Bass boat hits floating log

[gimruis]

Ripped the entire outboard off the transom, but no injuries.  Amazingly the boat did not flip or capsize.

 

Tournament angler on Mississippi River Pool 9 coming back to a weigh in, and wearing his PFD and kill switch.

 

 

[casts_by_fly]

wow.  I'm amazed that the boat didn't flip when it made the hard left afterwards.  He was carrying enough speed that if the starboard side dipped just a little it should have rolled.  It would be wild to have seen that from the bow looking backwards too.  I can't fathom just how much force it would take to rip the powerhead off like that.  My dad saw a guy lose a lower unit last year to a similar scenario (post flood, large lake, wide open throttle makin a run).  Fortunately he was within trolling motor distance of a launch.

[gimruis]

1 minute ago, casts_by_fly said:

I can't fathom just how much force it would take to rip the powerhead off like that.

I thought that too, especially being that it was a log.  Brings a whole new meaning to "chopping wood."

[casts_by_fly]

you can see the log just before he hits it and it doesn't look like its that big.  Then again, who knows how much was under the water.  It could have been a 24" oak trunk that was soaked through and just barely floating for all we know.

[TOXIC]

Those of us who fish rivers, especially big rivers are always in fear of this scenario.  I’ve seen semi tires on the rim and various large kitchen appliances in the Potomac.  There’s so many feeder creeks that in a heavy rain almost anything is possible.  The Rappahonock while not clogged with junk is very heavily wooded and has a good tide swing so any day can dislodge big trees and logs. 

[DaubsNU1]

Wow!

 

With my old boat it was a rule, every time the outboard was running, the PFD was on.

 

With my new boat, I really NEED to have that PFD on, and the kill-switch attached.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[TnRiver46]

19 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Those of us who fish rivers, especially big rivers are always in fear of this scenario.  I’ve seen semi tires on the rim and various large kitchen appliances in the Potomac.  There’s so many feeder creeks that in a heavy rain almost anything is possible.  The Rappahonock while not clogged with junk is very heavily wooded and has a good tide swing so any day can dislodge big trees and logs. 

^what he said. I hate riding in a “bass boat”, I’m white knuckles the whole time. I hit plenty of floating logs at 15-20 mph with 50 horsepower 

[Captain Phil]

Years ago I broke a 40 HP Johnson off the back of my boat when I hit a 4' by 8' plywood sheet under the water.   The motor broke off running and cut up the deck before dropping into the water.  Needless to say, that motor was junk after that.  I have hit numerous logs running in Rodman Reservoir with my Gambler.  Two friends of mine were thrown out of a Ranger when the motor hit a big gator at full speed.  Hitting sunken objects is no joke.  This is not something that only happens to other people.  Slow down and use your kill switch.

[Born 2 fish]

Actually I think he’s lucky it came off. I seen a post on another site that when the guy hit a submerged log the outboard flipped up into the boat and he was severely injured by the prop. I’m about to install a outboard leash on my bass boat this week just incase.

[Darth-Baiter]

i enjoy fishing out of my friends bass boat.  i like @TnRiver46 do not enjoy the speed runs.  all i see around me are hard and sharp objects that are going to be a painful problem if things go wild.  

[TnRiver46]

Sometimes I just close my eyes and hope death comes quickly haha . Things are crazy. I kind of wanted to get into tournament fishing back in the day until I entered one and rode 70 mph ramping ocean yacht waves. The only ones I’ve entered since then were with my buddies in their slow boats 

[Darth-Baiter]

imagine going into the passenger console at that speed?  there are scissors and pliers everywhere, hooks galore.   i would crush my solarplexes on the console, hit the deck right when a rusty pair of pliers punch my achilles and i back slide across all the fishing rods with trebles.  hahaha..

 

my friend has observed me and throttled back a few times.   69mph on water bouncing feels unnatural to me.  i swear we got air a few times on the Delta.  

[gimruis]

@Mike L has good story about hauling ass in a boat.  He posted about it earlier this spring when I saw a speed boat cross a big lake in May while I was fishing.

 

I found it. The goalie mask story.  Lmao

 

He had a 21ft Bullet. 
As we maneuvered our way to the starting position, he put on a goalie mask, reached over and slapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hold On”!!

I knew what was coming 

 

At one point I tried to look over and see the speedometer but was afraid I wouldn’t be able to straighten my neck again!!

It felt like I gained 20 yrs as every wrinkle on face seemed to straightened out. 
 

When we got to our spot I asked him how fast we went and he said 89! and it still had more!!

It took me a few minutes to collect myself before I got off the seat. 

 

This is in a boat with 2 men and all our gear. He figured it would top out at 93

[TnRiver46]

I wouldn’t worry about the rusty pliers, it’s almost always the H20 or prop that kills ya……

[Susky River Rat]

Man that is scary stuff. I’ve hit rocks and sunken trees in my boat going probably half the speed. Thank god for jets.  I don’t even think having a center console where you can stand you would have saw that at speed quick enough to react. Rivers are ever changing scary places to run wide open. 

