5 Ship Launches That Went Horribly Wrong 

Just a tip creator, perhaps play the clip in full first, let us experience it without distraction, and THEN replay it while narrating.. It would make for a far more fulfilling experience

"horribly wrong" a big tsunami wave of 10 centimeters...

6:47 Biggest disaster here is portrait mode

There's 10 minutes I won't get back.

You're wrong on the first one. Both cranes had the load. If only one had the load & the other was controlling the swing. The one with the load would've been rigged in the center of the boat. It's called a tandem lift.

#2 is why watching the rental and weekender crowd at the local boat ramps on long weekends is a favourite pastime of mine. Never a dull moment.

"boat launches that went horribly wrong" boat -4, creates small wave that gets several peoples feet wet....

That isn't a "large crane", as cranes go it's actually pretty small. Which explains why what happened, happened.

This is like those movies that show the whole movie in the preview and then expect you to sit through the movie. It probably would have made a great 4 minute video. To the author's credit, there is no annoying music. Bravo.

Both cranes were lifting the boat. The one that fell was lifting the heavier end and it was oriented incorrectly.

Always read the comments first, it's saved me a\ lot of time.

I would rather the narrator not tell you exactly what's going to happen right before it happens kind of ruins the whole video.

No disrespect.. but the VOICE OVER adds NOTHING to your video.. It's clear and obvious already. Thanks.

The title should be “Biggest Engineering Mistakes.”

2:31 The boat somehow stayed afloat... It's a boat for goodness sake; it was dropped into water; it's whole reason for existing is to float. Of course it stayed afloat - it's a boat!

Better title: "Ship Happens" 😂

"Horribly wrong" and nobody died.

The narrator clearly has no clue how how the cranes that lifted the boat actually failed.

Number one video is a prime example of "Task failed succesfully"

6:02 I would hardly classify this as having gone "horribly wrong".

Ah yes. Narrator narrating things that don’t need narrated.

Another well known launch fail is the Vasa (or Wasa) in 1628. But it wasn't as much a problem of the launch as a design problem with the ship itself.

old footage, already watched years ago.

5 minutes I'll never get back.

2:10 hey, at least the boat got in the water lol

6:00 I can't believe there wasn't a single dad who didn't think to pick up his kids and shout "HOLD ON LITTLE HOBBITS!" as the water rushed past his feet.

My guess as to why the first boat remained afloat is that it looks like a Coast Guard-style vessel, which I believe are made to right themselves if they overturn

The first one was intentionally funny🤣🤣🤣

My reaction to the first video: "Well at least they got it in the water"

Well that was 90% fluff and 95% fizzle.

7:17 That's what happens when idiots try to operate machinery they do not have a clue about HOW to operate! I've seen something similar, where a rich dude had bought a 37 ft. brand spanking new speedboat, despite having absolutely no experience or skills about boating, and the first thing he did was to slam it right into the concrete pier, and totally destroy the bow of the boat. Luckily for him the boat didn't sink, but it would cost him thousands and thousands of $ to get it repaired, so he sold it with a considerable los, and we never saw him in the marina again! 🤣 p.s. It was a +$250.000 boat to begin with.

I've been to enough launches to know that the 'big wave' thing is quite an event and a lot of fun for small-town locals. A yard that can make a hull that big (#3) is a major part of the local economy and people are pretty proud of their friends and family who work there. It's hardly a 'disaster'. I would say they might have underestimated this one. I have -seen- launches like that turn into a disaster - the ship got loose on one end while launching in a cut-out just like this one. When the line went loose , it forced the hull astern - and RIP running gear. Everything aft underwater fouled on the shore: Shafts, props, rudders, struts. All of it. The ship was in no danger of sinking but they did have quite a bit of work to do. #4. If it fits on a trailer... it is not a ship. It's a boat. #1. Also not a ship. That's a boat. A harbor "Pilot Boat", even. So - in this video one vessel for sure is a ship. The last vessel I'd say probably (?) qualifies and the 2nd vessel... maybe.

