Overturned RIB

[Woodsy]

Originally Posted by ApS

1) The difficulty in striking Nipple Rock any other way is nearly insurmountable!

2) A perfect direct-strike would be made easier by mounting a flashing light on top of Nipple Rock.

3) Navigating one of these boats is hazardous because the helmsman sits behind an extremely long foredeck, which obscures his (her) vision forward. (And gets even worse when slowing).

4) If the MP rope was intended to "entangle", shouldn't the MPs have been educated to the fact that many boats in this class have rope-cutting "labbed" propellers? (And aren't even safe around flesh and bone--when stopped?)

I agree that a direct strike on Nipple Rock would be difficult to pull off... as we all know, human nature finds a way!

Navigating a boat like this is no different than any other boat. The slightly longer foredeck is no hinderance to visibility while on plane or while coming off plane. The foredeck can be an issue while getting on plane, but thats one of the reasons why boats like this have trim tabs... to keep the bow rise down while planing off.

Labbed propellers? on a 29' Baja? Highly unlikely given the extremely high cost of labbed prop. ($1500+) Also, for those who don't know what a labbed propeller is, it is basically a stock propeller that has had its blades thinned and trued to pitch. This allows the propeller to have less 'slip" while going thru the water. So while yes they are little sharper than a normal propeller, they can still be entangled with a rope or net.

The real issue here is that the operator wasn't wearing his ECOS lanyard. If they were, the boat would have stopped after they were ejected. I always wear my ECOS lanyard when operating my boat on plane.

Woodsy