Can your boat flip?

[frugalfisherman]

After reading the tragic story in Raritan Bay I will share this. About 12 years ago when I had a 24 ft Bayliner Ciera cabin cruiser my cousin and I were fishing out of Sandy Hook. Coming back I was heading on plane for the condos on top of the hill which keeps you in 17-21 feet of water depending on the tide. About 1/2 way back BAM the steering wheel is ripped out of my hand the boat makes a hard right, goes all the way on its side on the gun wall and I'm throw up against my cousin sitting next to me in the cockpit enclosure. Luckily ( or should I say wisely) I was wearing the lanyard that shuts off the engine and that shut it off and the boat landed upright. If anyone was in the back of the boat they would have been in the water. A 13 inch tv that was on the bed starboard ended up on the stove port side which was a foot higher than the bed. Started the boat up and headed back to the Channel Club marina. The boat was vibrating like crazy so I figured the prop slip bearing went like it's supposed to when you hit something. Took off the prop and brought it to Atlantic Prop in Edison but they said there was nothing wrong with it. Put it back on and the boat ran fine. Near as I can figure it some thing wrapped around the prop and pulled the outdrive violently to the right. It caused the vibration but when I backed into the slip in reverse it came off. This could happen to anyone. If you think that kill switch lanyard is a joke you won't be laughing when God forbid you have a situation like this.

[jerseyhunter]

Was just talking about this this morning. While tuna fishing(1966) when I was about 10yrs old a squall came up . It was my father and me . Well we were in a 30' cabin cruiser. We weren't leaving till we caught one. Well we did, I had to take the wheel. I got hit broadside which sent me flying across the whole deck right over the to the other side without falling into the the bunks below. We were on our side and my Dad was literally running standing up on the freeboard. Got to the wheelhouse and got us back into the storm. We landed the tuna and I asked him if we had a chance of capsizing and he said that with all the engine weight placed where it was we couldn't. If I hadn't been there to see the boat more than going over and righting self which took only about 4 seconds I wouldn't have believed it. Man what a day amongst many to come. Little did I know I was to be involved in much more mayhem as I got older. He went through it as a teen in the merchant marine in Norway but sure had a lot to learn. And did. Another time while commercial fishing we lost everything including 2 radios, my Dad didn't tell me he tried to call a mayday and couldn't till we were home a week later. To this day he's never seen the "Perfect Storm" he lived it.