"Sorry, that new ship we built for you, we have to scrap it." - "What? !!!?! My new ship, the ship you just launched?" - "Yes, or well, partially. Half the ship got launched. The other half is still on land and not looking so good. We have to scrap it all."

Speaking of disastrous ship launches. The Imperial Japanese battleship Musashi flooded Nagasaki during her launch. The launch was described as a fat man entering a filled bathtub.

I have seen a few of these videos but most of these I had not seen yet. Great video!

Best watched with the sound down.

10min video could've been 4mins if same scenes weren't shown over and over and over and over and over. And it's just a compilation of old footage thrown together.

The water level is not relevant. The reach of the crane jib, out from its base, provided the overturning moment.

That crane driver was obviously a former Olympic sprinter 😜

I hope these failures are paid for by the builders not the buyer or the government

Omg! The launch went so HORRIBLY WRONG that some people got their pants wet

The speed boat guy shows what happens when someone buys a toy they don't know how to safely use.

most accidents are caused by deadlines. cutting corners and constantly asking workers "if their done yet" or "good enough".

I like the way you explain things first and then run the video. Some people explain and run the video at the same time making it hard to follow.

Notice how quickly the crane bailed in the first clip. His quick thinking probably saved his life.

So the first clip has some slight issues with the explination. First off, the boat being launched by the two cranes is a pilot boat, used to take maritime pilots out to thier assigned ships and back to port. Second off, if you notice the way the sling shifted before the collapse, the ultimate failure was an improper sling connection, causing the sling to shift closer to the center of the boat, throwing both cranes off ballance before the teams involved could respond. Also, launching a boat by mobile crane is HIGHLY frowned upon by crews, as it is highly risky. When crews do use mobile cranes to launch a vessel, it is usually due to cost restraints or logistical reasons. Typically a specialized lift refered to as a “Sling“ is used, which is a large wheeled or tracked vehicle with either a large net or large padded cables. These nets or cables are positioned under the hull of the watercraft providing even support while the vessel is suspended in the air. Overall, this video (hopefully not in the US) violates MAJOR safety codes from the start, and most sailors (myself having years of experience on a range of different ships) would cry seeing thier new vessel falling into the water and almost capsizing.

Your description of the rigging on the first launch is completely wrong.

Its amazing how much a ship can list before actually capsizing ! 9:19

I don't know why I think watching these videos are worth while.

Title:"5 Ship launches that went horribly wrong" Fact: " A pilot boat launch that went wrong, a small ship launch that went wrong, a ship launch that went fine, a small pleasure craft launch that went fine but the driver beached it and a NOAA ship launch that went fine"

"5 'Gone horribly wrong' videos where the clip choices and narration on them go horribly wrong!!"

2:00 looked like a successful launch to me

Some of them didn't want to wake up that early for work and just fell out of bed

1st boat is a pilot boat, not a private craft. 3 Oilfield service ship.

How people walk around these types of situations so nonchalantly is mind blowing to me. 🤯

Theres an old saying in song writing that applies to this video: "Dont bore us, get to the chorus!" This should have been a 4 minute video, instead its nearly 10 minutes of unnecessary commentary.

This was way better when I had my volume off 👍

Wet Spectators... Horribly Wrong? That'd be Hilariously Right. lol

First one isn't a personal boat neither, it's a pilot boat

That first one was a bad crane operator, who didn't know what he was doing...

The first one is like, “somehow the boat stayed afloat” um, i have spent almost whole of my life on the water. And i can say, a boat doesnt sink that quickly.

Totally messed up the narration on the first one.

I like having sodas in my sleep

Number #4 😂 that didn’t go horribly wrong at all

Thank you for explaining exactly what happened I never would have guessed on my own........

