Submerged Log!!

[JDowns]

I don't actually have a question for the group; I'm just sharing my pain....

We found a submerged log the hard way this weekend (off Browns Point in the South Sound). Running 18 - 20 knots, no warning. Just sequential booms following by the "wheeee!" sound of an over-reved diesel. We see plenty of them around the Sound, but this one got us completely by surprise even though we had two people on watch at the time. Though the water was rough and we did have a problem with glare on the heading.

A pleasant day out on the water turned bad in a moment. Not only were we just off a lee shore with limited propulsion and steering capability, but we also had water coming in from the extracted drive shaft. After a few tense minutes, we got most of the water stopped with rags, freed up the rudders, and limped back home on the port engine with CG monitoring our progress.

She went up on the rack this morning. We don't know all of the damage yet, but the starboard shear pins, prop, shaft, and cutlass are all toast. The rest of the starbaord drivetrain, rudders, port prop & driveshaft, hull, et cetera will get checked out this week.

I can tell everyone this much right now, if it wasn't for the driveshaft zincs colliding with (and trashing)the cutlass, the starboard driveshaft would have pulled completely out of the hull and we would have had a lot larger of a leak to contend with and all steering would have been lost as well. When she goes back in the water, we will have those wooden emergency thru-hull plugs for this location as well.

Fun times....

[joreyn]

Sorry to hear about that. Deadheads (submerged logs) are the number one cause of insurance claims in the boat/yacht market in Puget Sound. Many claims where the shaft or an outdrive have been ripped away from the boat with disastrous consequences.

If you have insurance, your policy should pay for this, minus your deductible.

Sometimes you can't avoid deadheads, even in ideal conditions. They are often floating about 18" below the surface, and often they are floating vertically. They are very waterlogged, and they float at the depth where they achieve neutral buoyancy.

One tip, especially valid this time of year. When there are very high tides like we have been having, and strong winds in addition, beached logs are scoured off the beach and float around until they land somewhere. Many of those beach logs are very waterlogged, increasing the danger of deadheads. High tides and high winds. A bad combination when it comes to deadheads in Puget Sound.

[JDowns]

That's exactly what got us. We were out on a high tide so I could check out a project on the Hylebos when we hit it. The wind picked up and kept it obscured from our watch until it was too late.

On the upside, I bumped into another Albin owner at the boat yard this evening. Turns out it was Mariner. Small world...

[whwells]

JDowns: This is a really late comment. I did not notice your submerged log post until tonight. Sorry to hear of if. We all will be very careful with your warning. However, sometimes these are just not avoidable.

How has your repairs gone? Wishing you speedy repairs and a nice Easter Holiday Weekend.

whwells "Howard"
Anacortes, Wa.

[Veebyes2]

Hitting something is never a good sound. Struck a coral head with our A27 once. Chipped the gelcoat on the keel. If the boat had been an exposed prop instead of full keel with shoe, the prop, rudder etc. would have been toast too.

I love my single

[JDowns]

Well it only took fifteen grand to get her going again, but we are finally back in the water and running through everything to make sure we didn't miss something. Three months is a long time up on the hard....

Watch for those logs!!!!