Originally published at: Exhausted father and son clinging to plastic cooler in Boston Harbor were rescued (video) | Boing Boing
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Scary
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The deseperation in their voices made me tear up.
So glad they were rescued.
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That’s a bonding experience no parent and child should endure.
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Yes, love a wonderful good news story with a happy end but 10min treading water in the Boston harbor… Arrr get off me deck!
I’m no boat aficionado, so forgive the ignorance, but why would engine failure cause a boat to sink? Wouldn’t it just float aimlessly if the engine died?
I bet these two where up to something nefarious, like operating a homemade hadron collider in the harbor without a permit.
He then asked the police to first help his father, who said a few boats had passed them by.
A bunch of dungbies. 
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My guess would be that the engine getting tangled in the lines caused the boat to tilt and take on water.
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From the linked article, the engine died after getting tangled in lobster lines, and then the boat drifted onto rocks that damaged the hull, causing it to sink.
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It’s possible the impact of the line tangling around the prop would rupture the stern glands, which are the seals the prop shaft goes through from the engine room to the sea.
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Reminder to self-- read the article before speculating. An informed answer is better than a guess. 
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I’m glad they’re safe but lobster fishermen that can’t tread water for 20 minutes? And not wearing PFDs? That’s a recipe for death if I ever heard one.
Many lobstermen don’t even know how to swim. The idea is that in deep water you’re just going to drown anyway, I think. Although lobsters aren’t usually trapped that far from shore. It’s strange but true.
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sailor here.
several things do not add up, though the terror we see is real.
it would easily be the case that passing boats would not notice something floating that low in the water, especially from a loud powerboat going quickly.
if the rocks were close enough to the surface to core the boat and take it down, they’d be well marked with some aid to navigation like a nearby can or nun, which would be easy to get to, and much easier to be seen and rescued from.
most lobster boats in the area are single screw, with the gear for the trapline extended outboard, making a tangling really difficult to achieve.
never seen a trapline that was made of wire, rather than line, because lines can be cut in case of shit happening
finally, Boston harbor, of all places, is not going to get you good eatin’ lobsters
all of which is to say ‘shenanigans’
EDIT: so, it was out by the Graves, which does, in its own name suggest caution is indicated, but perhaps the lobstering makes a little more sense for eating
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Luckily they were rescued before it came down to a fight over the last beer in the cooler.
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You got that right.
I’d think they might want to hang on to that cooler. Then again maybe not.
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I feel like they (at least the younger one) should be in better shape after only 20 minutes treading water - with a floatation device.
If you’re making a living on the water, I’d expect someone to be better prepared for this sort of thing. Be in better shape for swimming. A flare gun so those boats don’t just pass you by. Definitely higher quality life jackets and better floatation devices as a cooler just doesn’t seem safe.
But I’m just a land lubber who likes lakes more than the ocean and that’s just, like, my opinion man.
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Right? I was thinking they had been floating for many hours or a few days, but 20 minutes? I’m younger than the older guy but probably older than the younger guy, and I’m quite confident I’d view having to be out on the open water for 20 minutes a stupid annoyance, but hardly life-threatening, even without a makeshift flotation device.
There are simple ways to keep yourself alive in the water while conserving energy.
Lobstermen with only one life jacket on board? I’m calling shenanigans too!
