Boat crash, what happened?

Wes was driving too fast for the conditions. Running high on pad at an odd angle to the waves, the bow was starting to chine walk a little, and if he would have slowly backed down he would have avoided the crash. I’m doubtful he hit something, he definitely wouldn’t “need” to to cause a crash like that. When a bass boat bow hooks, which is a sudden drop of the bow, it grips the water and causes the boat to spin, which can snap a motor off. Lake Champlain has eaten more bass boats than probably anywhere. If you’re in a giant walleye bathtub you don’t need to worry about it, that bow never leaves the water, and that 250+ on the back never gets you going that fast. I’m guessing he was prefishing as he was alone in the boat. Funny he felt a need to run that fast in practice, most guys don’t.

Deuces wrote:

Dudes flying, at that point your chine is about the only thing walking in the water, you can handle some bow lateral movement with that but when she’s rocking you need to throttle down.

#1 glad to see a fellow fisherman come out alright.

#2 don’t give 2 craps either way here, a guy wants to go too fast by himself ill hold his beer

#3 if I’m a betting man, which I’m not, I’m completely w grubson. Does insurance cover sending it, or just submerged logs?

Ditto 1 and 2. On 3… if I was going to commit insurance fraud I would not be posting a video of the incident online for the world to see. I would have tossed that GoPro overboard pronto.

I don’t really have an opinion on what caused the accident but if you guys are right and there was no collision, this guy is an idiot for posting the video.

crawdaddy wrote:

Wes was driving too fast for the conditions. Running high on pad at an odd angle to the waves, the bow was starting to chine walk a little, and if he would have slowly backed down he would have avoided the crash. I’m doubtful he hit something, he definitely wouldn’t “need” to to cause a crash like that. When a bass boat bow hooks, which is a sudden drop of the bow, it grips the water and causes the boat to spin, which can snap a motor off. Lake Champlain has eaten more <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>bass boats than probably anywhere. If you’re in a giant walleye bathtub you don’t need to worry about it, that bow never leaves the water, and that 250+ on the back never gets you going that fast. I’m guessing he was prefishing as he was alone in the boat. Funny he felt a need to run that fast in practice, most guys don’t.

It was day 3 of the Tournament(Sunday), at some where around 10 am. He had 4 fish in the livewell, and was making a move to another spot. Just for some back ground.

As bass boat driver, a bass boat “wobbles” at even moderate speeds, with the keel cutting water. That boat was handling to waves quite well, being well driven.
Every elite angler is running at 50 mph, every day of practice.

^^100% with dirtywater post

I don’t understand how some have such strong opinions on this with such little information. I mean I spent 5 minutes watching a couple videos while taking a dump and already notice misinformation in these strong opinions… like the boat he was driving and that he was prefishing (he was in a tourney day, and came back to finish the day).

I’d imagine insurance will inspect the boat and watch the video and interview anyone involved if necessary to make a lot more informed opinion than watching a 20 second youtube clip.

Is there a world where maybe the submerged dock section or whatever didn’t rip the motor off but maybe it hits enough of the hull that combined with the speed and conditions it throws him into the 180 and that rips the motor off? I feel like there’s a 100 different ways it could have happened but so many are convinced they know exactly what did or did not happen based on a 20 second youtube clip.

tswoboda wrote:

^^100% with dirtywater post

I don’t understand how some have such strong opinions on this with such little information. I mean I spent 5 minutes watching a couple videos while taking a dump and already notice misinformation in these strong opinions… like the boat he was driving and that he was prefishing (he was in a tourney day, and came back to finish the day).

I’d imagine insurance will inspect the boat and watch the video and interview anyone involved if necessary to make a lot more informed opinion that watching a 20 second youtube clip.

Is there a world where maybe the submerged dock section or whatever didn’t rip the motor off but maybe it hits enough of the hull that combined with the speed and conditions it throws him into the 180 and that rips the motor off? I feel like there’s a 100 different ways it could have happened but so many are convinced they know exactly what did or did not happen based on a 20 second youtube clip.

Yup. It’s baffling.

I share that theory, but also that the motor also hit the object and while that itself didn’t rip the motor completely off, but it may partially broke (pictures seem to indicate it was the motor’s bracket that broke) and the combination of speed and waves and spin caused it to completely rip off. Pictures show some scratches on the LU of the motor, and in a follow up video from Wes he said that people found “pieces of floating platform…boards sticking up from the water a few hundred yards from where the boat was and it looked I like I obviously ran over it.”

Whether he hit something or not, there’s no way in fu#k I’d be a passenger in that boat.

He was pretty much chine-walking in waves…hitting just a single wave at a funny angle could flip you right out.

B-man wrote:

Whether he hit something or not, there’s no way in fu#k I’d be a passenger in that boat.

He was pretty much chine-walking in waves…hitting just a single wave at a funny angle could flip you right out.

