Sailors rescued, trawler abandoned, slip available?

News report video after the short advertisement.

http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2011-01-23/Stranded-SWFL-boaters-rescued-by-cruise-ship

Florida boaters crossing to Mexico get's dinghy painter caught in prop and rough weather starts working things loose inside. Rescued by cruise liner. The owner is a lievaboard and writer... latest novel is about boater being rescued by a cruise liner.

-- Edited by GarryP on Monday 24th of January 2011 11:15:52 AM

Ok.
*So who can guess the make and model Trawler.

*Why did he use a non floating painter.*

SD

For all of you who love to tow your dink ------- think again

If the Painter Floats it shouldn't be an issue.

SD

skipperdude wrote:

If the Painter Floats it shouldn't be an issue.

SD

Click to expand...

Wrong. Even a floating painter can get caught in your rudder or prop. It happened to me a few years ago while chartering in the BVI. Fortunately I am a diver and managed to get it free but it was a close call as we were drifting towards an island.

*

Thanks,

*you are probably right. It is just so much more convenient to tow.*

If you are not set up for it. *Launching a dink can be a real hassle.

*I always worry about the Painter breaking anyway.**

SD*

Has anyone ever tried using a mooring whip, attached to the boat's transom, to hold the dinghy off the transom/swim platform, and keep the painter out of the water?

ie, using ONE of these whips to tie the painter to the bow of the dinghy...

http://www.mooringwhipsales.com/mooring-whips.htm

I'm a cynic, could it be a publicity stunt for his book about a boater rescued by a cruise ship?
Get out on the water on a route used by cruise ships shut everything down radio for help?
It looked like the dinghy was there. Loose the trawler but make it up in free pubicity?
Remember "Baloon Boy"
Steve W.

I worry about towing a dingy too. *My boat has two other choices (davits or boat-deck), but the neatest thing I've seen yet is another Manatee, shown below, that has two bull-bars attached forward on the dingy that fit rigidly into a bracket on the back of the Manatee. *He is able to back-up or turn circles with the dingy attached. *What more, this oversize dingy has a 90 HP outboard,....enough to push the Manatee at four knots back home if needed. *Of course, this would be a two person, radio communicated effort, but it's hard to argue the principal considering that its a dingy, pleasure boat, and spare engine all in one. *By the way, ....this Manatee is reported to have 22 loops under its belt, with the owners switching winter and summer homes in Fl and the Great Lakes yearly.





-- Edited by healhustler on Monday 24th of January 2011 06:01:40 PM

Dammit, all you Manatee folks really make me want a Manatee!!!!

Steve wrote:

I'm a cynic, could it be a publicity stunt for his book about a boater rescued by a cruise ship?
Get out on the water on a route used by cruise ships shut everything down radio for help?
It looked like the dinghy was there. Loose the trawler but make it up in free pubicity?
Remember "Baloon Boy"
Steve W.

Click to expand...

I was thinking exactly the same thing when I saw the video earlier today.... 12 miles from land ( Cuba) , it wasn't that rough... they did have the dink ..... they don't mention trying to unfoul the prop ( only one was fouled anyway )
publicity stunt sounds really plausible.
the only reason to abandon a non burning boat is to step up into a life raft..
give it two weeks and the boat will show back up in Florida with 50 Cubans on deck!
HOLLYWOOD

*

Spur Cutters , work in Maine on lobster floats , work in Fl for dink dragers.

Dammit, all you Manatee folks really make me want a Manatee!!!!

There's a project boat in Panama City on YW with lots of pluses.* We looked at it but decided too much work.*

-- Edited by BON DIA on Tuesday 25th of January 2011 11:00:47 AM

Well, don't feel bad about that John. *Truth is, your boat is probably a more practical boat for my purposes than my Manatee. *If you happen to be a weekend cruiser, you don't have much of a range at 7.5 knots cruise or 8.5 WOT. *Nothing that I regret, but it is why all the other boats I had on my short list were cats with a 16Kn or so cruise. *Money, money, money.