fishingfool485 Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 I am writing this as a warning to all my fellow boaters that visit Flamingo Everglades National Park. My son and I were down there yesterday for a day of fishing in the backcountry. Our plan was to fish whitewater bay and work our way out to the gulf. Our morning was stellar, we caught a few big snook along with various snookies. The weather cleared up and we decided to make a run west to the gulf. Keep in mind I have been taking the same route out for the last 20+ years or so. So I thought I was familiar with the area. As we cleared whiterwater and started making our way through the river I hit a submerged object that just about tore my motor off the transom. My 10 year old son and I came to an abrupt halt. After inspecting my lower unit we noticed that one of the blades on my revolution prop was sheared off. The motor was still running and thank god no one was hurt. After surveying the area come to find out we hit what use to be marker #42. It seems to me that the park cut that marker out but instead of putting a buoy on it they just left it half arse and cut it just below the water line. As we limped back on our 18 mile journey to the ramp I noticed various other markers were missing. I'm sure those weren't taken care of correctly either. Back home my Yamaha mechanic inspected my lower unit and said he had never seen such an impact. Bad news for me. Lower unit is a total loss. I immediately called my insurance company and started a claim. I'm still waiting to hear from them. Hopefully all the years of paying boat owners insurance will pay off. I thought it was my duty to give my fellow MBC forum brother and sisters a heads up. Please be careful !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 I could be completely wrong here, but a friend hit a piling that was unmarked after a bridge was demolished and he was able to have the company that demolished the bridge pay for it. It had something to do with the Army Corps of Engineers not marking it. I dont know how that stuff works and how it would apply to your situation, but figured i would let you know just in case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipTide Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Well, that sux!!! Good to hear everybody was ok. Another prime example why nobody should be operating a boat without insurance. Sounds as though you may have to get a lawyer to be compensated for the damages though. Can't see the responsible party (department) willingly stand up to pay for a new lower unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day5fishing Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Let your insurance co know about the liability on the part of who ever maintains the markers. Get your boat fixed and let your insurance co surrogate against the responsable party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason p Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Are you talking about a Wilderness Waterway marker? Could you be more specific? I ***ume you mean the Shark River? Not trying to be a pain or nothin, I just spend a lot of time up there. Appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingfool485 Posted January 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 It was a common navigational marker. I'm not sure if it used to be red or green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dave Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Did you enter a waypoint? It would be helpful to others if we have the GPS coordinates. Sorry this happened but glad no one was hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Glad everyone is ok and you were able to make it back. Maybe an email to a park official, or Coast Guard to at least look into this and see if there are other cut makers. Would guess the CG has a method to report hazards. Also might be safe to carry a spare prop and wrench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabear Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 I would think it was in Carmoant P*** between white water bay and Oyster . Hope this helps. Joe R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingfool485 Posted January 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 That's exactly where it happened. I do carry a spare prop but we were able to make it back with the damaged one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Wow, glad to hear you and your son are ok. It seems logical that any local, state or federal agency tasked with installing a navigational marker would be equally responsible for properly removing the marker. I'd return to the spot and capture some underwater pics or video of the cut-off pole and the new damage to the pole, from your lower unit. Then submit that to your insurance company. Let them negotiate with the agency responsible. The video or pics also lends credibility to your original statement of events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 This story is exactly why I stopped following the markers many years ago. I had two close calls whacking markers that were partially submerged in WWB. Most importantly, thankfully nobody was hurt or worse! Lower units and props can be replaced. Your insurance company will likely pay for your damages less the policy deductible then subrogate against the NPS since it's their responsibility to maintain the markers. Shouldn't be a hard claim to settle on your end. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramoso Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I see that the warning was added to the Garmin BlueChart app (ActiveCaptain feature). Position reported as N25.32247 W081.03715 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingfool485 Posted January 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 That's great. Keep in mind as we limped our way back we noticed there were several other markers missing. I'm not sure if those were disposed of properly but after my incident I really doubt it. It seems to me that park is purposely setting land mines out there to keep us out. That's just my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conocean Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 It seems to me that park is purposely setting land mines out there to keep us out. That's just my opinion I share the same opinion. :susel: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason p Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 The Coot Bay floaters are all washed against the mangroves so don't worry about those. There are some out front on the Murray-Clive channel that are broken off (the fence post markers) one is directly adjacent to Clive Key and the other is 3 or 4 south of Clive Key. Interestingly enough, the one south of Clive was broken off Saturday by some D-Bag as he p***ed me. I guess me doing 30-ish mph through a fairly narrow channel wasn't cutting it. He came to a stop a few hundred feet past me up on the gr***... I forgot to stop and see if they were OK. There were 5 of them in 4" of water, I'm sure they figured it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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