed on a PWC in Pensacola over the last weekend. He and one sone (early 20's) were on one PWC, and the other son also in 20's ran into them. Apparently just didn't see them. The one killed (and that son injured) were stopped. That is not the first incident of people being killed in the same location PWC which were stopped.

All of these a great tragedies and one wonders how the families are able to cope'! Nothing can be done to prevent this, short of doing head counts and increasing the educational requirement--and I doubt that would make a difference.
 
Looking at the design of that boat, it looks like it has a two person bridge. It would take very few extra bodies up high on the fly bridge to make a good sized wave pitch the thing past the point of no return.
 
Usually seating for 4 or 5 on that model. It's a fairly wide design and a moderate V, so it would take a lot of weight to roll one over. Way too many people aboard that size of boat.
 
With excess weight aloft in a boat will markedly decrease its stability. One New Years eve, I (sober) took about a dozen of my friends out on our Symbol 42. Heavy boat with 500 gallons of fuel, 300 gallons of water and two Cats down low, and a little trim ballast in the bilge. 6 were on the flying bridge, and 3 in the main saloon. Three who had a bit to drink decided that they would run back and forth across the foredeck (flush--no cabin) and see how much they could roll the boat. After a couple of trips back and forth, I put an end to that. I don't know if that 600 lbs shifting back and forth would have capsized the boat or not, but it sure got it rolling a lot more than most seas we encountered.

The 34 Silverton had some rough weather, plus a wake according to reports. Just those factors, with an overload would be enough to expect that stability would be minimal.
 
Well, I don't think a couple of cats down below are going to affect your ballast much. Maybe the kitty litter box would add some weight though:):)
 
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