- Aug 25, 2008
- 1,819
- Boat Info
- 2006 320 V-Drives 6.2s, Bow Thruster, Generator, Raymarine C80, Radar, Fish Finder
- Engines
- 6.2 Horizons 320HP
BTW, after goign throught this thread and the one I was referring to earlier people may think what are the chances to collide with a whale? I agree, but hitting a log is much higher chance and I don't see a huge difference between hitting a whale or a large size log, which can make a hole in the hull much faster due to sharp edges or something like branches sticking out. This though is aways in my mind when I think about Hudson river or anywhere in that area. Actually, when I was delivering my friend's boat from Hungtingto LI last season we came only few feet away from hitting half of the floating telephone pole. That's when I said good think that his boat doesn't go faster than 8pmh. Imagine hitting this thing at cruising speed with your Sea Ray?
Alex
My boating experience started in the Jersey City/Bayonne/lower Hudson area. I spent over 10 years boating in those waters. Logs and other debris were (and still are) a fact of life and I did hit a few. The difference is that you expect debris to be in the water and you spend most of your time scanning the water for it. Hitting a whale on the ocean is not something you expect or would even see coming. (I'm sure the chance of getting struck by lightening is much higher.)
Your comments are valid, but I would not avoid a trip to Long Island or the Hudson out of fear of hitting something. You just need to keep an eye out for debris and plan on making course changes. If you find your self out at night, just keep it slow. One trick that I used to do was to follow another boat heading in the same direction. My theory was that if something was in the water, the guy in front would hit it first or change course to avoid it. Debris in the water is worse after a high tide and a heavy rain.
15+ years ago most of the really dangerous crap floating around Manhattan came from rotting docks and piers. Thankfully, most of that has been cleaned up. Today most of the big items floating around are tree branches that float down the Hudson River. They are usually pretty easy to see and avoid.
For what it is worth, I don't know of any stories where a boat actually sank because they hit a log. However I have seen some hull damage, busted sterndrives and plenty of bent props sitting around the marinas as a result of hitting something submerged.
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