Info about sunken powerboat (formerly a Yacht)
The 85-ft boat sank on launch around 9 pm last night so as of this morning there isn't a lot of new news coverage, pretty much the same information everywhere as it keeps getting repeated.
Why launch at 9 pm? The tide swing went from a -1.4 to +8.8 feet (Port Townsend, uncorrected for Anacortes), with the high tide ~ 10 pm so they were obviously shooting for a high-tide launch.
As of now one report indicated that the problem may have stemmed from a stabilizer hitting a rock in the launch and caused it to roll a bit. Then when they tried to back the boat up it lurched then rolled over. This is the only indication as to a cause that I could find so far.
There is a good video of what the boat looked like during construction and shortly before launch at
http://www.passagemaker.com/article...apsized-boat-looked-like-before-launch-video/
The picture shows a row of ports located in the engine room area just above the waterline. If they were opening ports, hopefully they were all dogged down shut. However, being so close to the waterline maybe they were fixed ports. The mega yachts that come into the various ports seem to like to show off the engine rooms by leaving a port open so walkers-by can peer in and admire the owners boat.
By comparison to boats I've seen hauled out at Port Townsend, and these run the gamut from fishing boats, seiners, tugs, and big yachts, the draft on them compared to the overall height above the waterline, seem to be a lot more than this boat.
It may be that the capsize at launch was a god send. Better now than out on deep water somewhere with a number of soles on board.
Edit: Forgot to mention, the news said that the crew who went on board were trying to adjust the ballast.
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