[TOXIC]

Let’s not forget you don’t have to hit anything either. I have a friend who was selling a bass boat and the potential buyer wanted to test drive.  He and my friend headed out and the guy went wide open.  He didn’t slow down for a barge wake and hit it at a 90 degree angle launching the boat airborne.  Both went to the hospital, my friend with a broken back and the boat was totaled. 

[airshot]

In my youth in the early 60's theold wood boats were popular and I had a 15' Lyman and another guy had a 14' with a 25 hp motor.  Running wide open about 25 mph he struck a sunken log ( early spring) and the entire transom came off with the motor still attached !

From my view right beside him the motor kept running clamped onto the transom for about 50 ft. But...the boat sank like a rock when it slowed down, no safety lanyard and he was not wearing a life jacket !!  It can happen at any speed....not just high speed bass boats!

[12poundbass]

I don’t know how you river guys run them without being a nervous wreck the whole time. I know I would be! 

[Tennessee Boy]

The dudes like “I don’t know what I could have done”.   How bout slow down!  
My boat’s top speed is 40 mph and I rarely go that fast.  I can think of three collisions in my life that would have been really bad at high speed.  The worst damage I’ve had was a broken prop.   

[Susky River Rat]

@12poundbass in shallow rivers using jets you run them up on plane and when you see it getting shallower give it more throttle. 1/4-1/2 more on out of the water can be the different of hitting or not. The other idea behind  that is you just kind of deflect and slide across the bottom.  If you back the throttle off you will hit.
 

Running fiberglass bass boats seems insane where you could hit any floating debris is insane. 
 

@Tennessee Boy it’s easy to say slow down now. Unless he was at a crawl.  I am willing to bet with the way the water looked lightly choppy and dark he would have never saw that log going 35mph. Add the fact he is more in a **** pit instead of standing up  so he can have a better vantage point to read the water. A slower speed would have been less damage. 

[Captain Phil]

Playing with fast boats is a different sport than fishing. Two of my lifetime hobbies were fishing and drag racing, so owning the fastest bass boat possible was right in my wheel house.  The first State Federation tournament I ever fish was in the early 70s.   This was before high performance bass boats.  The tournament had a shotgun start and it was wild and dangerous.  Some guy had screwed a bass seat pedestal on the front deck of a ski boat.  I had a 15' Terry Bass with a 70 and it felt like I was going backwards.  As soon as I got home, I bought a 135 Johnson and bolted it on my Terry.  That didn't do the job, so I bought a better boat, then a 150 Merc.   For some years, the 150 Merc was the standard high performance bass boat motor.  We used 2 blade surface props back then.  They vibrated terribly and the passenger had to hang on the bow to get them on plane.  I blew up a pile of those old motors.  

 

Things got more interesting when the Black Max came out.  I bought a tricked out Hydro Sport from a dealer that could do an honest 65 mph on radar.  There were many claimed 65 mph bass boats back then, few could actually go that fast.  My dream was always to own a Gambler.  They were made in Orlando, so my wife and I had them build us one.  With a 225 Pro Max that boat could run 74 mph loaded with two men and tackle.  I didn't get passed much, but if I did it was always a Bullet or an Allison.  I have seen Allison's that could run near 100 mph with special motors. Again, this has nothing to do with fishing. 

 

What teaches you lessons is fishing in salt water.  The fastest boat in the world is worthless in 6 foot seas.   Even if the boat can do the speed, the ride will beat you up. When you fish offshore, you learn to throttle back and enjoy the trip.  Every boat has a speed and trim where the ride is tolerable.  Unless you are in an actually race, slow down and enjoy the ride.

[Bankbeater]

I've torn up trolling motors hitting logs in ponds.  I can't imagine hitting a heavy object running at top speed.

[Tennessee Boy]

2 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

@Tennessee Boy it’s easy to say slow down now. Unless he was at a crawl.  I am willing to bet with the way the water looked lightly choppy and dark he would have never saw that log going 35mph

I mostly fish the Tennessee and Cumberland river reservoirs.  You can hit a log at any time on these lakes, yet you see people running at high speeds all the time.  Like @TnRiver46 I’ve hit plenty at low speed.  It’s not always about seeing them it’s about minimizing the force of the impact.  I’m in an aluminum boat which also helps.

[TOXIC]

I fish rivers and it’s not uncommon to run 30-40-50 miles to fish the right tide and spots.  The Potomac is always a risk with floating debris.  There is some level of risk you get used to running rivers.  That may sound callous and irresponsible but your other option is to idle everywhere.  99.9% of impact strikes that are serious are going to take out your prop first, lower unit next and motor last as the rarest.  It’s no different than getting in your truck and accepting the inherent risk that someone is going to hit you.  Not your fault, unavoidable. Sitting in the passenger seat, it’s also my responsibility to keep both eyes on the water as well. An added risk around here are seine nets and crab pots.  Those normally are prop eaters but a few years ago anglers drowned when they were running through a storm and wrapped their prop in a crab pot line.  Before they could get it untangled, their boat swamped.  My point being, once again, there’s a level of risk associated with getting on the water and no one should ever forget it. 

[Darth-Baiter]

i dont think anyone disagrees with you.  most road rule are followed by, "or as allowed by current conditions"

 

just because the speed limit is 70mph, i have seen cars pulled over at that speed in inclement weather.