Power cat disaster in Hout Bay, South Africa

Last night they had a funeral ceremomy for John Roberts - the tour guide.
He gave his life jacket to a passenger and lost his own life in the process.
http://www.news24.com/Multimedia/South-Africa/Hout-Bay-boat-accident-victim-hailed-20121018
WE SALUTE YOU JOHN ROBERTS R.I.P.

Gents I would love to see pics of the outboard motor installation and the analysis thereof.
I think we can all learn from this experience of what is a good idea vs. a not so good idea.
Or better still - a well executed plan vs. a poorly executed plan
I am sure that there could be better legislation from SAMSA but we as boatbuilders and owners also make modifications and alterations.
I am not interested in who is guilty - I dont want to hang anybody.
We know what happened - we need to learn why.
Please keep your eyes and ears open for DESIGN details.

 

Manie John Roberts was a great guy who did a lot for the community, we sometimes look strange at the rasta community here in Hout Bay but most of them have their heart on the right place.

I will try to get some pics with the outboards from the owner.

 

Thanks Taniwha

and if possible a description of what they did with the old inboard compartments and fuel tanks.

Houtbay has a very special place in my heart.
Around 1976/7 I went on a ship (Achille Laura) to the Seychells on holiday.
I met a beautiful young lady on board, she was with her mother. (thank goodness I was alone and single)
The trip was just after the father had died.
They were from Houtbay and invited me to stay with them for a week after the Seychells trip. That is how I got to see the area and fall in love with The Republic of Houtbay!
I cant remember their names, but the girl drove a new Peugeot 203? at the time.
Great memories, beautiful place.

 

hmm my wife drives a Peugeot 206
http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/mom-recalls-terrifying-end-to-boat-trip-1.1404748#.UIENt2_Mh_Y
I need to get back that pic in the Cape Argus where you see the old engine room inlet UNDER the water and that was approved by SAMSA also the bilge outlet was almost at the waterline level also approved by SAMSA.
According to the Suzuki dealer the engines (4 stroke) stopped because of water coming into the small vent on top of the engine. Pff I hate petrol outboards!

 

very very very interesting read - thanks taniwha
http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/mom-recalls-terrifying-end-to-boat-trip-1.1404748#.UIENt2_Mh_Y
do I read indications of a "heavy load" - people on top because all the seats were full ??
very good to read plenty life jackets for all !!

To me this article just points more and more at the "design" question of the motor installation and "modifications" to the "old" parts

"my wife drives a Peugeot 206" surely not a 1975 model ??
it must be an absolute rust bucket by now
sorry it was a 204
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_204
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Peugeot_early_timeline
Anyway nothing "serious" happened - as a young man I was definately not "marriage" material - waaay to scatterbrained.
Her and her mother had this phobia about toast - it had to be dry and crispy - soggy, even slightly damp toast was repeatedly sent back. It had to come in a rack where the slices of bread was upright and separated. If the toast arrived flat on a plate it was sent back - even if only two slices

 

How else do you eat toast.

 

I eat it hot, with enough butter to make the center soggy, and a bit of honey or jam on it.

Strange folks, those Brits (and others). I hear they like their toast cold and their beer warm...

 

Seems to me if the back of the boat was swamped and the stern became submerged a running engine would simply suck in water through the now submerged vents whether on top of the cowl, or underneath the engine pan. In those circumstances the engine must stop, whether by water in the electrics, or unavailability of air to run the engine, or both. If there were a number of people on the top deck of this already heavily loaded boat, it had little chance of staying upright while the water drained out, especially if all those on the lower deck were being washed over to the low side.

 

why do you hate the outboards, suzuki are 1 of the best engines money can buy. this is a boat issue , not engine.

 

What I read between the lines is that the engines were installed very low and deep into the water.

When you look at the video with the boat upside down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vHRdXgoc0WA
0.34 sec = propellors clear out of water
1.10 sec = propellors clear out of water
1.25 sec = motor cowlings submerged

the motors come in 2 transom heights 25" and 30"
but for this vessel it still means that they will sit very deep in the water, even more so because of varying weights of the "load" of passengers.
the motors weigh 591 lbs each plus mounting brackets would possibily give a total mass of approx 1350 lbs ( 600 odd kg) another 0.5 meters beyond the stern.
Take any 10m boat and add over a half a ton, another half a meter back from the stern and you have made a big change.

