Lask week, we had a frightening experience. While our Hunter 26 was moored in its slip, my wife & I rambled down the dock to visit with some friends. In the meantime, our 13 year old daughter invited several of her dock pals into our boat for a game of cards. We knew they were at our boat, and approximately one hour later, I checked in on them to give a friendly 15-minute "time to leave" signal. However, to my dismay, the floor (under the companionway), was covered with water. After shuffling out the kids, we quickly found the manual bilge pump & removed approximately 25 gallons of water. The water had not significantly run to the stern, & therefore the electric pump was of no assistance. As soon as we got this water out of the boat, it eventually became apparent that the leak had stopped. Not surprisingly, I slept with my hand on the floor inspection cap! The next day, we reloaded the boat with friends, & discovered the water was seeping in from the centerboard housing unit. On top of this area, there is a plate with a large nut that attaches to the centerboard. Last year, a repairman helped us pull the keel to replace the lifting rope. Although he sealed the inspection plate, it became obvious that he did not seal the lower metal plate to the fiberglass housing unit. I checked the archives of this forum, & the concensus appears to be that this plate must be heavily gooped with 5200 sealant. That is what we have done, & I am desperately hoping that when it cures, we will have fixed our problem. I once read a negligence case out of Chicago. A family lost a couple of kids because a sailboat with a swing keel was overloaded & sank before the kids could be removed from the cabin. At the time, I never dreamt this could happen to a Hunter. Am I paranoid or do others suspect the Hunter centerboard boats can be overloaded? Thanks, Rick Engel
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Rick Webb
My Understanding from Hunter was it will Not Sink
Do not remember who told me but it was from Hunter at their 800 number that they have filled these boats with a hose and they do not sink. There is a lot of flotation in them so I am beleive it was the truth. A good reminder to check for that leak.
Do not remember who told me but it was from Hunter at their 800 number that they have filled these boats with a hose and they do not sink. There is a lot of flotation in them so I am beleive it was the truth. A good reminder to check for that leak.
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John Baumgartner
two kids drowned
That insident was in NY inland waters it was on a MCGregor 26X there were 7 people on board and the balist tanks were empty, the boat turned turtle but did not sink but the kids were tangled in rope below decks and drowned, there was boose involved. Just for info.(any misspelling is the fault of the computer, LOL)
That insident was in NY inland waters it was on a MCGregor 26X there were 7 people on board and the balist tanks were empty, the boat turned turtle but did not sink but the kids were tangled in rope below decks and drowned, there was boose involved. Just for info.(any misspelling is the fault of the computer, LOL)
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Rick E.
Powers v. Bayliner Marine Corp
The case I had in mind was a 1996 Appeal Decision from the 6th Circuit. The link should lead to a copy of the decision. I am not aware of any civil litigation from the McGregor 26x accident in New York. Also, I am not worried about liability. I simply wanted to know if it is POSSIBLE to overload these boats & as a result, have it fill with water from the keel attachment. In our case, without the sealant, this appeared to happen with an extra 700 - 1000 pounds (equivalent to 4 or 5 avg. male adults sitting at the cabin table). My hope is to provide some preventative medicine! Cheers, Rick
The case I had in mind was a 1996 Appeal Decision from the 6th Circuit. The link should lead to a copy of the decision. I am not aware of any civil litigation from the McGregor 26x accident in New York. Also, I am not worried about liability. I simply wanted to know if it is POSSIBLE to overload these boats & as a result, have it fill with water from the keel attachment. In our case, without the sealant, this appeared to happen with an extra 700 - 1000 pounds (equivalent to 4 or 5 avg. male adults sitting at the cabin table). My hope is to provide some preventative medicine! Cheers, Rick
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alan
Well Rick, if I were king, I may have found...
...Bayliner culpable with damages mitigated by the neglegent behaviour of the plaintiffs. If I read 1996 FED App. 0143P (6th Cir.)File Name: 96a0143p.06 (your link) properly then there is a hole in the centerboard trunk that has no need to be as low as it is. AND they knew it and were not able to track down all the owners and effect repairs. I have heard references to similar event(s) and this is probably the court case that grew out of it. Bottom line is that in this boat, it looks like water would be expected under NORMAL conditions to be taken on which could not be seen until too late. In our boats (h26): 1. positive floatation, 2. centerboard trunk is sealed, 3. bilge pump (if working) would kick in.* * I know part of the interior would be flooded first as the location of the leak if by the centerboard would be contained by a lip on top of the ballast tank. Your concerns about not being able to visualize a leak from this area are valid, but then most leaks into a bilge are not visable till someone looks. Our waterballasted boats can also leak from the controls or vent plug when loaded to the max limits if not maintained or left loose. alan
...Bayliner culpable with damages mitigated by the neglegent behaviour of the plaintiffs. If I read 1996 FED App. 0143P (6th Cir.)File Name: 96a0143p.06 (your link) properly then there is a hole in the centerboard trunk that has no need to be as low as it is. AND they knew it and were not able to track down all the owners and effect repairs. I have heard references to similar event(s) and this is probably the court case that grew out of it. Bottom line is that in this boat, it looks like water would be expected under NORMAL conditions to be taken on which could not be seen until too late. In our boats (h26): 1. positive floatation, 2. centerboard trunk is sealed, 3. bilge pump (if working) would kick in.* * I know part of the interior would be flooded first as the location of the leak if by the centerboard would be contained by a lip on top of the ballast tank. Your concerns about not being able to visualize a leak from this area are valid, but then most leaks into a bilge are not visable till someone looks. Our waterballasted boats can also leak from the controls or vent plug when loaded to the max limits if not maintained or left loose. alan
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Frank
Personal responsibility!
How about personal responsibility? It is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that their craft is safe and make whatever repairs is deemed necessary. I guess that it is the American thing to do by neglecting personal responsibility for a profitable day in court!
How about personal responsibility? It is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that their craft is safe and make whatever repairs is deemed necessary. I guess that it is the American thing to do by neglecting personal responsibility for a profitable day in court!
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alan
Frank, what about the personal responsibility...
...of the officers of the corporation. If they knew of a defect and did not fix it then they are also culpable. A boat that large should not be taking on water under normal circumstances. According to the court the boat was not overloaded by weight. We are not talking about a single defective boat or lack of maintenance, we are talking about a boat which takes on water into a hidden bilge even when properly opperated due to it's design. This is not a Sunfish or some small dink. alan
...of the officers of the corporation. If they knew of a defect and did not fix it then they are also culpable. A boat that large should not be taking on water under normal circumstances. According to the court the boat was not overloaded by weight. We are not talking about a single defective boat or lack of maintenance, we are talking about a boat which takes on water into a hidden bilge even when properly opperated due to it's design. This is not a Sunfish or some small dink. alan
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Rick Engel
Insightful Comments
Alan, upon reflection, I agree with your assessment of the right result - Bayliner should have been held at least partially liable for the design flaw of their boat. But I also agree with Frank - this is not about winning in court, but rather about protecting my kid. Thanks to the shared experiences of the sailors on this site, we can go a long way to ensure these boats are safe, fast, and comfortable. Rick
Alan, upon reflection, I agree with your assessment of the right result - Bayliner should have been held at least partially liable for the design flaw of their boat. But I also agree with Frank - this is not about winning in court, but rather about protecting my kid. Thanks to the shared experiences of the sailors on this site, we can go a long way to ensure these boats are safe, fast, and comfortable. Rick
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