RedactedNarrative: On september 2, 2015 at approximately 12:30am a boating incident occurred on lake norman approximately one mile west of the interstate 77 causeway (lat. 35. 5092, lon. -80.8828). The vessel was a 30-foot, 2005 cruiser yacht with twin 270 hp inboard-outdrive motors. There were six passengers on board and operator stated that they were all above deck in the seating area. The vessel ran aground on a rocky shoal and became lodged there. There were no injuries reported.
  
  Operator stated that they had just left the rusty rudder bar and were going to find a cove to anchor and “hang out”. He stated that they were cruising, on plane, down the lake and the vessel began to slow down before coming to a complete stop. One of the witnesses/passengers stated that the stopping of the vessel was so gradual nobody was even knocked off their feet.  Operator then stated that after spending a small amount of time trying to dislodge the vessel themselves they were forced to call a tow service that brought them back to shore and had to come out the following morning to tow the vessel off of the shoal. The initial analysis of the boat after the incident revealed both propellers to have significant damage. The left propeller had bent blades and one blade on the right propeller had a large piece of it torn and curled up the blade. The fiberglass hull had numerous scratches and gouges from the bow to the stern from running aground.
  
  In conclusion it was evident that the propellers struck the bottom of the lake damaging propeller blades on both motors. The impact and dragging across the bottom before coming to a complete stop on the shoal caused severe fiberglass damage on the hull of the vessel. The cause of the incident appeared to be operator inattention and an improper lookout. I spoke with cornelius police department who was on scene the night of the incident and they stated that in their professional opinion alcohol was not a determining factor. Operator was charged with having no current and valid registration on his vessel.
   