Yacht Serena III sinks off Ft. Lauderdale

True. Unless something had been done that negated the water tight integrity of the spaces.

I'm not trying to make excuses for the crew. But not knowing what happened it could be there is no need to do that. And there really was little they could do.

Perhaps one of the reasons it went out of class was because modifications where made that would not allow it to stay in class.

So many unknowns.

I'm not going to hold my breath but I wouldn't be surprised if someone on the boat ends up,talking about it at Treasure Trove or one of the local spots.

You would think that after the beating the crew has taken in this thread someone with mitigating information would have spoken out in their defense ... if there is any.

Remember some of the first stories about what happened with a few of the tender crashes in the Exumas? Navigation and Mechanical issues? Turns out, it was alcohol and darkness issues. In most cases, people will talk and the picture will become clear.

I still can't figure how so much water got in a steel boat without bells, whistles, alarms or anyone noticing.

I think a large number of people would like to know as well, but a small number of people probably don't want anyone to know.

Educate on how this works on a boat the size of Serena III. Are there pumps in each compartment that send their output to a manifold where it is pumped out of the boat? Probably from the engine room? This eliminates through hulls in the individual compartments? What's a bilge level switch? It means water has gotten to a certain level? Thanks

No, the manifold is on the suction side. generally you have a very large pump (as well as a fire pump (electrical) and engine driven pump that are also generally plumbed to the manifold or pipes) in the engine room, it has a manifold with a valve (like a seacock for each pipe/compartment), then there are pipes with pickups that run to each compartment, You open the discharge valve on the pump, open up the valve(s) of the compartments you want to suck from and turn the pump on.

Bilge level switch. Yes, generally there is a float switch in each compartment that is wired to an alarm panel, it generally will send an alarm to the panel (usually a Light, some have audible alarms also) that will show high water compartment 1,2,3, etc. It doesn't turn any pumps on generally, but will alert you if you have more than a few inches of water in there.

Yup I was there in the Exumas both when the 38' Intrepid hit the West end of Big Majors, and also when the 27' (forgot the brand, pursuit possibly) drove up onto the rock 150 yards West of Staniel Cay Yacht Club (the Captain was sitting at Sampson Cay on the big boat (A sunseeker predator) and they decided to take the tender to the bar (owner/guest) and drink copius amounts of Vodka.

Sounds like you have a very well thought out system there. I would love to get some more information if that's possible? I have 57 foot constellation and plan to redo the mismatch of pump systems I have.

In addition to the great info from Pascal, I'd suggest splitting a few of the pumps to a different battery bank. Most builders I've dealt with will put the main pumps on the house bank and secondary pumps on one of the engine banks.

I like the way Sunseeker does it better. They have a normal pump like in the photo. Then they mount a higher pump 6-8" above the normal pump, with a float switch, and wired to an alarm. So if the main pump fails you still have a 2nd higher pump that also sets off an audible alarm when it cycles on. Of course you have to have a way for it to discharge.

If you use the Sr. model Ultra Switch you get a automatic pump switch and high water alarm switch built into one. And you get the best made and longest last switch on the market, IMO.

http://www.tefgel.com/contain.php?param=pumpswitch_price

So did the fins actually break? Any news yet?

Amen to that.
I had 2 Ultra Jr. Switches on previous boat. Worked good, lasted a long time.

They're good switches and I like to use them in shower sumps. However my only gripe is it's a royal pain to test them and the pump, either flood the bilge with water, or tip them upside down.

Has anyone considered the fact that someone wanted this boat to sink and had the resources to make the plan and execute it?

A lot of the scenario really doesn't fit that premise. Not that it's impossible but highly unlikely.