My thought exactly. Looked like a pretty bad operator before the accident.

Looking at the video it almost looks like a combo of things.

Slowing down to.25x, it appears that the boat bow hook. However, between the rouge wave and the rising of the bow, the boat made an unusual movement that halted forward movement for a split second.

I’m glad he is ok. Now he understands the rule of wearing PFD and kill switch.
But I’m like B-man I would not ride with him. There is always a wave you hadn’t planned on being that BIG.

Hopefully the bass in the livewell were okay.

Anyfish2 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>crawdaddy wrote:</div>
Wes was driving too fast for the conditions. Running high on pad at an odd angle to the waves, the bow was starting to chine walk a little, and if he would have slowly backed down he would have avoided the crash. I’m doubtful he hit something, he definitely wouldn’t “need” to to cause a crash like that. When a bass boat bow hooks, which is a sudden drop of the bow, it grips the water and causes the boat to spin, which can snap a motor off. Lake Champlain has eaten more <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>bass boats than probably anywhere. If you’re in a giant walleye bathtub you don’t need to worry about it, that bow never leaves the water, and that 250+ on the back never gets you going that fast. I’m guessing he was prefishing as he was alone in the boat. Funny he felt a need to run that fast in practice, most guys don’t.

It was day 3 of the Tournament(Sunday), at some where around 10 am. He had 4 fish in the livewell, and was making a move to another spot. Just for some back ground.

As <em class=”ido-tag-em”>bass boat driver, a bass boat “wobbles” at even moderate speeds, with the keel cutting water. That boat was handling to waves quite well, being well driven.
Every elite angler is running at 50 mph, every day of practice.

It was day 2

Anyfish2 wrote:

a bass boat “wobbles” at even moderate speeds, with the keel cutting water. That boat was handling to waves quite well, being well driven.
Every elite angler is running at 50 mph, every day of practice.

Some Bass boats “wobble” some do not. Having a boat chine walk is fine if you’re driving it correctly(under control). Either way this guy was pushing it too fast for the water conditions. The only reason I wondered if he was prefishing is because he was alone. Usually they have a marshall with them, but maybe they were short that day. He definitely could’ve hit something. But on the other hand he could have done the same thing without hitting anything. There have been many bass boats over the years that have bow hooked with no collision. And not every guy in practice goes wide open. Some are much more leisurely than you’d expect. I’ve fished with a good number of them. And in official practice periods too.

Finally was able to see the video and that water doesnt even look that rough to me, but he was moving that is for sure. Did the motor remain attached somehow or did they fish it out of the lake?

Anyone notice the first thing he did, after being thrown and his head hit the gunnel ? He removed his floatation device ? Why ? Seems like the last thing to do when hurt bad and you just whacked your head and your in a boat that just broke the motor off in the middle of a lake ?

Some Bass boats “wobble” some do not. Having a boat chine walk is fine if you’re driving it correctly(under control).

I am not talking about chine walk. on pad there is side to side wobble in every bass boat I have ridden in, Triton, Ranger, Skeeter, or Caymas. Any wave action will give any bass boat wobble. Just so little boat is actually in the water, nature of the beast. I have a trition that chine walks, that is scary until you learn to drive it, still dont like it. But in that video, that is wave action movement of that hull not chine walk. And again, that boat was quite stable and not violent or out of control movement. Very typical of a bass boat ride and speed.

Elite anglers are not making a 30 mile run on these lakes at 40 mph in practice or tourny day, unless condition require it. Time is money my friend and they dont waste time. Not any I have known.

big_g wrote:

He removed his floatation device ? Why ?

I’m guessing it wasn’t even a conscious decision to take off the life jacket. Just muscle memory from doing it thousands of times whenever he came to stop. That and probably being in a bit of shock.

big_g wrote:

Anyone notice the first thing he did, after being thrown and his head hit the gunnel ? He removed his floatation device ? Why ? Seems like the last thing to do when hurt bad and you just whacked your head and your in a boat that just broke the motor off in the middle of a lake ?

Because he is functioning on adrenaline at that time. He doing things while in a state of shock, fight or flight mode. It is probably a thing he does every time he stands up from the helm, it was propbably not a consious decision. Not everything people do will to make sense at the moment of trauma.

The boat is not capable of sinking, so when it settled he was fine, as long as he stayed in the boat. Right thing to do? NO.

Anyfish2 wrote:

Some Bass boats “wobble” some do not. Having a boat chine walk is fine if you’re driving it correctly(under control).

I am not talking about chine walk. on pad there is side to side wobble in every bass boat I have ridden in, Triton, Ranger, Skeeter, or Caymas. Any wave action will give any bass boat wobble. Just so little boat is actually in the water, nature of the beast. I have a trition that chine walks, that is scary until you learn to drive it, still dont like it. But in that video, that is wave action movement of that hull not chine walk. And again, that boat was quite stable and not violent or out of control movement. Very typical of a bass boat ride and speed.

