At approximately 1:45 p.m. on October 15, 2023, Operator was trying to anchor his vessel "Rio" (Doc# 1107495) on the west side of the Tchefuncte River as he was putting the vessel in reverse, he struck a submerged object with the port motor's prop. 

He noticed a vibration in the port engine, so he shut that engine down and limped to a slip at Marina Del Ray. Operator went to the engine hole and observed that the port transmission coupling was separated, and the casting was cracked. He then called a diver out to assess the damage where he found that the shaft was bent, and the hull was not taking on water at this time. 

The boat will need to be picked up to assess the damage further which Operator is planning on doing in the near future. Operator nor his passenger used PFD's in this accident. This vessel was equipped with hydraulic steering. In this investigators opinion this accident was unavoidable seeing that the submerged object is not marked, contributing factors in this accident is collision with a submerged object.
Tchefuncte River
Madisonville                  