Motor yacht crash at Richmond Bridge
Discussion
Ouch! So public too!
This is part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIiXndllxIQ#t=131
Part two here: http://youtu.be/GulYaobJgVI
Any ideas why it took so long (and caused so much damage) to turn? Strong tide or bad sailing?
Anyway, I repeat, ouch.
This is part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIiXndllxIQ#t=131
Part two here: http://youtu.be/GulYaobJgVI
Any ideas why it took so long (and caused so much damage) to turn? Strong tide or bad sailing?
Anyway, I repeat, ouch.
He gets caught between the slack by the bridge pillar and the flow going underneath the centre section.
Constantly pushing his nose in, when he backs up to far the rear get caught in the flow going under the first section. Ends up sideways fendered of the bridge trying to figure out what to do.
That and he had a few hundred pissed up people watch him messing it up.
Constantly pushing his nose in, when he backs up to far the rear get caught in the flow going under the first section. Ends up sideways fendered of the bridge trying to figure out what to do.
That and he had a few hundred pissed up people watch him messing it up.
Watching from the beginning, he cocked up his approach to the bridge or wasn't confident he had the clearance to pass under the span. On trying to back out, you can hear him using his bow thruster to swing the front round for some reason which put him broadside to the current. Once that happened he was screwed - no forward movement meant he had little control and no space to manoeuvre before he was carried onto the bridge. He was then stuck until he could get aligned with the current and motor back against it and try again.
His error was not giving himself enough space. I don't know why he tried to turn the way he did, but if he had backed several boat lengths from the bridge he would have had sufficient space and time to do whatever manoeuvre he was trying. You have to be very careful when travelling with the tide, as your control is much reduced. If the flow was the other way, he could have maintained a forward motion relative to the water and he would have been able to manoeuvre much more accurately.
His error was not giving himself enough space. I don't know why he tried to turn the way he did, but if he had backed several boat lengths from the bridge he would have had sufficient space and time to do whatever manoeuvre he was trying. You have to be very careful when travelling with the tide, as your control is much reduced. If the flow was the other way, he could have maintained a forward motion relative to the water and he would have been able to manoeuvre much more accurately.
k it up!!!!tank slapper said:
Watching from the beginning, he cocked up his approach to the bridge or wasn't confident he had the clearance to pass under the span. On trying to back out, you can hear him using his bow thruster to swing the front round for some reason which put him broadside to the current. Once that happened he was screwed - no forward movement meant he had little control and no space to manoeuvre before he was carried onto the bridge.
He was trying to drive it like a car. Once the current has him broadside he goes astern, then at about 0'38" he puts the wheel to port and boots it - sending the back straight into the bridge.As you say he should have backed out much further to give himself turning room, but I think the main issue was not current, but not knowing how to handle a boat.
I think the long pause before they get out is someone more competent taking over, as the boat seems under much better control then.
Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 17th March 12:44
Straight from the horses mouth at www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?390445-Princess-...
Some fantastic opinions on there for what the guy should have done. Reverse it under the bridge, get some training etc etc.
He's got caught out by being in a relatively new situation to him and freely admitted his mistake. I would feel more confident going to sea with this chap than many of those with an opinion on it.
It's only fibreglass at the end of the day and he came home with a guest compliment in one piece which is lucky. The instinct of non nautical types being when they see this sort of thing to try and help by fending off with hands and such.
For what it's worth this a prime example of why I hate thrusters, and also detest bloody RYA trainers that insist on using them as a control tool beyond their design capability. With a boat like that you have enough power on hand with the screws to deal with just about any situation and the training should be there to give the confidence to use it as and when necessary not rely on a tool that is there to give a tickle toward a pontoon.
He's got caught out by being in a relatively new situation to him and freely admitted his mistake. I would feel more confident going to sea with this chap than many of those with an opinion on it.
It's only fibreglass at the end of the day and he came home with a guest compliment in one piece which is lucky. The instinct of non nautical types being when they see this sort of thing to try and help by fending off with hands and such.
For what it's worth this a prime example of why I hate thrusters, and also detest bloody RYA trainers that insist on using them as a control tool beyond their design capability. With a boat like that you have enough power on hand with the screws to deal with just about any situation and the training should be there to give the confidence to use it as and when necessary not rely on a tool that is there to give a tickle toward a pontoon.
This boat owner has made many a cock-up in my time, but none quite as daft as that one.
All he needed to do was reverse, get clear and have a rethink once it had gone wrong. He didn't, he carried on making a bad situation worse. He tries to make the point that he didn't have enough grunt to reverse against the flow, but he obviously did looking at the video.
Poor boat handling skills there.
