That'll buff out - Westport hits dock

[ssobol]

I find it disturbing that the guy taking the video is more concerned with filming and getting his raingear than he is about helping anyone who may have been hurt.

if you don't help, you can't be sued for doing it wrong.

Even if you prevail under Good Samaritan laws, the lawyers' fees will still eat you alive.

 

[78puget-trawler]

I guess some are more easily disturbed than others. I didn't see anything that he could have done and didn't. Not like there was bodies floating around in the bay to pick up and he ran to get his raingear!

 

[tozz]

My thought was that with an unexplained failure of an electronic control, no way would you risk a repeat. Thus, they figured out what had happened before moving it again and knew they would not have a repeat. Either that or they acted recklessly by engaging the system again so quickly before being able to fully check the system from one end to the other. I suppose it could have had a manual backup.

In any case, it’s all just speculation at this point. Nobody got hurt, so other than a good debrief, lessons learned and a few checks written, there is no truly bad outcome here.

Was a final report on this ever released?

 

[BandB]

Was a final report on this ever released?

There will be no report. Never anticipated one.

 

[diver dave]

I may have already mentioned this, not sure. Pretty old thread. Quite a few months ago, i was in an EMC lab, sharing space with another customer. Im not going to reveal the lab or the customer. it was a marine controls company. But, if u dont know, EMC labs test the ability of products to resist the negative influence of radio transmitters and power disturbances on their operation. This should be on your list when shopping for control systems. “ what standards does this unit comply with?”

 

[jgwinks]

I don't know what caused this incident but it reminds me of an incident that happened a here few years ago. The brand-new USCGCutter Mackinaw on her maiden voyage was inbound to Grand Haven for the annual Coast Guard Festival. Half way up the channel she makes an abrupt right turn and slams the concrete wall, holing the bow and even doing severe damage to the wall. Investigation ruled the Captain went out to the stbd wing bridge in preparation for docking a quarter mile ahead. When he engaged the wing bridge controls, the ship made the turn. His efforts to correct were ineffective. Being the ship was brand new that evolution might not have yet been attempted. It was a purely electronic/mechanical failure, but the captain got an unexpected early retirement anyway. As said above, I'll stick to my mechanical Morse controls. I don't trust fly-by-wire.

 

[rslifkin]

As said above, I'll stick to my mechanical Morse controls. I don't trust fly-by-wire.

The number of stories of weird failure modes, requirement for isolated, super-perfect power supply, etc. in electronic marine controls honestly scares the crap out of me. There's no excuse for it. The number of very reliable fly by wire controls in cars, airplanes, etc. all says they can be made robust and reliable. But for whatever reason, a lot of the marine stuff is just not good enough.

 

[jgwinks]

Fly-by-wire makes sense in some applications. For instance in modern jet fighters at high speed if you jerk the stick you'll literally rip the wings off. The computer won't let you do that. I don't think I can rip the rudders off my trawler that way.

 

[diver dave]

The number of stories of weird failure modes, requirement for isolated, super-perfect power supply, etc. in electronic marine controls honestly scares the crap out of me. There's no excuse for it. The number of very reliable fly by wire controls in cars, airplanes, etc. all says they can be made robust and reliable. But for whatever reason, a lot of the marine stuff is just not good enough.

Cars and planes have tremendous oversight and regs. Pleasure Boats don’t. I dont believe there are any control EMC (or other) test requirements from either ABYC or USCG. There is none in authority saying RF immunity or noisy mains power testing is necessary for US pleasure craft. Its free market. EU is a different story, also commercial is a diff story.

 

[Larmex99]

I was recently in Port Angeles and was told by a very reliable source that the electronic shifter cutout failed and the engines started with it in forward. The guys below deck working on the engines must have had a terrifying experience. The ambulance chasing attorneys will have a feast on this one.

 

[lwarden]

Here is another little oopsie which just occurred in St. Martin today on M/Y Go.

https://youtu.be/jOnymOK3eaw

 

[magna 6882]

What i find surprising is the boat had the power to walk through the dock lines and gain so much speed over such a short distance.

 

[Ski in NC]

I was running a new Viking sportfish up the coast, stopped in Fernandina Fl. While maneuvering around the docks, one of the MAN computer engines spooled up uncommanded. It would not respond to helm control, but I was able to shut it down with the stop button. Was barely able to stop from colliding with nearby boats. Finally able to dock with the one running engine. Owner called MAN techs to resolve. They hooked up their laptops and said everything was normal.

Since then, I have very little confidence in electronic controls. They are great, until they are not.

Agreed, not the same level of quality control as on aircraft and autos.

 

[Ski in NC]

What i find surprising is the boat had the power to walk through the dock lines and gain so much speed over such a short distance.

Put a big boat in gear while tied to the dock and add a little power. It is AMAZING how much thrust there is to pull on the lines.