Last month I mentioned the shallow water levels our local lake is experiencing this winter. Projections continue to be low and I thought I would share a few things about shallow water. Funny thing, I searched “shallow” on the Internet to see what I could find and the first thing that popped up was a movie from 2016 called The Shallows. This was an American survival horror film and in the movie a medical student, surfing on vacation, gets stranded 200 yards from shore and must use her wits and determination to survive a great white shark attack.
Next, I found a song called “Shallow” from the latest remake of the movie A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Neither of these things really had much to do with pontoons, although if the stranded surfer would have had a friend with a pontoon the movie could have been over a lot sooner with a lot less violence. And Lady Gaga or Bradley Cooper? I don’t know if either of them even owns a pontoon.
While I might be stretching this a bit, I think what my search did show is there's not much attention made to “shallow” water. We see it in shows, we hear it in songs, but nobody really cares. Boats race across the water in movie chase scenes. In fact, I just watched a movie the other day in which a small boat (probably 18 feet) with an outboard was being chased by a much larger inboard boat (at least 30 feet), all around a small bay area. They were up against the shore, out in the middle and all over, without once hitting the bottom or impacting a sunken log or more.
I know, you're thinking, Where in the heck is this going? Well, boat insurance companies estimated that about 80 percent of their claims are the result of hitting a submerged object.
Grounding or running aground in shallow water is part of that.
Additionally, most claims departments indicate that more damage is caused by trying to accelerate through the sand, mud or rocks than by just stopping and waiting for help. Using a tow service or an alternative method to get unstuck (such as airbags), reduces the risk for further damage.
And then there are depth finders. This should be automatically included on any new boat. A depth finder should be required the same way airbags and seat belts are on cars. They require an emergency engine cut off tether in case the driver is thrown from the seat or boat, right? What is the one major reason the operator may be thrown from the boat? Hitting something submerged or running into shallow water!
I know more pontoons (and boats) are coming with a depth finder these days, but I remember when I bought mine I had to ask specifically for one to be added to my pontoon. Small boats don’t seem to get the benefit of an included depth finder and you don’t need a depth gauge that includes a fish finder, bottom topographical terrain map, etc. Almost every powered boat needs something just to tell them how deep the water is. If not, you end up running around or having one of the other popular claims, prop strikes.
Oh, and think about it: after we have had low water in our area we will more than likely get lots of spring rain and snow melt (think about the west coast and what’s been happening there lately). The more snow and spring storms, the more the rivers flood. That causes more debris floating in the water and under the surface. Submerged objects will result in damage to lower units, propellers, keels, and hulls. Sometimes sinking does occur.
So a couple of tips. If you think or know you hit something make sure you check your bilge area and monitor the bilge regularly to make sure there is not any damage that could result in submersion or, in other words…sinking.
Whatever you do, just be careful in the “shallows.” Oh, maybe the line from the song could be a new boater’s motto, “We're far from the shallow now.”