We used to visit my grampa that lived very close to a large boat launch site. it was a fun family event to watch the dumb and dumber antics! I've seen several trucks go underwater, at least 4 boats slide off the trailer and slide down the ramp a little but not make it fully into the water, and 2 boats take on so much water so quickly they couldn't be put back on the trailer! Seen quite a few big throttle smashes like shown and many, many trailers go sideways on the ramp! Lots of yelling, swearing, people falling into the water, and even boat launch yoga, good times!!!

1:59 "landed perfect tho"

The Edmund Fitzgerald's sideways launch almost went awry. Her stern hit the water first, the bow was delayed. It didn't damage the ship, but superstition says the bad launch was what ultimately doomed her.

You are very wrong about how 2 Crain's lift together.

Your analysis of the first launch is completely wrong. Both cranes are lifting the boat, and the problem has nothing to do with the height of the tide. The problem was simply a miscalculation of the weight which the crane could lift at a given distance from the crane.

The man driving the sea-doo was me when I was 15 and learning to drive 😂😂

The crane operator life flashing before his eyes

that is not a private boat, it is a pilot boat. also, quite clear that both cranes are supporting the weight of the boat.

It's just better and dryer to just watch a boat launch via RU-vid.

At least the first boat is in the water lol😂

Years ago, I saw a doc about the ore freight Edmund Fitzgerald that sunk in Lake Superior in '75. Its launch was rather ... unsteady, which gave some the feeling that it was a bad omen for the ship's future.

The first one got their job done launch sucsess

I'm always amazed at people messing up when launching small boats. Especially monohull bass boats. You're talking a vessel no more than 20 feet long with usually a 100 hp engine. Sometimes less. Sometimes more. Yet people struggle just backing the trailer into the water, then comes the actual launching.

The first clip of the video my mind was like that’s one way to get it in the water

The greatest of my childhood

Boat survived....Crane did not..🤣

The bloke with the really bad ass green and blue power boat must have been gutted lol

#5 narrator contradicts himself starting out by saying this one is a bit different because of the water level...he then mentioned the real reason of the fail wich is the crane....even if the tide was high, the crane would've still tipped over...I'm glad to see no one was hurt and the vessel not damage.

4:12 when launch the boat at back side under the boat almost flat but when it’s come to front is almost narrow the inflatable that they using is not for narrow surface is for flat surface

5:51 this was hilarious 😂

There's some good news: The ship owners received a coupon for 10% off their next boat launch.

Why the hell were the sailors on the boat while it was being launched (launch #4)? That is just plain stupid. They should know there is a possibility the launch may not go right (and in fact it didn't when the boat tipped on its side).

1st clip both cranes were lifting. One let down and the other did not, resulting in the 1sr one tipping over

When you told us about the final launch and that some people were treated in the hospital, we would’ve believed you. We didn’t need stock footage of people in a hospital, people who were not even present at the event, to illustrate to us what treated in hospital means!!. We didn’t need any footage at all that was hospital related, because we understand what you said and we are not stupid. But thank you for thinking that we might be. This is called dumbing down and patronising your audience. Much like most of the video. You chose an interesting subject, you just didn’t do it very well.

That crane operator needed clean underwear after that 🤣🤣😂😂😅😅.

I have never worked on the ship docks to actually be there to see these ships being launched into the water...... However watching videos like this makes me think it would be more effective to build a longer launch ramp like a pickup truck puts a small boat into the water..... However please understand that I don't know the 1st thing about launching ships...

The first one was a pilot boat and not a private one.

tipped backwards. procedes to tip forwards

That one horrible disaster: "Oh My! It appears that my footwear has been soaked by the water! Oh great heavens and that man just slipped! Oh what a gruesome day! Oh the humanity!"

Always so interesting to watch these.

Whoa that is big

In the first vid the water level had absolutely nothing to do with the crane tipping, as it began far above even the land itself. Just poor crane placement and calculation.

Apparently they don't pay the crane-driver enough for him to go down with his vehicle.

The stroller in that one video gave me such bad anxiety

Clearly the first boat was being lifted by two cranes. The second crane wasn’t just holding it straight. The crane that tipped wasn’t big enough for the job.