SMOKDU

ttt

Need-the-Speed

Smokdu,
If you have an opportunity to closely examine the boat, there are a few things that you may look for too answer a few q's. If you look at the helm of the vessel, you will see a drive indicator of some kind. It will be numeric. Write down the last setting or posistion of the drives. I believe numbers go from 0 to 9. In the same or very close location you will see a similar gauge for TABS. Record both of these settings. The speed of the accident will never truly be known but for your personnel info you may get a max (for the day) recall on the GPS speedo. This may give you an idea of the rate of deceleration (from 120 to 70 in 1/4 mile etc. etc.). I imagine that since they over shot the first stop, they pulled back on the sticks relatively hard. This factor could have given your brother a "false" sense that they were actually going at a slower rate than they really were as a result, he thought it was OK to make the turn. People get the same sensation when traveling on a 75mph (90mph ) Thru Way and get off at an exit with a 55 mph road. You don't realize your traveling 65. Your senses are still set for 90mph. The TAB and Drive settings will give clues if the attempted turn was properly "prepared" for or not. When a boat operator is setting up for a hard turn it is common practice to lower the drives a bit in attempt to get more "sticking power" to the transom of the vessel. The TABS don't really have much use in a turn. They are however, used to make the boat plain out faster as well as correct a "leaning" boat. The Tab reading may lend a hand in determining what COULD of happened during the spin. They could in-fact, play a large role in determining the motion of the boat during the spin.
When you look at the boat where are the cracks, holes, rips etc. etc. This will be the most important clue in determining the actual impact of the hit. If you can look at the restraint mounts, if they were in-fact wearing the restraints, you may be able to determine (Bends, holes in the fiberglass etc. etc.) which way they we're thrown. Early posts stated that all the seat backs were bent toward the bow suggesting a strong force came from the transom direction ( my previous post theory). Check the direction of the drives. They were making a turn so the drives should hypothetically (If the force of the spin didn't alter them or rip them off) still be in that direction. If in-fact they are turned in the opposite direction, it may lend clues as to whether or not your brother tried to (had time) correct the boat or it suddenly broke free. If the boat suddenly broke free it probably would have spun in a more even or flowing fashion. If he tried to correct the spin it would affect the area at which the boat impacted. Kinda like "high siding" a motorcycle. I'm not trying to sound "basic", I'm just letting you know the basic functions of different parts of the boat. If you already know..sorry. If you are able to take pics of the boat on land it would really help the oso gang in theorizing on what may have happened. Hope the info helps.

dave911

God-speed to your brother, and best wishes for long, happy and fulfilled lives for your entire family.
Dave and Jamie Novick, SoCal.

racer-x6

Since you talked to BYC on the phone and everything is cool, there is no need to respond to your post except to say, for myself I try and find the best in people until the prove otherwise.
By the way when are you going to take us for a ride in that Cessna

klaw

I thought this was the procedue for a conventional deep v but not what you wanted to do in a stepped hull.
By trimming in the bow goes down and the air trapped under transom moves forward under the hull moving the point the boat will spin around further towards the bow

Could some one explain if this is correct or not

racer-x6

From what I read in other post, trimming down is not what you want to to. By trimming a stepped hull down it will pick the back up and make it spin out faster. You should keep the drives in the same trimmed position for turning as you were running at.
Is this correct?

WARPARTY36

We can theorize all we want, but it will probably take a while for the authorities to find out what REALLY happened.

In wondering what your brother was thinking or feeling at the time. I was in a similar situation a couple of years ago and spun out in a turn at 60 or 65 mph. All of us were thrown clear with no jackets and by the grace of God, not one of us were injured or even scratched. There is no thought or unsafe feeling. It happens SO FAST!!! There is no time to react or think for that matter. In my honest opinion the last thing he remembered was being in the front of some of the baddest boats on the planet with a smile from ear to ear!!!

I hope this helps, and my deepest condolences.

SCRAPMAN1

Trim Angle Depends On The Set Up Of The Boat As Well As Conditions But Generally Speaking A Hard Turn Should Be Attempted At Level Trim Or Slightly Tucked In. This Applies To Stepped Hulls As Well.

wcmarine

We spun out last year at the worlds in Key west, running about 80.
You have very little time to react, or even think about it. But in my case for a split second ( in your mind ) you know something is not right. The next I remember is floating in the water wondering what the hell just happened.
We were very lucky we weren't hurt. But we also had helmets and the big lifeline jaclets on.

n2boatn2

X-6 We need a big party somewhere centerally located for everyone to bond alittle