All he needed to do was reverse, get clear and have a rethink once it had gone wrong. He didn't, he carried on making a bad situation worse. He tries to make the point that he didn't have enough grunt to reverse against the flow, but he obviously did looking at the video.
Poor boat handling skills there.
If you listen to the wailing of bow thrusters at 14 secs, I still maintain that if he never had one fitted in the first place he would be knowledgeable about how to position the boat on the screws, and of course that would have entailed him pulling back into clear water before trying to straighten up.
Sorry thrusters really are a pet hate of mine.
Sorry thrusters really are a pet hate of mine.
As a pretty non nautical person was the problem caused by not taking the bridge fast enough and thereby loosing steerage as a result?
Whilst flying at the span is difficult to get your head around was the most sensible choice to reverse through maintaining steerage against the current?
Steve
Whilst flying at the span is difficult to get your head around was the most sensible choice to reverse through maintaining steerage against the current?
Steve
Why you need bow thrusters in a boat of that size baffles me, it's got twin screws on it, so plenty of control available. Use of a bow thruster in that circumstance is just silly unless you are matching it with the corresponding power inputs to keep yourself stationary relative to the bridge. Which sort of makes the use of the thruster a waste of time in the first place.
He panicked, which was understandable, but he forgot the basics and that shows that like many owners of gin palaces like this, they never had the basic grounding and training that helps you evaluate everything before you get into trouble. The sign of someone good isn't that they get themselves out of the mire well, but that they avoid getting into it in the first place.
This bloke not only got himself in to trouble, but once in it, he made poor decision after poor decision and ended up making a tit of himself. Hopefully he'll learn from the experience and I do expect he'll never make the same mistake again.
He panicked, which was understandable, but he forgot the basics and that shows that like many owners of gin palaces like this, they never had the basic grounding and training that helps you evaluate everything before you get into trouble. The sign of someone good isn't that they get themselves out of the mire well, but that they avoid getting into it in the first place.
This bloke not only got himself in to trouble, but once in it, he made poor decision after poor decision and ended up making a tit of himself. Hopefully he'll learn from the experience and I do expect he'll never make the same mistake again.
Steve_D said:
As a pretty non nautical person was the problem caused by not taking the bridge fast enough and thereby loosing steerage as a result?
Whilst flying at the span is difficult to get your head around was the most sensible choice to reverse through maintaining steerage against the current?
He went for an arch that wasn't big enough. Saw that coming and reversed out, but then messed up trying to get through the nearer arch.Whilst flying at the span is difficult to get your head around was the most sensible choice to reverse through maintaining steerage against the current?
Obviously you need water flow over the rudder for the steering to work so if you're confident you do what the pilots at Potter Heigham do and go charging through but under control.
Thrusters can be very useful, epsecially when trying to moor in tricky winds or cruising solo. There is a limit to what one shaft and rudder at only one end can do.
Simpo Two said:
He went for an arch that wasn't big enough. Saw that coming and reversed out, but then messed up trying to get through the nearer arch.
Obviously you need water flow over the rudder for the steering to work so if you're confident you do what the pilots at Potter Heigham do and go charging through but under control.
Thrusters can be very useful, epsecially when trying to moor in tricky winds or cruising solo. There is a limit to what one shaft and rudder at only one end can do.
Amateur.Obviously you need water flow over the rudder for the steering to work so if you're confident you do what the pilots at Potter Heigham do and go charging through but under control.
Thrusters can be very useful, epsecially when trying to moor in tricky winds or cruising solo. There is a limit to what one shaft and rudder at only one end can do.
Simpo Two said:
There is a limit to what one shaft and rudder at only one end can do.
That Simpo is exactly the point against bow thrusters on a twin shaft.That thruster will manage a maximum of 10hp at the shaft and the other end he has likely 600hp minimum either side. Given the choice of either of those options to control 20ish tonne of boat about to wrap itself round a bridge what would you use?
As always, lots of advice from the dock 
I used to try and avoid thrusters whenever possible, as it´s good practice to know how to drive a boat if they ever let you down, but in certain situations, especially on the larger boats, you would never get the boat in the berth without them.
The Guy I used to work for until recently was thruster dependent, he would use them just to get the boat in the marina. He thought he was a great skipper It used to bug the hell out of me!
Coincidently, I have today taken bow and stern thrusters out of a 50m sailboat for repair. They´re bloody big!
I used to try and avoid thrusters whenever possible, as it´s good practice to know how to drive a boat if they ever let you down, but in certain situations, especially on the larger boats, you would never get the boat in the berth without them.
The Guy I used to work for until recently was thruster dependent, he would use them just to get the boat in the marina. He thought he was a great skipper It used to bug the hell out of me!
Coincidently, I have today taken bow and stern thrusters out of a 50m sailboat for repair. They´re bloody big!
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