![]() ![]() Checking tie downs, lights, and ensuring a secured load is a daily safety check before each of our adventures. Plus the passengers are in the worst possible position being sent overboard directly in front of the boat’s path.Pulling a trailered boat or ATV is a fact of life for anglers and hunters. In the case of stuffing the bow in a wave, or being swamped, a closed bow can prevent submerging whereas an open bow gets submerged immediately. This means a boat with the front already overloaded now has a much greater problem. Any performance boater knows, weight in the bow can dramatically change the handling and performance of the hull. (Safety Research and Strategies Inc, 2017) Most bowriders are simply that, a closed deck model with the front cutout for seats. No consideration was given to weight distribution, floatation and applicable warnings. In fact, in high profile cases against Malibu Boats and Mastercraft, the companies conceded that the bowrider models in the accidents were nothing more than the closed bow version with the bow cutout and seats installed. Boats actually have very little oversight into design safety. The hull design means the boat with the higher bow launches onto the other boat or object. The thing is boats are not designed to crash, it is horrific when they do. The US Coast Guard provides oversight into lighting, systems on board and power but does not test boats. Manufacturers can meet these standard requirements voluntarily but it doesn’t mean much beyond the very basic safety criteria are met outlined by said body. That is not to say they aren’t doing their job but they are not governing boat design. Governing bodies include the National Marine Manufacturers Association but they don't do engineering reports or surveys, instead they focus on handrails and other general safety items. In cases where lawsuits arise, often manufacturers are to blame along with partial blame to the driver, depending on the case. I’ve seen a compound fracture in a PWC collision and have friends with accounts of accidents at night, where boats have hit shore or docks, with horrible results. Luckily, I haven’t seen someone killed but I have seen people pitched out of boats a few times, one where the person was cut in the leg by the prop. I personally have seen a few boat accidents first hand. Similarly, passengers fall out of the bow when the boat is underway because they are kneeling up on the seat, or a wave causes enough bow steer to pitch someone out of the boat. One of the more common incidents is when a bowrider, with passengers in the front, gets submerged in the bow and passengers fall out and are consequently run over. An alarming number actually occur at low speeds. If you want to get depressed, you can review some of the accident reports and lawsuits filed against manufacturers where death or serious injury occurred. When you are trying to bring costs down, for sales, you can sell a 17 foot family boat that holds 5 people, or for the same price, you can sell a 17 foot bowrider that holds 7 people. Having a few kids up front seems fun for those who don’t understand why that’s a bad idea. Is this a mechanism of the market, or more of a sales and marketing push? It’s actually a bit of both but the truth is, to sell to families that are new to boating, the idea of being able to stuff as many people in a boat as possible seems appealing, especially when you don’t know anything about boats. ![]() The biggest manufacturers push them and in some model ranges don’t even produce closed bow versions. ![]() But, the most popular boats under 25 feet today are usually bowriders. Before I go down the road as to why they are the leading cause of fatalities and accidents on the water, let’s talk about general boat safety first and lead into why bowriders are the scourge of boat design.įirst, we are a performance boat magazine, so most of our readers will agree with my negative sentiment towards bowriders and most “true” hardcore performance boats don’t even come in bowrider form anyway. There, I said it. I hate bowriders, always have, always will. Bowriders are the worst boat design because they cause the greatest number of fatalities on the water, obstruct the driver's view and negatively affect performance. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |