We’ve received a lot of very good advice from many people who’ve read about our encounter with a speedboat. As a result we will be taking a careful look at the inside of the hull and our bulkheads to ensure there is no hidden damage. I believe additional damage is unlikely because of the nature of the impact.
The speedboat hit us at half the speed he hit Eva, probably because of operator and boat damage. Our AB Aluminum RIB was hanging on our port side with the tubes just below the cap rail, tied fore and aft. The speedboat hit the inflatable first, flipping it sideways as seen in the first photo we posted. I believe the deep vee bow of the inflatable pushed the speed boat up and forward, impacting our cap rail and lifelines. The energy of the collision was dissipated through our lifelines and stanchion and by the shredding of the plywood hull as it chewed its way over our bulwarks. We really didn’t have a classic T-bone with the bone jarring impact as reported by Eva. In fact, when the boat hit us we felt no boat movement at all.
Inspection of our inflatable revealed one small dent on the bottom near the tube/hull join, not worth repairing. The next time I have hypalon glue mixed I’ll probably slap a patch over the slight abrasion in the hypalon.
Our damage has been luckily minor, thankfully because of the nature of the impact and the construction of both boats.
Rob