Elite anglers are not making a 30 mile run on these lakes at 40 mph in practice or tourny day, unless condition require it. Time is money my friend and they dont waste time. Not any I have known.

We watched the same video? That boat was not stable. He was flirting with disasterand in my opinion and driving like he didn’t know what he was doing. That bow was trying to come up on him a few times before he wiped out. He ignored the warning and sent it anyways. That’s called over driving the boat and conditions. I realize most guys drive their bass boats like that but it’s just a matter of time before they suffer a similar situation. Too much power for the weight. Most boats aren’t capable of that, but with a high power boat like that it’s up to the driver to control it, which he failed to do.

tswoboda wrote:

^^100% with dirtywater post

I don’t understand how some have such strong opinions on this with such little information. I mean I spent 5 minutes watching a couple videos while taking a dump and already notice misinformation in these strong opinions… like the boat he was driving and that he was prefishing (he was in a tourney day, and came back to finish the day).

I’d imagine insurance will inspect the boat and watch the video and interview anyone involved if necessary to make a lot more informed opinion than watching a 20 second youtube clip.

Is there a world where maybe the submerged dock section or whatever didn’t rip the motor off but maybe it hits enough of the hull that combined with the speed and conditions it throws him into the 180 and that rips the motor off? I feel like there’s a 100 different ways it could have happened but so many are convinced they know exactly what did or did not happen based on a 20 second youtube clip.

This is the post of the year. It’s so true. I would say most of my time reading IDO is also in the can. We need an IDO slogan contest:

“IDO: perfect for when you’re taking a dump.”

Matt Moen wrote:

“IDO: perfect for when you’re taking a dump.”

Should be a thread just for that!

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
“IDO: perfect for when you’re taking a dump.”

Should be a thread just for that!

Only rule is you can only post while on the can.

Then: THE BIGGEST FISH. THE HOTTEST BITES

Now: THE HOTTEST TAKES FOR YOUR BIGGEST DUMPS

Clearly, you haven’t spent time driving or riding in a bass boat, At 30 mph or 60 mph.

They are not a deep V boat, handle different, it is different driving experience.

I am telling you that a camera 4 feet above the deck of the boat is going to give the appearance of more travel and what the deck of the boat is actually moving(side to side rocking).

And again, A bass boat should never be plowing waves with the V of the hull at running speeds. It should be just high enough to CUT the wave. The visable wash from the hull should remain behind the driver on plane, that does not mean that the V is not in the water cutting waves.

All of this is not to say he shouldn’t have slowed down for the conditions. It appears not to be a bad chop, but cameras don’t do waves justice, and have never driven on Champlain. But these guys know how to drive a bass boat, scares the hell out of me as marshall sometimes. But the do know what they are doing. Again some make mistakes sometimes.

No matter what, that guy did it wrong. The proof is in the pudding

Has to have a CYA excuse so he can still get on stage next time to say: “That boat brand X powered by my Yamaha 250 got me safe and back every day. Woo, I tell ya what”

Hopefully he was able to also thank the lord multiple times over for saving his life as I am certain an omnipotent being in the sky is looking over doofus bass fishermen

dirtywater wrote:

Then: THE BIGGEST FISH. THE HOTTEST BITES

Now: THE HOTTEST TAKES FOR YOUR BIGGEST DUMPS

LMAO

I vote for overdriven after watching several times in slow mo.

The bow gets substantial loft from the previous wave, comes down hard, and is immediately thrown upward from the next wave. The slow rate of bow climb after cresting that wave, indicates too much trim and thrust from the motor, not anything in the water, caused the bow lift to become excessive. You can tell when the prop begins to lose grip with the water, as the bow stops lifting and starts to torque the boat to starboard, then the bow immediately drops as the prop loses grip completely. The torque of the prop turned the motor, and as the boat re-enters the water, the impact throws him across the boat, and the motor separates from the transom, allowing the boat to spin clockwise 180 degrees.

It was an accident. It happens. Dude is ok. Sure motor is covered under insurance. I’m sure he will be back out driving full send in no time.

Now this guy should be banned from driving a boat.

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skinnywater wrote:

Has to have a CYA excuse so he can still get on stage next time to say: “That boat brand X powered by my Yamaha 250 got me safe and back every day. Woo, I tell ya what”

Hopefully he was able to also thank the lord multiple times over for saving his life as I am certain an omnipotent being in the sky is looking over doofus bass fishermen

So your an atheist… I will make a note so I don’t forget. It is very important for me to know what you do not believe… (I know atheists love it when others know they are)

seems to me a few years ago A motor broke off in a PWT event, because of Big Waves, after that event theuy cancelled days that were to rough