We all know that the V20's have a history of transom problems, so we all keep an eye on them. A nubie to boating might not know and probably wouldn't know what to look for. I'm wondering if it was a V20. Sure sounds like it.
No radio = no brains.
As to the comments section, I wonder if the same people that said they should have left them because of the cost would worry so much about the cost if it was them out there in the cold water. We pay taxes for a number of reasons... Fire and Police services and yes, Coast Guard rescues are just some of them. Three cheers for the other boat crew for picking them up and for the Coast Guard for yet another in a long line of rescues.
(Good point about the radio shorting out. Yet another reason to have a battery powered handheld in a waterproof bag as well a console mounted unit.)
__________________
1987 V20 w/1987 150HP Yamaha on a Shoreland'r Trailer
1978 16.5 Airslot w/1996 120HP Force on a Four Winns trailer
1996 V21 w/1993 200HP Mercury on a Shoreline Trailer
All towed by a 5.7L Hemi Durango.
If God didn't have a purpose for us we wouldn't be here, so
Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly.
(Leave the rest to God)
Silence, in the face of evil, is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act. God will not hold us guiltless.