RedactedNarrative: According to the operator, He was coming back into Quork Hammock from setting nets around 8:00 pm on Friday April 5, 2019.  Operator1 stated that the tide was extremely low at the time he was coming back in.  Operator1 said that he was cruising at approximately 10 miles per hour when his motor either hit something on the bottom or struck the bottom itself.  Operator1 had his hand on the throttle and when his motor hit something which threw him forward causing the boat to accelerate.  Operator1 said that the no feedback steering on his vessel was not working and whenever his motor hit, it caused the boat to turn to the right.  Due to the vessel quickly turning and increasing speed, Operator1 was unable to avoid colliding with a vessel which was tied to a nearby dock.
  
  Upon inspecting Operator1's vessel for damage, there was no apparent damage to the lower unit from the incident.  I inspected the propeller and the skeg of Operator1's vessel and the only visual damage was normal wear with missing paint on the skeg.  Based upon the damage to vessel, it appears that Operator1 was traveling at a higher rate of speed than he claimed.  On the day of the incident sunset was around 7:33 pm and it would have been dark by the time it occurred around 8:00 pm.  Due to the low light conditions, low water levels and the fog that Operator1 described, a careful operator would have greatly reduced speed.  In order to safely navigate through the narrow channel, especially knowing there to be vessels tied up in the area, along with the environmental factors, slowing to idle/no wake speed would be the most appropriate course of action.  After looking at all factors, it appears that a combination of operator inattention and excessive speed contributed to this incident.
  
  
  PLEASE NOTE:  VESSEL ONE OPERATOR WAS CHARGED WITH CARELESS AND RECKLESS OPERATION.
  
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