27 people on a 34' boat sinks

There is a 34' Silverton Convertible docked next to me. Last summer they asked to borrow 5 PFDs. They were going out with 22 people on board. At least they had the sense to make sure they had a PFD for each passenger.
 
Owning a 1984 34' Silverton I can say, just having 4 people on the bridge when running you can feel a difference. I had 12 at the dock the other night and it was a bit cramped. A sad tragedy!
 
Sad and tragic indeed. That boat is from Huntington Harbor, only two marinas down from where I keep my '08 330DA. I know people who know the families. It's heartbreaking and was totally avoidable. I believe the FBI has taken over the salvage operation to make sure it's done without doing any damage to the boat. They are probably hoping to find nothing structural or mechanical so they can bring the owner of up charges. Even though he has to live with this for the rest of his life, he needs to be charged. Anyone with any common sense at all would know that 27 people is too many, dangerous, and just downright dumb.

My 330 does not have a capacity plate...however, the owners manual has capacity information. It's rated for 12 people + gear, maximum of 1360 kg or just under 3,000 lbs. Frankly when we have a family of 4 with us, bringing the total to 8, I feel like its cramped and we are at our limit.

May those three children rest in peace.
 
ChrisD11663 said:
Just saw this on the news. I don't do much boating on the north shore but when I do I notice a lot of inexperience up there. Very sad to see this happen.
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Youre a Idiot stay on the south shore . It is tragic what happened.Leave it at that.
 
troc said:
Youre a Idiot stay on the south shore . It is tragic what happened.Leave it at that.
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He didn't say *you* were an inexperienced boater, he said he personally noticed a lot of inexperience while boating in that area. Since when is personal observation an invitation to be called an idiot? Sensitive much?

And yes, it is certainly tragic that three children had to die because an idiot decided to put 27 people on a 34' Silverton. However since this is a thread to discuss the tragedy, telling other people to "leave it at that" seems a little misplaced.
 
No he made a blanket statement about northshore boaters. Yes i am sensetive about it I watched the helicopters fly over head while my four kids slept below. Those devisive statements dont help any body..Horrible judjment by the captain might help if common sense fails and somebody thinks that many people on board is ok
 
It is so sad and we must keep the people who lost their lives in our thoughts and prayers.. WE see this same deal play out on the 4th every year on the Kanawha River.. People will come out with their 'toons loaded with 15 and 16 people.. to 'see' the fireworks.. The 'toons are all the way down in the water which gives these craft alomst no way to steer correctly.. Thankfully this year the DNR was out in force and handed out a crap load of tickets.. good for them !!! And I hope all the "can't fix stupid" who were out there operating these death traps are pissed off when they write the check to the DNR...
 
I wish mine had a capacity plate. I cannot find one anywhere on the boat. My 88 340 is much larger (before 90, it was center line or gunwale length, does not include pulpit or swim platform, not LOA) than nymoneymrg but I cut the limit at 12 adults.
 
Our 1985 270DA has a capacity plate - 10 persons or 1500 lbs
We had (8) on board for our fireworks this year and that was enough, my preferred maximum.
I have made a day trip with (10) at one time but it was just too crowded.
Take and move half that to a bridge and I could only imagine the center of gravity change.
Being in charge of the situation every Captain needs to have a basic understanding of geometry and physics, if not, at least enough common sense to see something is not right. As everyone has been saying it's unfortunate for the loss of children.
 
OldSkool said:
The math for Old Skool is 10. She only weighs in at 3000LBS dry. Add 24gals of fuel, 48 quart ice chest and I'm only allowing 4 adults and a couple kids on board. Who thinks these formulas up?

BTW Mike, we are going to be full time on Shippensburg after the 14th on July. Might need to take a weekend and visit Williamsport again. I'll let you know.
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Sounds good for the visit.....anytime, Mike.
 
Talk about stand by your man (and perhaps his money): "James Mercante, an attorney for the boat's owner, has insisted that overcrowding was not a cause of the accident."
 
My guess is that boat had too many people on the flybridge to watch the fireworks which made it top heavy. It might have run into the wake of another boat while it was turning which could have caused it to lean, then being top heavy, caused it to capsize.

It is sad to see accidents like that happen, especially when they are preventable. It's more sad when children, who trust the adults to protect them, are lost when that trust is violated.
 
Gofirstclass said:
My guess is that boat had too many people on the flybridge to watch the fireworks which made it top heavy. It might have run into the wake of another boat while it was turning which could have caused it to lean, then being top heavy, caused it to capsize.

It is sad to see accidents like that happen, especially when they are preventable. It's more sad when children, who trust the adults to protect them, are lost when that trust is violated.
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I agree 100 percent!!
 
Captain said 27 lifejackets were on board? That would take up a lot of room.....my whole V Berth or Mid Cabin, Mike.
 
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