unsinkable?

[CT_V-20]

I had a Sea Ox in a situation like Pipe Dream's. The boat, an '83 20' walkaround with a notched transom and a Merc 135 O/B, was moored by lines at both ends and the stern was facing the wrong way in a storm one night three summers ago. Best me and the marine police and the salvage guys could guess was waves came over the transom, which they did when I was drifting too, and wore out the battery and the bilge pump died. The boat rolled over, which the police and salvage folks said was most common. Without a hole in the hull, I don't think the majority of boats with foam/floatation in them will sink. Think of it this way, without a hole in the bottom, there is nowhere for the air that gets caught in the hull when the boat rolls to escape. And without a hole in the bottom, the only way water can get in the boat is from above the water line so the boat will only fill to the point that something low enough to the water line lets water in unabated until the boat rolls. But you still won't feel very proud about its "unsinkability" when you're looking at the sun shining off the bottom of your boat. Buy insurance and sleep well.