Sinking Your House Boat On a Lake… That Is a Bad Day!

There’s no sugarcoating this one: sinking boats are no fun. From an canoe to the Titanic, nobody wasn’t to be onboard a vessel that’s taking on water and sinking. Most of us would assume stopping to try to find the source of the incoming water or to try to get everybody off safely before the craft is claimed by the depths.

However, it would seem there may be some merit to continuing to stubbornly steer the boat ahead with the throttle churning, as that apparently kept this large houseboat from slipping beneath the surface. That’s what was determined by the Coast Guard, who had been called to assist when the captain sent out his distress signal over the radio.

While the driver kept the boat steady, the USCG came alongside and helped the other passengers off at speed. By keeping the boat running at a pretty good clip across the water, it seems the water coming onboard slowed greatly, giving the captain time to get a plan in place to pull the boat from the lake. As you can see, it looks like the boat is going down to certain doom before the operator jumps on the throttle and takes off across the lake. As he heads out across the open water, the water level on board the boat drops and holds steady, allowing him to save the vessel.

With the other passengers safely on board the Coast Guard boat, the captain then heads toward land, where he has a big rig waiting to pluck the sinking boat from the water. The captions at the end tell the story. His decision to just keep driving despite taking on a great deal of water almost certainly saved the day.

Have you guys ever been on board a sinking boat? If you have video, drop it in the comments and we just might tell your story too! We love hearing from our readers and telling your stories!