This installation is a matter for much further and detailed scrutiny.
The motors are good and proven and can take a lot of punishment but no motor will work submerged
These motors were installed to have a clear run for the propellors so that they dont pick up turbulence from the hulls, but the hulls seem to be designed as semi-displacement and not pure planing "flat" bottoms
The original installation was inboards so going to outboards is problematic.

What worries me is do the SAMSA guys have enough insight and experience to analyse the problem.
When the SAMSA people were here for the around the island race at the Vaaldam in February we spoke to them a bit as I was curious to see if anybody would be able to understand small sailboat design and parameters and my conclusion was that these were all BEE folks that could read the rules but could not really understand all what is written.
Life jackets and flares is easy to understand and count, but CG and CB on this vessel is a bit more, and never mind CE and LCR on a sailboat which is way beyond them.

Bottomline is, I am not crazy about this installation of outboard motors.
And the original builder of the boat has now got the perfect excuse to wash his hands clean​

 

Spot on Manie.

That boat seems to be originally a displacement / semi displacement hulled vessel with diesel powered engines. (Those outboards would never have planed the hull with a nearly 40 passengers anyhow)
These diesels I assumed were fitted well within the hull to allow for gearbox, drive shaft and rudder space. Also would these original diesel engines being used in the mass calculations for stability and trim. That said, I suspect the owners probably did not consulted with the designer of the hull when they decided to change to outboard power, but I stand to be corrected. Nevertheless, the 600kg odd lump hung aft well outside the hull, would have a great effect on trim because of the additional lever amplification from LCF (boats longitudinal pivot point, usually a little aft of LCB), moreso with people moving freely around, especially towards the stern. I fail to see how a designer will allow for such a modification without imposing other limits/modifications to make sure the hull stay in safe trim. Then there are whispers of the transom being lowered to accommodate the outboards.

Seems like this was a tragedy waiting to happen

 

And just to add to that
two inboard diesels with gearboxes, drive shafts, cooling systems and what not - INSIDE the boat - is a huge amount of ballast that you are losing - easily 1500 kgs

BTW on the issue of outboards in general
The modern one and two cylinder FOUR stroke outboards with a float bowl carburettor are really easy to work on.
These motors are Overhead Valve with push rods running of a camshaft that runs next to the crank in the oil "sump"
These motors are virtually identical to the commercial fourstroke engines that gets used for small plant and equipment like generators etc.
99% of problems is dirty fuel
small fourstroke motors are fantastically realiable if serviced and looked after TLC
I am not crazy about the modern super duper fuel injected computerized wonders available nowadays but the small fourstrokes can be serviced and repaired by the average "back yard" boater
The main advantage of the outboard is that the motor and fuel and smells is OUTSIDE the boat
The outboard will never last as long as a diesel inboard, but in my country I can buy TEN outboards for the price of one little Volvo inboard saildrive

here is a complete workshop manual for a Robin EH12-2D engine
virtually indentical to the Yamaha / Parson fourstroke outboards
they are all the same if it is a carburettor motor

 

Don't think there should be a rush to convict outboards as the culprit, with 30" legs available it should be possible to have them well clear of trouble on a 10 metre boat. The outboards did not sink it, ingress of water into the cockpit in bulk is what upsets the applecart.

 

well if the engines had not stopped, two people would still be alive!

 

There is obviously a lot of negative comments in the Afrikaans newspapers
http://www.rapport.co.za/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Ramp-boot-hul-brood-en-botter-20121020
because this is a black empowerment company
I knew that from day one and purposely never made any mention of it here.
To hide behind the fact that it is a BEE company is short sighted, childish and shows a complete lack of boating knowledge.
These "coloured" guys are good seamen and often brave the seas in rustbuckets for their bosses.
The area and the people needed this business venture to succeed.

We have to look deeper into the problem and NOT blame the skipper and owner because of their skin colour / ethnicity.

There is obviously a problem with our legislation - SAMSA systems, and inspection personel. The folks that sold and installed the outboard motors cant just walk away either - they also did not understand what they were doing to the boat. So there are a lot of problems compounded from many different angles, including the skipper and owner.

Bottom line is to hang one person would not serve any purpose at all.
Every link in this chain has a moral obligation to accept its portion of the blame.
SAMSA actually should accept the blame and not pass the buck.